AMHERST - Kellen Pagel didn't practice Thursday and has yet to go this week, leaving the University of Massachusetts sophomore quarterback's status for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game against Villanova in doubt.

Pagel suffered what UMass coach Kevin Morris called an "upper body injury" in last week's loss to Richmond. Pagel didn't play after missing a week of practice earlier in the season with a concussion, but rules are different for recovering from head injuries compared to other ailments. If Pagel can't start, redshirt freshman Brandon Hill would make his third career start.

Any late arrivals at Saturday's homecoming game might miss the most important part of the game. Getting off to a good start matters in football games at every level, but it's been particularly important to UMass in 2011, no matter who starts at quarterback.

The Minutemen are 5-0 in games when they've scored first and UMass has only won twice - against Rhode Island and Central Connecticut - when it's trailed at all and it's never won after trailing by more than a touchdown. In their three losses, the Minutemen have given up double-digit points before getting on the board as Old Dominion (25-0), Boston College (17-0) and New Hampshire (11-0) all left them in early holes that they never climbed out of.

In UMass last two wins, it took 21-0 leads on both Delaware and Richmond and dominated from there.

"We challenged the kids last week and they came out fast and played hard and had one of our best games of the year," Morris said. "Getting up 21-0 in those two games against Delaware and Richmond on the road is everything you want as a coach. There's such a small margin for error on the road and such a small margin for error in the CAA. When you're on the road and you can get out to a lead like that it opens some doors so when kids do make mistakes it's not going to kill the game."

The Wildcats arrive in Amherst at 1-8 (0-6 Colonial Athletic Association), as a disappointing season winds down. Morris said starting strong against a team that's struggling is critical to keep it from gaining confidence.

"Villanova is a young team that's lost some games, but they're getting a lot better. They just put up 400 yards on a good Maine defense in the snow. The quarterback is figuring it out," Morris said. "If we can get on him and shut them down early like we did against Richmond, that certainly will be a factor demoralizing the opponent to show them that there's no opportunity here. If you show them opportunity, they'll take advantage of it and we'll find ourselves in a tooth-and-nail battle throughout."

Quarterback play has been a problem all year for the Wildcats, who have started three different players under center and have rarely used just one in a game. They've combined to complete 129-of-243 passes for 1,403 yards, nine touchdown passes and 13 interceptions.

Last week's game against Maine marked the beginning of true freshman Chris Polony's second stint as the starting quarterback. Polony was 10-for-20 for 198 yards and three touchdowns and was intercepted once against the Black Bears. He's expected to start Saturday. Polony is 35-for-67 for 391 yards this season. He's thrown four TDs and four picks.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.