Making The Leap: UMass Joins #MACtion
By Kyle Kensing
Boston College once held a monopoly on Division I-A football in New England. Connecticut joined the fray in 1999. Now, Massachusetts tests the waters.
A transition is underway in the powerful Colonial Athletic Association southward. The conference is losing Rhode Island to the NEC, giving UMass one less neighbor. Meanwhile, Old Dominion and now Georgia State are in the fray, with Charlotte likely to follow. The former Yankee Conference is engaged in some modern day carpetbaggery, so the time was right for a move. But rather than follow URI to the NEC, a league that puts a harder cap on scholarships than other FCS leagues, the Minutemen made the leap to the Bowl Subdivision.
The move does not come without risks. UMass averaged a little over 13,000 at home games in 2010, good for No. 20 in the FCS. However, rather than add seats to Alumni Stadium on its Amherst campus, the UMass athletic department opted to play its home games in the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Foxborough is a trek of over 90 miles from Amherst, making the 25-mile Westwood-to-Pasadena voyage UCLA fans endure to reach the Rose Bowl pale vastly in comparison.
UMass drew nearly 33,000 to the Colonial Clash there in 2010, but that was playing against fellow New Englanders New Hampshire — whose campus is equidistant from Foxborough as Amherst. How the Minutemen draw playing the Bowling Greens of the world, in a region notorious for putting college sports on the backburner will be a storyline worth following. The MAC is already home to four of the bottom five programs in attendance, per the last published NCAA findings (compiled after the 2010 season). An Akron failing to crack 10,000 looks a lot less dismal than the same amount showing up to a 70,000-seat mega coliseum (ask Temple).
The Minutemen also have a relatively bare cupboard. Gone is 1000-yard rusher Jonathan Hernandez, as well as the top four receivers. Year One is the program’s theme for the 2012 campaign, signifying the first step in a larger process. Really hammering that home could be vital in what should be a taxing debut campaign.
UMass does ride into FBS with some worthwhile momentum. Breakout NFL star Victor Cruz is a UMass product and has publicized his loyalty to the program since winning the Super Bowl. The program also secured Charley Molnar as its first FBS head coach, a key contributor to exciting offenses at Cincinnati and Notre Dame.
VITALS
• Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
• 21,373 undergraduates
• Famous Alum: Bill Pullman (Not Bill Paxton)
• Five-Year Record: 33-26
• Recent Notable Achievements: 2006 FCS National Runner-Up; 2006 CAA Champion
HEAD COACH
Leading UMass into its first FBS season is first year head coach Charley Molnar. Molnar was Brian Kelly’s offensive coordinator for two seasons at Notre Dame, and was wide receivers/passing game coordinator at Cincinnati. Molnar has a proven offensive pedigree that should play nicely in the high tempo MAC, and he has MAC chops to back it. Molnar spent seasons at Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan before joining Kelly at Central Michigan in 2006.
Molnar’s tutelage could go a long way for quarterback Kellen Pagel. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Pagel has the physical attributes to excel as a drop back passer. Molnar will need to work the same kind of magic fine tuning Pagel’s accuracy that the coach worked with Tony Pike at UC.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tight end was a vital cog in Notre Dame’s offense last season, with Tommy Rees often targeting Tyler Eifert. Expect the same with the aforementioned Pagel hitting big Rob Blanchflower. Blanchflower should replace NFL bound Emil Igwenagu as a primary target in the passing game. Igwenagu caught three touchdown passes and 375 yards. Blanchflower went scoreless, but did receive to the tune of 205 yards.
And what the offense loses in terms of production from 2011, the defense retains. UMass boasted two of the nation’s best in both interceptions and sacks: cornerback Darren Thellen, and linebacker Perry McIntyre. McIntyre is a tenacious ball pursuer and rusher with NFL measurables.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Aug. 30 at Connecticut
Sept. 8 vs. Indiana
Sept. 15 at Michigan
Oct. 27 at Vanderbilt