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.

Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook newsfeed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage?ref=ts.