UMASS UNH @ Gillette DEAL

[theUofNH09]

$12 ticket deal on Groupon, going quickly though

http://www.groupon.com/deals/u-mass-athletics-october

Anyone know how attendance is looking? Tough to tell I assume as most people I know that are going were planning on buying tickets game day

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Most people I know already bought their tickets, but then again I hang out with season ticket holders and other hard core fans.

[EmeryZach]

Really bummed that I can't go. I was looking forward to it, but something came up. Should be a really good game.

[DrG]

Good story from the paper that covers UMass:

http://www.gazettenet.com/2010/10/20/ads-warm-idea-away-game

They hope to top 25,000, and the weather forecast looks great.

[VBR_Productions]

"Because New Hampshire was scheduled to host UMass this year, the Wildcats will be the home team and receive a financial guarantee of $85,000 from Gillette Stadium according to McCutcheon. Next year, the Minutemen will be the home team and will receive the same compensation."

That's not exactly $100K's to play an FBS school, but it's good coin considering you're playing a conference foe.

[Mattymc727]

"Because New Hampshire was scheduled to host UMass this year, the Wildcats will be the home team and receive a financial guarantee of $85,000 from Gillette Stadium according to McCutcheon. Next year, the Minutemen will be the home team and will receive the same compensation."

That's not exactly $100K's to play an FBS school, but it's good coin considering you're playing a conference foe.

And considering UNH wouldnt make nearly that much with a home game at Cowell, even with great attendance.

[Sader87]

This was a fabulous idea....I would think there are far more UMass and UNH alumni living within an hour or so radius of Foxboro than within a similar radius in either Amherst or Durham.

[emilimo701]

yyeeaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!

[Wildcat80]

Perfect weather on tap.....UNH on a roll?? Hope so! Beat UMass!!!!

[Bogus Megapardus]

The sportsbook line is New Hampshire (-5.5) vs Massachusetts.

[theUofNH09]

Do you think they will be enforcing the 12:30 tailgate start time? I was hoping to get things going around 10 or 11. I know the Foxboro and State Police can be rather strict with some of the concerts I've been to recently there.

[MinuteFan]

Should be a fun day. Always a great game, and the underdog often wins.
Game analysis is pretty simple. Umass runs for 175-200 yds, they win. UNH will stack the box to stop the run. If they can, and Havens has to throw to win it, its turnover time and UNH wins. That's how it played out last year. Havens tossed 2 picks in 2nd half, coaches took the ball out of his hands, and Hernandez ran us to victory in the 4th quarter. Hernandez and Griffin need to do the same this year.

[UMass922]

25,000+ would be awesome. Can't wait!

[Wildcat80]

30,000 at Gillette on a beautiful day for CAA North football!!! Go Cats!! Turnovers will win it!!

[R3TRO]

I'll probably be the only UNH/UMass fan on the board today.... at least I get CSNNE at work, so I can watch it. Normally I would be bummed to work on the weekend, except I don't get CSNNE at home. xcoolx

[Mattymc727]

R3TRO, I will be on here, i get CSNNE and I hope this clash looks as awesome on tv as I hear its going to be

[UNHFootballAlum]

30,000 at Gillette on a beautiful day for CAA North football!!! Go Cats!! Turnovers will win it!!

I agree...turnovers will win it. The team that wins this battle and the field position battle will win today.

[Sam Adams]

should be a good one. Massachusetts will have to be able to pass the ball to be successful today especially if UNH stacks the box as another poster predicted. With the WM victory over UD today - the CAA is back to being wide open - this is a huge game.

[UNH Fanboi]

R3TRO, I will be on here, i get CSNNE and I hope this clash looks as awesome on tv as I hear its going to be

I'm out of town and watching this game at a bar. I'll probably be checking in here via blackberry

[umassfan]

Is the game online anywhere?

[EmeryZach]

Nope. Not streaming anywhere.

[R3TRO]

So pumped for this one. Can't wait to see how big the crowd is.

[umassfan]

Guess im stuck radioing it for the first time in a long time

[UNH Fanboi]

We've gotten pretty lucky so far and are up by more than we should. I like what i see from Peters so far; Toman has been a little off but hasnt done anything stupid. I'd like to see us wear them down with Peters and milk our lead, but try for a big strike to go for the jugular ...huge play by Umass as i write this...we cant rest on our laurels

[Jackman]

wtf is wrong with us?

[Sam Adams]

UMass being outplayed but hanging around. UMass needs to score some points before the half.

