College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UMass Minutemen season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– UMass Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 1-11
Head Coach: Walt Bell, 2nd year, 1-11
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 129
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 130
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 128
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Offense 3 Things To Know
– Head coach Walt Bell is about offense. The former offensive coordinator at Florida State, Maryland and Arkansas State has a brutal task to try getting the UMass football program going, and it starts with being able to move the ball.
The O averaged fewer than 300 yards and 20 touchdown per game with no downfield passing game whatsoever and without enough of a ground attack to make up for it. Now it has to move on without its best offensive star.
Cam Roberson was the second-leading rusher with 355 yards and two scores, but now he’s likely being moved to wide receiver. JUCO transfer Ellis Merriweather is a 6-1, 220-pounder who’s built to carry the workload along with 225-pound senior Gilberto Torres.
– Four starters are expected to return back to a line that wasn’t miserable in pass protection, but didn’t do enough for the ground game. 6-7, 300-pound senior Larnel Coleman is a keeper at left tackles, and there’s decent size across the board.
– The passing game needs to be able to rely on a steady quarterback after four got a shot last year. 6-4, 215-pound JUCO transfer Kyle Lindquist was brought in to settle everything down, but 5-8, 170-pound Andrew Brito is back after seeing time throughout last season, throwing for 830 yards and seven scores with six picks.
Leading yardage receiver Zak Simon returns after catching 32 passes for 355 yards and two scores. Brennon Dingle is transferring to UTSA, Jessie Britt is transferring to Duquesne, and top tight end Kyle Horn is bolting.
However, 5-10, 165-pound sophomore Jermaine Johnson is back after leading the team with 37 grabs – he’s a short-range target and 6-1, 200-pound junior Samuel Emilus brings a little bulk – he caught 27 passes.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Defense 3 Things To Know
– Nine of the top 13 tacklers are expected back after finishing dead last in the nation in total defense, dead last in rushing defense, and dead last in passing efficiency defense.
It all starts up front with a line that has to start getting into the backfield and has to be a whole lot stronger against the run. Losing tackle Dennis Osagiede to Stephen F. Austin doesn’t help, but 290-pound Billy Wooden and 275-pound Wilson Frederic are back. 6-3, 260-pound senior Jake Byczco returns on the end – he made 34 tackles – but the pass rush mainly comes from the linebackers.
– Junior Chinedu Ogbonna led the team in sacks – he came up with a grand total of two, and a team-high nine tackles for loss. He’s back on the outside, and 6-1, 235-pound senior Cole McCubrey is back on the inside after leading the team with 84 stops.
Senior Mike Ruane takes back his spot on the outside after finishing second with 66 tackles, and 5-11, 190-pound junior Xavier Steele is back inside coming off a 42-stop season.
– The secondary that had such a hard time didn’t get any help from the pass rush, but it still needs more big plays overall. Josh Wallace is a decent-sized corner who made 33 stops with a pick, safety Logan Darby should be one of the team’s top tacklers, and and sophomore Elijah Johnson should play a much bigger role at another safety spot.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top UMass Minutemen Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top UMass Minutemen Players
Best UMass Minutemen Offensive Player
OT Larnel Coleman, Sr.
Able to play either tackle spot, the 6-7, 300-pounder turned into one of the bright spots on the offense with his play on the left side last year. He’s got a big frame, he’s durable, and he’s the team’s best pass protector. This year, he has more experience around him on what should be a much-improved line.
2. WR Zak Simon, Jr.
3. QB Kyle Lindquist, Jr.
4. WR Samuel Emilus, Jr.
5. RB Ellis Merriweather, Jr.
Best UMass Minutemen Defensive Player
LB Chinedu Ogbonna, Sr.
A rangy 6-2, 225-pounder on the outside, he plays the hybrid defensive end role but he’s mostly a linebacker. He only came up with 30 tackles, but he was the team’s best playmaker behind the line with two sacks and nine tackles for loss. With two years of starting experience under his belt, this is when he has to become more of a force.
2. LB Cole McCubrey, Sr.
3. LB Mike Ruane, Sr.
4. CB Josh Wallace, Soph.
5. LB Tyris Lebeau, Jr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The UMass Minutemen Offense
Out of all the issues the offense had in the first year under Walt Bell, the inability to get the ball foes the field was the biggest problem. The Minutemen averaged just 5.2 yards per pass with 15 touchdowns and 16 picks, and that’s where JUCO transfer Kyle Lindquist comes in.
The O failed to hit the five-yard-per-pass mark six times and didn’t get past seven against any FBS team. To put this into perspective, only 12 teams averaged fewer than six, and only Northwestern was more inept at getting the ball down the field.
Biggest Key To The UMass Minutemen Defense
Stop the run. Please. The Minutemen were dead last in the nation in run defense, and it wasn’t even close.
No one allowed more than 37 rushing touchdowns – UMass gave up 50.
No one allowed more than 3,200 rushing yards – UMass allowed almost 3,600. It gave up almost 50 yards mer per game than anyone else, giving away 299 per game with seven of the last ten teams on the slate coming up with well over 300. Akron was the only team to fail to hit the 200-yard mark.
New Mexico State was the only other team to allow more than six yards per carry – UMass allowed 6.54.
Nothing else works for the Minutemen this year until this is tightened up.
Key UMass Minutemen Player To A Successful Season
DT Billy Wooden, Soph.
6-2, 275-pound sophomore Wilson Frederic has to be a factor on the nose, and the 6-2, 290-pound Wooden has to rise up at tackle.
To keep hammering on this, nothing works for UMass this year. The run defense isn’t going to be a rock, but it has to stop being totally miserable. There might not be a ton of beef up front, but there are more options. Coming off a 19-tackle first season, Wooden – or someone – has to start gumming up the works.
Key Game To The UMass Minutemen Season
at Liberty, Nov. 28
Where is the program going to be at in late November? Obviously there’s no conference title to play for, and in this crazy year, just finding enough games to play are going to be tough. The goal under Walt Bell is to keep improving. Get the program in a position to be a whole lot better in 2021 and beyond, and the regular season finale will matter.
– UMass Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 UMass Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 260 – UMass 75
– Average Yards Per Catch: Opponents 14.5 – UMass 9.3
– Penalties: UMass 83 for 764 yards – Opponents 44 for 433 yards
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: UMass Minutemen Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
UMass hasn’t had a whole lot of fun since moving to the FBS world.
It sputtered and struggled in the MAC from 2012 to 2015, and it’s had an even rougher time overall after becoming an independent – the program has yet to win more than four games in the nine years at the higher level.
Last season was the ugliest yet, with a defense that allowed 44 points or more in every game but one, and with a defense that failed to establish any sort of a positive identity.
There needed to be a total overhaul in the first year under Walt Bell, and it’s still going to take a while for the program to be more competitive. 14 players – and counting – are transferring out, but it’s not like the team did anything with them.
It’ll be another year with a combination of a youth movement along with a few select JUCO transfers, and it’s going to be another year when the program tries to find a positive identity.
Can the Minutemen beat UConn and New Mexico State? How can it handle Liberty? Auburn is the only Power Five team on the slate – if that’s still on – and there should be more than enough 50/50 games to hope for at least something positive.
It’ll be a better season than 2019. Start with that.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
