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After three games on the road, the Massachusetts Minutemen are heading back home. The Minutemen and the Army West Point Black Knights will face off in an FBS Independents battle at noon ET on Saturday at Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Army should still be riding high after a victory, while UMass will be looking to right the ship.
The contest between UMass and the Texas A&M Aggies last week was not a total blowout, but with UMass falling 20-3 on the road, it was darn close to turning into one. QB Brady Olson had a memorable game, but not in the way you want to be remembered: besides failing to produce a single touchdown, he fumbled the ball once with a passing completion percentage of only 40.91%.
Meanwhile, the Connecticut Huskies typically have all the answers at home, but last week Army proved too difficult a challenge. The Black Knights captured a comfortable 34-17 win. They can attribute much of their success to RB Braheam Murphy, who rushed for one TD and 124 yards on seven carries. That nimble footwork stands out as the first time Murphy has hit the 100-yard rushing mark this season.
The Minutemen have to know they'll be fighting an uphill battle given the 20-point spread they are up against. Those playing the odds have seen things go back and forth with UMass, who are 4-5 against the spread.
UMass is now 1-10 while Army sits at 4-6. A pair of defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: UMass ranks 15th in the nation when it comes to passing yards allowed per game, with only 185.1 on average. But Army is even better: they enter the matchup with only 175 passing yards allowed per game on average, good for 10th best in the nation. We'll see if that edge gives the Black Knights a route to victory.