[Jackman]

we'll see what more we can do to give this game away in the second half

[Sam Adams]

Kyle Havens playing like crap again takes a sack that he could not afford to take - fails to throw the ball away (again). Where is the Kyle Havens that played against Michigan?

[UNH Fanboi]

2 missed FGs, a turnover on a punt and fumble on a handoff = UNH up 15-0 at half. Havens looking good far. UNH needs to keep running while it's working, but not telegraph it...we had a similar lead against URI and blew it...need to stay on our toes

[Jackman]

also the fg we didn't attempt because of the delay of game penalty

[UNHFootballAlum]

This is the best I've seen RJ Toman play in the past 2 years. he is making crisp and good decisions with the football. The OL is finally getting some push up front and the addition of Setian in the backfield has been money.

[R3TRO]

Can I get an update?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Can I get an update?

29-0 UNH with about 13 minutes left. UNH was punting out of their own endzone when my local comcast affiliate switched over to the Phillies pre-game show.

[R3TRO]

UNH is playing some good ball heading into their bye week. UNH wins 39-13, all of the points given up were in the 4th quarter, mostly against backups.

[Jackman]

UMass is finished until the coaching staff is replaced. Give them 4 months to prepare and they can craft a very good gameplan (see W&M, Michigan, Kansas State and starting 3-1 last year). Once they have to do it on a week-to-week basis it's non-stop cluster*****s, two seasons in a row.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I watched some of this game since it was on our local Comcast channel. UNH looked very good and seems to be hitting their stride at just the right time.

I have no idea how they lost to URI but i have to believe they would beat them easily if the played again. Umass is really in freefall mode right now.

[R3TRO]

Did we get a total attendance yet? I only got a chance to watch the first half but didn't hear anything.

[rcny46]

Did we get a total attendance yet? I only got a chance to watch the first half but didn't hear anything.



I think it was 32K and change.

[R3TRO]

I think it was 32K and change.

Amazing! I can only imagine that next year will be bigger.

[UNHWildCats]

I watched some of this game since it was on our local Comcast channel. UNH looked very good and seems to be hitting their stride at just the right time.

I have no idea how they lost to URI but i have to believe they would beat them easily if the played again. Umass is really in freefall mode right now.
they had the game won but fumbled late and the fumble was returhned for the winning TD... granted they never should have been in that position. They also easily could have won the Maine game. And I know this last part will sound stupid... but take away the two 50+ yard scoring plays for Pittsburgh and its only a 24-16 loss. This UNH team is still VERY VERY good, they just had misfortune in two games, otherwise they are 6-1 and in the drivers seat in the CAA.

[UNHWildCats]

correct
32,848

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

correct
32,848

That's extremely impressive. You could tell on TV the crowd was good.

Temple-'Nova at the Linc had 32k. Granted, there were only about 1500 'Nova fans but that's another story.

[umassfan]

As I mentioned last week... the start of our season was fools gold. We are not a good team. We are young but that isnt the issue... Our coaching staff is bad. I still believe they were hired because of money and not because they were any good. I just dont want to see a free fall like what happened in basketball and then have UMass join the NEC or something crazy like that. We would never recover. I wonder how many years are left on the Morris contract. UMass has a history of not firing coaches but just not re hiring them or appointing them to university jobs instead. Very hard to watch right now. Heck I didnt even pay attention to this game after the punt issue. I had a feeling it would free fall. I wake up early(work grave) to watch this crap and figured this week it wasnt worth the time. Thats pretty bad.

[R3TRO]

I don't think UMass is as terrible as you are describing.

[Old Cat Fan]

Little Kraft at haltime interview said he would love for Gillette Stadium to be home for a Mass college, well UNH needs a new stadium. Problem solved, don't even have to change the color scheme off the place xnodx Anyways great game for the Cats they are getting better every week and with the bye coming, now's a good chance to rest up and make the final run for the playoffs, as for Mass. I kept waiting for the team that gave Michagan a scare in the big house out front of 100000 plus to to come alive but thankfully never did xchinscratchx

[R3TRO]

It was good to see UNH in all blue's today. I like that combo the best!

[UMass922]

Just got back from Foxboro. UMass sucked today, but otherwise, it was great day for New England college football. 32, 848! I think it's safe to say that the Clash was a success, and hopefully it will be a fixture for years to come. I'm already excited about going back next year!

