After bye week, UMass football prepares for Wagner – Massachusetts Daily Collegian

After the first of two bye weeks, the Massachusetts football program finds itself in an unenviable position.

A seven-week series featuring five Mid-American Conference opponents and one FCS school resulted in a 1-6 record for the Minutemen. Of UMass’s five remaining games, two are on the road against Southeastern Conference schools and two are against a top program outside of power in Liberty, along with a regional rival that is having a breakout season in UConn.

The other game is on Saturday against Wagner. The Minutemen defeated Central Connecticut State in their first meeting against an FCS school in 2024, and given they have several weeks to prepare for a similarly ranked Seahawks squad (4-4, 2-1 Northeast), the odds are stacked on Saturday was better for UMass than any of its other remaining matchups.

“There’s never anything wrong with rest,” head coach Don Brown said. “We tried that [during our bye week] But we also tried to make sure we paid attention to our techniques and fundamentals…[we] I feel really good about our preparation and now we’re back into game week.”

“I think the bye week was good for us,” center Josh Atwood said. “It was a good restart. Some guys went home, some guys stayed here and just rested, and I think it’s just good for everyone to get a quick little mental break before we focus on the second half of the season.”

Wagner’s success in 2024 is largely due to his defense. The Seahawks enter Saturday with the 10th-best defense in the entire FCS, giving up just under 300 yards per game. Pass stopping has been the unit’s greatest strength, as only two teams have thrown for more than 200 yards against Wagner this season.

With that in mind, the wide receiver room will once again be critical to the Minutemen’s success. While Jakobie Keeney-James has been a reliable throwing weapon for Taisun Phommachanh, Wagner’s secondary will likely rely on the experienced pass catcher. That means one or two secondary targets need to be strengthened for Phommachanh and UMass; Receivers who could benefit include TY Harding, Jacquon Gibson and Sterling Galban.

On offense, the Seahawks balance strong pass defense with high-volume aerial attacks. Brown expressed surprise during Monday’s press conference at how often Wagner has used quarterback Jake Cady lately. The senior threw for more than 200 yards on 77 total attempts in his last two starts and most recently recorded a season-high 290 yards against Saint Francis.

Like the Minutemen with Keeney-James, Wagner also has a receiver of choice in sophomore Jaylen Bonelli. The reigning NEC Rookie of the Year has accumulated 588 receiving yards in eight games, good for 17th in the FCS. No other Seahawks player has surpassed 200 receiving yards this season.

“I actually think so [Wagner’s offense is] I’m going to follow their MO from a week ago,” Brown said. “Probably one of our strengths is passing, and to be honest I was really happy with our back seven.”

The Seahawks have already played one game against an FBS school in 2024 when the program headed south to face Florida Atlantic in September. Wagner lost 41-10 to a struggling Owls team and allowed 572 yards and 24 points in the second half.

Unfortunately for Brown and Co., the second half of UMass’ schedule doesn’t contain many winnable games that could inspire optimism for the program heading into 2025. In its second and final contest against an FCS opponent this season, a positive performance on Saturday could be a big confidence boost for the Minutemen before the contest picks up steam again.

“I want to see [more from] virtually every position group,” Brown said. “I mean, guys, we won a game. We have to be better, and proximity is not enough. So everyone needs to speed up their work, everyone has their techniques and fundamentals to work on, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Saturday’s game begins at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.