UMass football fires on all cylinders
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AMHERST - Northeastern and McGuirk Stadium proved to be a panacea Saturday for all of the University of Massachusetts football team's woes.
The Minutemen dominated from the opening kickoff to the closing whistle and crushed the Huskies 37-7 before a home crowd of 6,725.
Whether an effective running game lifted the Minutemen's struggling passing game or a resurgent air attack hoisted the ground game is debatable. Either way, the UMass offense, which had struggled of late, was effective both passing and throwing. Reducing turnovers helped both aspects of the offense.
Quarterback Kyle Havens, who had been turnover-prone in recent weeks, was not intercepted and completed 15 of 21 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.
When UMass coach Kevin Morris inserted backup quarterback Scott Woodward, it was because the Minutemen were comfortably ahead 34-0.
"It's amazing what happens when you don't turn the ball over," Morris said. "We came out today and played turnover-free until the end of the game.
"Kyle had a great day throwing the ball and spreading it around," he added. "All in all, if we continue to play like that, like we did earlier in the year, we'll be in great shape."
Havens said he hopes the game is the start of success.
"It feels good. I had a long week, but this feels good," Havens said. "If we can keep this rolling and not turn the ball over like we did today, I think we'll be good over the next couple weeks."
The offense started slowly for UMass (5-4, 3-3 Colonial Athletic Association) but gathered momentum. Armando Cuko's 30-yard field goal put the Minutemen ahead 3-0 with 6 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
After forcing a punt by the Huskies (1-8, 1-5 CAA), Jeromy Miles ran a fake punt 32 yards to keep the ensuing UMass drive alive. On another fourth-down play, The Minutemen went for it on fourth down again and tailback Tony Nelson punched the ball in from the 1-yard line to put UMass up 10-0.
"UMass has been running that fake-punt play since Jesus was in sandals," Northeastern coach Rocky Hager said. "We flat-out did not fit up."
Morris said the play gave his team a lift.
"Jeromy had a great run. It got that offense right back on the field," Morris said. "Certainly it's a great momentum-builder for us. It's demoralizing when it happens to you."
It led to the first of three TDs for Nelson, who was healthy enough for heavy duty for the first time since September. The senior had 20 carries for 116 yards and did not play after the third quarter.
"Being able to run the ball like that helps," Havens said. "It takes pressure off of me when its third-and-three instead of third and 10."
After another Northeastern punt, Nelson finished the next Minuteman drive again with a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 17-0.
UMass rolled from there.
Victor Cruz (five catches, 88 yards) caught an 11-yard TD pass and Cuko made a 36-yard field goal to put the Minutemen ahead 27-0 at halftime.
After Nelson's nine-yard TD run in the third quarter, UMass began inserting subs.
Northeastern's only score came on an interception as Chad Hunte returned Woodward's first pass 51 yards for a touchdown four seconds into the fourth quarter.
Cuko added a 35-yard field goal with 8:34 left to close out the scoring.
Despite playing without top linebacker Tyler Holmes, who missed the game with post-concussion syndrome, the Minuteman defense dominated throughout and allowed a season-low 145 yards of total offense.
"It was a great job by the defense," Morris said. "They threw a shutout and did everything you could ask."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.