[UNH72Plus]

Just got home from Foxborough. Great day for football, great venue, great win for the Wildcats. Toman was impressive, although he was helped out by several great catches by his receivers. UMass looked like UNH of days past - the punt hitting the cover man, the lost fumble, 2 dumb "12 men on the field" penalties, a missing in action kicking game, and pinning UNH at their own 1 yard line only to give up a 99 yard scoring drive!

Got to give some props to the UMass fans, when the UNH band marched onto the field before the game, the biggest round of applause came from the ZooMass Band. Classy bunch of kids!

Looking forward to next year's game. Except for the traffic jam trying to leave.

[VT Wildcat Fan53]

correct
32,848

On the way out, one of the traffic / parking guys thought the # of cars represented a huge, Patriot-like crowd. He estimated that a large # of college age fans (maybe 10K +?) never made it out of the parking lot tailgates!

Whatever the real crowd size, it was a great event, .... made even better by UNH's continued resurgence against a 3rd straight ranked team.

[GeeWiz]

Watched a lot of this game on TV and I was surprised how one-sided it turned out.

Excellent atmosphere! Nice to see the that Tom Yeager was there (did a TV appearance at halftime).

Reminded me a little of the NU-UMass contest at old Foxboro in 1991 (which I attended) except there were more fans, good weather and much better field conditions!

[UNHFootballAlum]

they had the game won but fumbled late and the fumble was returhned for the winning TD... granted they never should have been in that position. They also easily could have won the Maine game. And I know this last part will sound stupid... but take away the two 50+ yard scoring plays for Pittsburgh and its only a 24-16 loss. This UNH team is still VERY VERY good, they just had misfortune in two games, otherwise they are 6-1 and in the drivers seat in the CAA..

The big difference between the URI & Masine games and teh UR, JMU & UMASS games is that UNH has stopped turning the ball over. it is that simple. it is hard to overcome those errors no matter who you play.

[Old Cat Fan]

correct
32,848

One of the Comcast guys Tanguay or the other guy said it was a CAA record anyone know if this is true or not

[UMass922]

One of the Comcast guys Tanguay or the other guy said it was a CAA record anyone know if this is true or not

They announced that at the stadium, too, FWIW.

[UNHWildCats]

One of the Comcast guys Tanguay or the other guy said it was a CAA record anyone know if this is true or not
Sounds about right. Delaware has the largest stadium in the CAA correct? And it doesnt come close to this attendance... So unless other CAA teams have faced off in a major college stadium or NFL stadium I dont see how this cant be the record quite comfortably...

[R3TRO]

CAA record.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sportscollegesports/889268-222/colonial-clash-draws-caa-record-32848-fans.html

[EmeryZach]

UMass really just seemed to have no effort today. It's getting to that point in the season where UMass always seems to start stumbling (recently at least). The coaches need to find a way to get these kids heads back in the game.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

UMass really just seemed to have no effort today. It's getting to that point in the season where UMass always seems to start stumbling (recently at least). The coaches need to find a way to get these kids heads back in the game.

Having seen Richmond play UNH and Umass in consecutive weeks, I really thought Umass would come out and have a big performance and win this game.

I was not only surprised that UNH won, but particularly with the margin. What's the problem in Amherst? 2 weeks ago, Umass looked like a Title Contender, now they'll struggle to make the playoffs. Is coaching the problem?

I'm not trying to flame. Umass is just too talented for these last two results.

[WrenFGun]

Having seen Richmond play UNH and Umass in consecutive weeks, I really thought Umass would come out and have a big performance and win this game.

I was not only surprised that UNH won, but particularly with the margin. What's the problem in Amherst? 2 weeks ago, Umass looked like a Title Contender, now they'll struggle to make the playoffs. Is coaching the problem?

I'm not trying to flame. Umass is just too talented for these last two results.

I think the answer is really that R.J. Toman is playing better, and so UNH, as a whole, is suddenly a real threat. The rest of the pieces (RB with Peters, WR with Fox and Orlando, TE with Jeannot, Defense) are all there, but Toman's got to do his share. For the last 6 quarters he has been pretty good and thus we've taken care of business (53-13 in the last six quarters, I believe, and most of that 13 came after UNH pulled their defensive starters in the 4th).

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

I think the answer is really that R.J. Toman is playing better, and so UNH, as a whole, is suddenly a real threat. The rest of the pieces (RB with Peters, WR with Fox and Orlando, TE with Jeannot, Defense) are all there, but Toman's got to do his share. For the last 6 quarters he has been pretty good and thus we've taken care of business (53-13 in the last six quarters, I believe, and most of that 13 came after UNH pulled their defensive starters in the 4th).

