Like most football coaches, Don Brown of the University of Massachusetts likes to fire off the "one game at a time" cliche and point out at the start of each year that it's a new season and nothing that's happened before affects the current team.

But in reality, the Minutemen are products of their past and while they've been good at not looking too far ahead, the lessons they've learned over the past 2½ years have been valuable ones.

On Saturday at Northeastern, UMass found itself in the latest of quite a few nail-biters. While the Minutemen found themselves down after several key mistakes, they never panicked. They had been there before and knew they could pull the game out if they kept their heads - and in the end came away with a 28-24 victory.

"Experience serves you well. Holy Cross was a great example," Brown said. "Things didn't go our way all day, but we found a way to win (45-42). (Saturday) was a back-and-forth scenario. But we found a way to win the football game.

"Our guys know how to compete and stay with it for 60 minutes regardless of how the situations are going," Brown added. "The more times you're there and are successful in those situation, the more confidence it gives your guys. When you're in those situations and have positive experiences, you know how to keep your head, stay focused and just keep playing the game."

That level of focus has kept the Minutemen from suffering many upsets.

UMass is 27-7 since the beginning of the 2006 season. Three of those losses came against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. Three more came against teams ranked in the top 10 of the Football Championship Subdivision and two of those were on the road and the other on a neutral field at the national championship.

Only once has UMass lost to team that on paper was clearly inferior - Rhode Island last year - and it came in hurricane-like conditions.

That's a long time to go without a legitimate letdown.

JAMES MADISON HOLDS ON - With three minutes, 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter Saturday, Richmond had to figure the worst it was facing was overtime. The Spiders held a 31-23 lead over No. 1 ranked James Madison which needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion just to get to overtime.

The Dukes marched 63 yards on seven plays (six runs) and scored on Eugene Holloman's 8-yard run. Quarterback Rodney Landers then hit Griff Yancey for the two-point conversion with 59 seconds left.

"We thought it was going to overtime," James Madison coach Mickey Matthews said.

The Spiders kept the ball in the air, trying to keep the clock alive for a game-tying field goal. But their drive stalled at their own 34-yard line, forcing a punt with 18 seconds left. Brian Radford was supposed to do anything but kick the ball to Scotty McGee, the league's leading punt returner.

But he did exactly that and McGee returned it 69 yards for the touchdown, as he crossed the goal line with one second left for the 38-31 win.

"Unfortunately, he got it kicked right to him," Richmond coach Mike London said. "Even still, we've got to cover. If we tackle (McGee), they've got to go 50 or 60 yards with 18 seconds left, and you still feel pretty good about your chances."

CHANGES NEAR THE TOP - Delaware's surprising 27-10 loss at home to Maine and William & Mary's 38-34 upset of New Hampshire Saturday changed the expectations for the second half as the season passed its midpoint.

The Blue Hens, who are now 2-4, are out of the playoff race. Their only wins are against Albany and Division II West Chester and haven't shown they can beat any team of significance.

It's hard to say whether William & Mary is much better than people thought or New Hampshire isn't as good. The Tribe (3-2), which only plays 11 games this season, is still in the playoff hunt. They close their season at James Madison and at home against Richmond, but until then their four opponents (Delaware, Rhode Island, Towson, Northeastern) all have records under .500.

At 3-3, Maine has a shot at the postseason as well. With games against Richmond and James Madison already behind them, the Black Bears would likely need to upset UMass (Nov. 8) and UNH (Nov. 22) to have a chance, but they're in better shape than they've been in recent years.

POLL POSITIONING - UMass is a top-10 team again, moving up four spots to No. 7 in the FCS Coaches Poll and up three to No. 10 in the Sports Network Top 25.

James Madison remained at No. 1 in both polls after escaping Richmond. The Spiders fell to No. 9 both polls. Villanova vaulted over Richmond in the Sports Network poll at No. 7, but is still one spot behind the Spiders at No. 10 in the coaches poll.

New Hampshire fell to No. 11 in both polls, while Delaware fell out of both top 25s.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Richmond at UMass, 3:30 p.m., Saturday, CN8 - It's hard to believe that a team picked as high as the Spiders could be facing a must-win game in mid-October, but that's the reality with a 4-3 team. It's not impossible that Richmond could get in the playoffs at 8-4, but that's hardly a risk it would like to take.

If the Spiders can get by the Minutemen, games against Hofstra, Delaware and Georgetown all look winnable, leaving the season-ending game at William & Mary as the toughest challenge left.

UMass is protecting a 16-game home winning streak as well as trying to improve its playoff positioning. A loss would put the Minutemen in the same place as Richmond, likely needing to win the rest of their games to earn a playoff berth.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: William & Mary quarterback Jake Phillips was named the Colonial Athletic Association offensive player of the week after he completed 30-of-40 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tribe's come-from-behind win over New Hampshire. The last of the TD throws came with 22 seconds left in the game.

Defensive player of the week Jovan Belcher of Maine had seven tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in the Black Bears' win over Delaware.

McGee won the league's special teams player of the week largely for his game-winning punt return for a touchdown. He also finished with 100 return yards and broke James Madison's career kick-return touchdown mark with his fifth.

Brock Jackolski of Hofstra was named rookie of the week after he rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns and added 125 return yards in the Pride's 45-31 win over Bucknell.

LEAGUE LEADERS - UMass junior tailback Tony Nelson's 175 rushing yards Saturday moved him to the top of the league's rushing leaders at 123.5 yards per game on the ground. He has 134 carries for 741 yards through six games.

Minuteman junior receiver Victor Cruz easily leads the CAA in receiving yards per game with 103.3, more than 20 yards ahead of No. 2 Mike Boyle of New Hampshire (82.8).

Brett Arnold leads the conference in punting at 44.5 yards per game.

Information from personal interviews, newspaper articles and sports information releases was used in this report. Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/category/sports/umass-sports.