Ahead of Saturday's game against UMass, managing editor Adam Orfinger got in touch with Andrew Cyr, the sports editor at Massachusetts' Daily Collegian, to get the Minutemen's perspective on playing South Carolina.
TDG: UMass has played two competitive games against SEC opponents this season. What worked for the Minutemen in those games, and how have they prepared UMass for another SEC contest?
AC: In the game against Florida, UMass’ defense played some of the best football we’ve seen it play this year. The Minutemen held Florida to only 10 points through three quarters, and for a team with the talent of UMass, against an SEC team, let’s call a spade a spade, that’s pretty good. The defense was swarming the ball on all plays, and it looked faster than I’ve seen them play in my three years covering the team. It was Ross Comis’ first start at quarterback as well as the first start for two members of the offensive line, and the Minutemen really struggled to move the ball in the middle of a rainstorm.
Against Mississippi State, however, it was the offense that outplayed the defense. Andrew Ford threw four touchdowns and the offense moved the ball consistently in both the run and pass game, something the Minutemen have struggled with throughout the season. While he did throw three interceptions, one was on a go-route that the receiver slipped and the other was late in the fourth quarter in a two-possession game when it he was just chucking it all over the field.
Defensively, Fred Ross just absolutely torched the Minutemen for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as head coach Mark Whipple called him one of the best receivers in the country. UMass also struggled to contain Nick Fitzgerald in the rushing game.
TDG: Quarterback Andrew Ford has put up decent numbers since taking over the starting job. What does he need to do to attack a South Carolina secondary that has exceeded expectations this season?
AC: The biggest issue for Ford this season has been his consistency. You look at the game against Mississippi State where he threw four touchdowns, then on the flip side generated only 83 yards of total offense in the second and third quarter combined against a defense like Tulane. He’s at his best when he’s hitting tight end Adam Breneman or wide receiver Andy Isabella running crossing routes across the middle, so I think against a defense like South Carolina he’ll have to start inside and then work his way outside the numbers and down the field. You never know though, Whipple loves to run funky formations against teams of South Carolina’s caliber — he’s lined up both tackles outside the numbers to block for the slot receiver catching a screen pass — so you just never know what he’ll have up his sleeve.
TDG: The UMass defense has struggled mightily, particularly in the last four weeks. Facing a South Carolina offense that ranks dead last in scoring offense, something has to give. What are the keys for the UMass defense on Saturday?
AC: As simple as it sounds, UMass has missed countless amounts of tackles, and it has really hurt them over that stretch. Last week against Louisiana Tech, Bulldog wide receiver Carlos Williams broke four tackles on one of his five touchdowns receptions on the day. To put that number in perspective, UMass’ leader, Isabella, has five all season.
Like most teams in college football at this time of year, health has also been a big issue for the Minutemen. Last week, they found out their defensive leader and captain, middle linebacker Shane Huber is out for the year with his second ACL injury in his time at UMass. Linebacker Teddy Lowery has also missed the last two games with an injury, so the core group has really taken a beating, which is a big reason for the number of missed tackles.
Finally, the Minutemen’s secondary isn’t a very big one. The defensive backfield features multiple players under 6-foot who have had problems keeping up with bigger, stronger and more physical receivers on the outside. UMass needs to make sure it’s in the right position, because a lot of times this season, the defensive backs lost the 50-50 balls to bigger targets.
TDG: There is plenty of uncertainty around the South Carolina quarterback situation. How are the Minutemen preparing for a group of quarterbacks with drastically different skill sets?
AC: Whipple said he expects a similar game plan if it's either Perry Orth or Jake Bentley, but mentioned that Brandon Mcllwain is different than the other two. He said he liked Orth’s experience, and that Bentley was a big, strong quarterback with a good arm, but that’s only going off of the high school scouting report and tapes. For Mcllwain, he said in practice they’ve had some wide receivers and running backs on the scout team takes some snaps to mimic his speed for the read-option plays.
TDG: Fill in the blanks: South Carolina will win this game if ______________. UMass will win this game if ______________.
AC: South Carolina will win this game if it even remotely lives up to its potential. UMass will win this game if it plays the best game in the history of the program.