UMass Football: Minutemen face big test against No. 21 Missouri on Saturday

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook (12) looks to pass against Texas A&M during the first half Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook (12) looks to pass against Texas A&M during the first half Saturday in College Station, Texas. AP

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

Staff Writer

Published: 10-07-2024 5:13 PM

Modified: 10-07-2024 9:05 PM


With its MAC tour wrapped up after a 34-20 loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday, the 1-5 UMass football team turns its attention to the SEC portion of its schedule. The Minutemen host No. 21 Missouri on Saturday at noon on ESPN2, the only time this season they’ll play on linear television and the first time they’re hosting a ranked opponent at McGuirk Alumni Stadium since moving up to FBS in 2012.

UMass is 0-9 against ranked opponents in its FBS history, with a 63-19 loss to Northern Illinois at Gillette Stadium in 2013 marking the only one of those games that didn’t occur on the road.

The Minutemen are 0-10 in their history against the SEC – they’ve played Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State (twice), South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt (three times), but this is their first matchup with the Tigers, who will be the first SEC opponent to play at McGuirk. Following the Missouri game, UMass gets a bye and an FCS matchup against Wagner before two road games in November against SEC opponents – Mississippi State on Nov. 2 and No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 23.

The game with Missouri was scheduled five years ago. UMass had hosted fellow SEC opponent Mississippi State at Gillette Stadium in 2016, but preferred to host future games on campus. In the years since, Missouri gauged Bamford’s willingness to move the game to eastern Massachusetts, but he wouldn’t budge.

“I thought, boy, a chance to play a home-and-home, get an SEC opponent in our building,” Bamford said. “How often does that happen?”

When UMass and Missouri scheduled the game, the Tigers were less than a decade into their move from the Big 12 to the SEC and looking to save some money by scheduling a home-and-home series instead of paying UMass for a one-time trip to Columbia, Mo. Now, they’re coming off an 11-win season and a Cotton Bowl victory, and though a 41-10 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday dulled the shine of UMass hosting an undefeated, top-10 team, Saturday’s game still represents the highest-profile opponent to ever travel to McGuirk.

At Monday’s press conference, head coach Don Brown and wide receiver T.Y. Harding agreed that Saturday’s contest with Missouri would be UMass’ biggest game of its FBS history.

“Yeah. I mean, SEC, it gets no bigger than that,” Brown said. “Obviously, our guys are going to have an opportunity to make history.”

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“So far, I would say yeah, for sure, especially coming to McGuirk,” Harding added. “We’ve played SEC opponents before, but definitely coming to McGuirk, I feel like this is one of the biggest times in FBS.”

When speaking with the Gazette in September, Bamford said UMass sold more tickets a month before the game than any other game in its FBS history.

“Everything is pointing toward a sellout and that’s certainly our goal,” Bamford said. “I think we may even get there before the week of the game.”

Per the latest numbers, UMass is expecting between 14,000 and 15,000 fans on Saturday, a mark it has hit four times as an FBS team.

The Minutemen drew McGuirk’s capacity (17,000) in their first game at McGuirk as an FBS team against Bowling Green in 2014. They also hit 14,000 at McGuirk in 2014 (15-10 loss to Kent State, 15,217), 2016 (31-24 loss to Tulane, 14,892) and 2023 (31-21 win over FCS Merrimack, 14,672). UMass drew more than 17,000 eight times between 1965 and 1973, when it was an FCS program.

UMass announced attendance at 12,810 against Eastern Michigan in the season opener on Aug. 31 and 10,847 against Central Connecticut State in the homecoming game on Sept. 21. Both were 3:30 p.m. starts.

But for fans looking at their schedules at the beginning of the season, this was the marquee game. After months – if not years – of buildup, Saturday’s noon kickoff is just days away.

“To get a Missouri at McGuirk,” Bamford said. “I thought it was something we couldn’t pass up.”