Missouri has an interesting week six matchup as they travel to Amherst, Massachusetts to take on the UMass Minutemen.
The Tigers will be playing at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium which only holds 17,000 people making it one of the tiniest stadiums in FBS.
Head Coach
The Minutemen have struggled since their first FBS season in 2012, going a combined 24-112. Head coach Don Brown has struggled in his two seasons going 4-20 in that time. Brown was the Minutemen’s head coach from 2004-2008. He led UMass to a 43-19 record which is their best five-year record ever, during which they won two conference championships at the FCS level. Since re-joining UMass, Brown had been the defensive coordinator at Maryland, Michigan and Arizona among other spots.
Offense
UMass’ offense improved in 2023 scoring 278 points which was the most since 2018. Taisun Phommachanh will once again be expected to be the starting quarterback. Last season he appeared in nine games throwing for 1,507 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions.
Anthony Simpson will be the top returning receiver as he had 57 catches, 792 yards and three touchdowns last year.
The run game is at a bleak stage for UMass as they lost star running back Kay-Ron Adams to Michigan State. Adams had 1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Jalen John, who only had 10 carries for 33 yards last season, will be expected to lead the backfield.
The Minutemen were busy in the transfer window adding former Miami receiver, Frank Ladson, and tight end Dominick Mazotti from San Jose State. Ladson had 27 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown last season while Mazotti had 23 catches for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
Defense
The defense for the Minutemen was less than spectacular last season. On one hand they gave up a middle-of-the-pack 356 yards per game, but a whopping 37.8 points allowed per game was among the worst in the nation.
Gerrel Johnson is the top returner on the defensive side; the outside linebacker has at least 50 tackles in the last three seasons and will be expected to lead the defense.
The defensive line also saw some improvement getting Georgia Tech transfer Etinosa Reuben and Wake Forest transfer Jaylen Hudson.
Prediction
UMass is one of the worst FBS teams in the nation. A week after traveling to College Station, the Tigers are in for a culture shock when they enter sleepy Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. I think Missouri will come out a little slow in the first quarter, maybe even giving up an early touchdown, but that will be erased by the end of the game. The Tigers are simply too talented to not win this game by at least 20 but it will be much worse than that for the Minutemen.
Final score: Missouri 45, UMass 10.
