Monday, November 2, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
Prognosis: It would take a miracle now..
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Sunday, October 25, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
IN THE BOOKS - 4-2
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS
Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook WIN
Oct. 10 at Delaware LOSS
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire - WIN
Oct. 24 at Richmond - LOSS
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Oct. 31 at Maine (W) - I'm lisiting this as a win. But I'm taking my chances because UMass hasn't played well on the road.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are still terrible.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (?) - The Minutemen have played great at home and Dukes have nothing to play for..
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (?) - In Amherst this is certainly a projected win, but the Minutemen have never played well in Hempstead..
Prognosis: UMass is 4-3 with six projected wins now, three losses, and two toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable
of winning at home. UMass
still has to prove itself on the road. But if it wins the two projected wins and both toss-ups, playoffs will be sewn up.
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Monday, October 19, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
IN THE BOOKS - 4-2
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS
Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook WIN
Oct. 10 at Delaware LOSS
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire - WIN
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) - Still looks like a long shot.
Oct. 31 at Maine (W) - Status change here. Saturday's win certainly makes UMass the favorite over Maine.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are still terrible.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (?) - The Minutemen have played great at home and Dukes have nothing to play for..
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (?) - In Amherst this is certainly a projected win, but the Minutemen have never played well in Hempstead..
Prognosis: UMass is 4-2 with six projected wins now, three
projected losses, and two toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable
of winning at home. UMass
still has to prove itself on the road.
Still UMass' chances improved drastically after winning Saturday.
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Monday, October 12, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
IN THE BOOKS - 3-2
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS
Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook WIN
Oct. 10 at Delaware LOSS
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire (L) - New Hampshire might pass better than Delaware
Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) - Still looks like a long shot.
Oct. 31 at Maine (?) - Maine is starting to pass a little better and UMass struggled to defend it.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are still terrible.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (L) - JMU nearly upset Richmond.
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (?) - The Pride is all but impossible to predict after beating JMU.
Prognosis: UMass is 3-2 with four projected wins now, five
projected losses, and two toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable
of beating bad teams. UMass
still has to prove itself on the road or against good teams.
They'll have to improve considerably from Saturday's loss to Delaware to have a chance.
Follow the Gazette UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.
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Monday, October 5, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
IN THE BOOKS - 3-1
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS
Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook WIN
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Oct. 10 at Delaware (?) - Beating Maine doesn't really shed much light on how good Delaware is.
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire (?) -New Hampshire will try to take down Villanova on Saturday
Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) - Still looks like a long shot.
Oct. 31 at Maine (W) -A once promising Maine team no longer looks like a playoff squad.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are still terrible.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (?) - After losing to Hofstra, the Dukes are suddenly suspect.
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (?) - The Pride is all but impossible to predict after beating JMU.
Prognosis: UMass is 3-1 with five projected wins now, two
projected losses, and four toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable
of beating bad teams. UMass
still has to prove itself as a good road team.
So if the Minutemen can hold serve on projected wins they'd likely
need to get at least three victories from the uncertain group or the
projected losses to get to 8-3 which would assure them a bid.
Follow the Gazette UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.
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Monday, September 28, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
IN THE BOOKS - 3-1
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS
Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook WIN
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Oct. 10 at Delaware (?) - The Blue Hens fell to William & Mary this week. Can Delaware beat a good team? Is UMass a good team?
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire (?) - New Hampshire has back-to-back easy wins (Dartmouth, Towson) before playing Villanova on Oct. 10
Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) -VMI was tougher than expected for Richmond, but the Spiders are still No. 1
Oct. 31 at Maine (W) -Maine hung with Syracuse for a while, but the Black Bears still haven't shown an ability to win against even decent teams.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are still terrible.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (L) - The Dukes have shown well so far.
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (W) - Any preseason optimism surrounding the Pride looks a little unfounded now.
Prognosis: UMass is 3-1 with six projected wins now, three
projected losses, and two toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable
of beating bad teams and Maine and Hofstra look fairly lousy now. UMass
still has to prove itself as a good road team, but Maine and Hofstra
have yet to prove themselves anywhere.
So if the Minutemen can hold serve on projected wins they'd likely
need to get at least two victories from the uncertain group or the
projected losses to get to 8-3 which would assure them a bid.
Follow the Gazette UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.
Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook newsfeed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage?ref=ts.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
PATH TO POSTSEASON
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
IN THE BOOKS - 2-1
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS -
Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN -
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN -
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook (W) - The Sea Wolves haven't shown anything that would make an upset seem likely.
Oct. 10 at Delaware (?) - The Blue Hens go to William & Mary this wee, which should be a test of how legitimate either of those teams really are.
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire (?) - New Hampshire has back-to-back easy wins (Dartmouth, Towson) before playing Villanova on Oct. 10
Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) -Hofstra was no match for the mighy Spiders.
Oct. 31 at Maine (W) -Notice the status change here. Maine blew a lead and lost to Albany. The Black Beats have yet to play well.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are terrible.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (L) - The Dukes have shown well so far.
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (W) - Status change here too. Any preseason optimism surrounding the Pride looks a little unfounded now.
Prognosis: UMass is 2-1 with five projected wins now, three projected losses, and two toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable of beating bad teams and Maine and Hofstra look fairly lousy now. UMass still has to prove itself as a good road team, but Maine and Hofstra have yet to prove themselves anywhere.
So if the Minutemen can hold serve on projected wins they'd likely need to get at least two victories from the uncertain group or the projected losses to get to 8-3 which would assure them a bid.
Follow the Gazette UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances of reaching the postseason.
* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.
* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.
* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.
I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.
Currently: 0-1
Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)
Sept. 5 at Kansas State LOSS - The Minutemen played well, but lost.
Sept. 12 vs. Albany (W) - Albany nearly upset Georgia Southern. Does that mean Albany is very good or that GSU is down. Still UMass is the favorite.
Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island (W) - Rhody smoked Fordham. But there are still questions in Kingston.
Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook (W) - The Sea Wolves fell at Hofstra and hasn't shown anything that would make an upset seem likely.
Oct. 10 at Delaware (?) - After beating Division II West Chester, the questions about the Blue Hens have yet to be answered.
Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire (?) - New Hampshire didn't exactly shine in beating St. Francis. This is a home game.
Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) - After Richmond beat Duke, the Spiders look that much tougher to beat.
Oct. 31 at Maine (?) - Maine barely beat St. Cloud State, with some key players injured. Still a toss-up.
Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies continue to run in quicksand.
Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (L) - Are the Minutemen good enough to beat a top 10 team?
Nov. 21 at Hofstra (?) - Beating Stony Brook is a good start, but hardly proves anything.
Prognosis: The Minutemen are 0-1. That leaves UMass with four projected wins, two projected losses, and four toss-ups. To make the postseason the
Minutemen would need to win all four maybes to finish 8-3 and assure
itself a playoff spot.
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twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook
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