While that would account for some of it, it doesn't explain a complete blowout. It also doesn't explain their losing to a Quarterback-less Richmond last week.

[NHwildEcat]

I had a wedding to attend last night so I DVR'd the game and just finished watching it and I have to say I was impressed with how well UNH played on all facets of the game. They seem to have gotten on the right track and looking at the remainder of the schedule it would seem that winning 2 out of 3 may in fact get them into the playoffs. I also have to note the discipline from the entire team...you never want to get penalized and UNH seems to have found a way to play sound football all over the field. VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!

[Jackman]

This is the exact same UMass team that we saw on the field against Stony Brook, Towson and Richmond. The difference in final scores the last four games was simply a matter of the level of our competition. We apparently do not have a coaching staff capable of addressing the problems that started with Stony Brook, because every game since then has been the same.

The question is what happened between the Michigan and Stony Brook games.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

I think the answer is really that R.J. Toman is playing better, and so UNH, as a whole, is suddenly a real threat. The rest of the pieces (RB with Peters, WR with Fox and Orlando, TE with Jeannot, Defense) are all there, but Toman's got to do his share. For the last 6 quarters he has been pretty good and thus we've taken care of business (53-13 in the last six quarters, I believe, and most of that 13 came after UNH pulled their defensive starters in the 4th).

RJ's improved play is a reflection of the OL's improved play....that group is starting to put it all together.

[UNH72Plus]

The key to UNH's win was solid defense, a balanced offense (176 yds rushing, 187 yds passing), no turnovers, and only four penalties. The score is really not indicative of the way UMass played. Of the five touchdowns UNH scored, one came after a punt hit a UMass player and we recovered on the 14, another came after a fumble recovery on the 34, and and at least one other came after a solid return on an on-side kick. The 99 yard drive was iimpressive and a backbreaker, though.

The one negative from the game was the 450 yards of passing for UMass. Even though 166 yards came during garbage time at the end of the game with UNH in prevent defense, that's still a lot of yards!

[UNHFootballAlum]

Having seen Richmond play UNH and Umass in consecutive weeks, I really thought Umass would come out and have a big performance and win this game.

I was not only surprised that UNH won, but particularly with the margin. What's the problem in Amherst? 2 weeks ago, Umass looked like a Title Contender, now they'll struggle to make the playoffs. Is coaching the problem?

I'm not trying to flame. Umass is just too talented for these last two results.

Maybe UNH had something to do with this loss by UMASS and are actually a good team. Once they stopped turing the ball over at an alarming rate, they have won 3 in a row.

[UNHFootballAlum]

RJ's improved play is a reflection of the OL's improved play....that group is starting to put it all together.

I disagree. The OL had very little to do with his bad decision making. RJ is making much better decisions with the ball and protecting it. he is throwing it away when necessary and for me the biggest thing is that he is trusting his teamates more and not trying to do it all by himself. He is no doubt the key to our ability to get into the playoffs and have success. if he continues to play at this level, we have a shot to something special.

[Gordon Shumway]

The one negative from the game was the 450 yards of passing for UMass. Even though 166 yards came during garbage time at the end of the game with UNH in prevent defense, that's still a lot of yards!

Don't you think this had a lot to do with UNH shutting down the UMass running game, and making Havens beat them? UMass is a running team, and it was pretty obvious to me that was what UNH was determined to stop. I seriously doubt they were overly concerned about Haven's passing yards between the 20's. Of course, the garbage time numbers just made it look worse than it was.

[R3TRO]

Whatever it is... they are improving, A LOT! Completely different demeanor from this team the past 3 games. Now they have two weeks to rest, reload and draw up a game plan for W&M. xthumbsupx

[Uncle Buck]

This is the exact same UMass team that we saw on the field against Stony Brook, ...

I totally disagree, this was a worse showing than against Stony Brook IMO. I was at the SBU game and i also went up this weekend for the Colonial Clash, UMass looked like they never got off the bus. Mental blunders, lack of effort, they looked completely disinterested in playing the game. This team needs to circle the wagons and find itself before it's too late. They have a lot of talent but something is just not clicking.

On another note, I had a great time up there sharing a beer and a brat with UNH_Alum_in_CT. The weather was great, the beer cold, the food plentiful, and the conversation even better. A good time and a great turnout with 32K. Kudos to both sides fans for showing up for their team.