American college football season
The 2020 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Minutemen competed as an independent . They were led by second-year head coach Walt Bell .
UMass originally announced on August 11, 2020, that they would not play football in the fall over concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic . This decision was reversed on September 21, as UMass announced that opponents would be announced "as they become official".[1] Although the Minutemen's home stadium was Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium , all games there were cancelled; the team played only away games in 2020.
The Minutemen finished the abridged season winless , at 0–4, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 161 to 12.
Preseason [ edit ] Award watch lists [ edit ] Listed in the order that they were released.
Schedule [ edit ] UMass went 0–4, scoring 12 total points while allowing 161 points by their opponents.
Game summaries [ edit ] At Georgia Southern [ edit ] Massachusetts at Georgia Southern 1 2 3 4 Total Minutemen 0 0 0 0 0 • Eagles 14 14 10 3 41
Scoring summary 1 12:18 GASO Malik Murray 47-yard pass from Shai Werts (Alex Raynor kick)(5 plays, 75 yards, 2:42) GASO 7–0 08:14 GASO Beau Johnson 8-yard pass from Shai Werts (Alex Raynor kick)(7 plays, 39 yards, 1:57) GASO 14–0 2 09:12 GASO Beau Johnson 10-yard pass from Shai Werts (Alex Raynor kick)(7 plays, 50 yards, 4:13) GASO 21–0 01:39 GASO Shai Werts 4-yard rush (Alex Raynor kick)(8 plays, 60 yards, 5:01) GASO 28–0 3 13:08 GASO Alex Raynor 27-yard field goal(5 plays, 10 yards, 1:25) GASO 31–0 06:40 GASO Wesley Kennedy III 56-yard rush (Alex Raynor kick)(2 plays, 60 yards, 0:55) GASO 38–0 4 02:34 GASO Alex Raynor 31-yard field goal(4 plays, 8 yards, 2:18) GASO 41–0
Pregame line Over/under GASO −31 62[4]
Statistics UMass Georgia Southern First downs 10 20 Total yards 191 436 Rushing yards 111 308 Passing yards 80 128 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 29:09 30:51
Team Category Player Statistics UMass Passing Mike Fallon 7/12, 41 yards, 1 INT Rushing Will Koch 4 carries, 41 yards Receiving Samuel Emilus 4 receptions, 28 yards Georgia Southern Passing Shai Werts 11/16, 128 yards, 3 TDs Rushing Wesley Kennedy III 6 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD Receiving Malik Murray 4 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD
At Marshall [ edit ] Massachusetts at Marshall 1 2 3 4 Total Minutemen 7 3 0 0 10 • No. 16 Thundering Herd 14 17 13 7 51
Date: November 7, 2020Location: Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV Game start: 2:30 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2 hours and 55 minutesGame attendance: 11,711Game weather: Clear and Sunny • Temperature : 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind : CalmReferee: Rodney BurnetteTV announcers (ESPN+ ): Mark Martin (play–by–play) and Jake Griffith (analyst) Scoring summary 1 13:28 MRSH Brenden Knox 45-yard rush (Shane Ciucci kick)(4 plays, 75 yards, 1:32) MRSH 7–0 7:01 MASS Samuel Emilus 2-yard pass from Will Koch (Jeremy Martin kick)(6 plays, 80 yards, 2:48) TIED 7–7 2:02 MRSH Brenden Knox 14-yard rush (Shane Ciucci kick)(11 plays, 82 yards, 4:59) MRSH 14–7 2 9:52 MRSH Corey Gammage 19-yard pass from Grant Wells (Shane Ciucci kick)(8 plays, 49 yards, 3:00) MRSH 21–7 6:04 MRSH Shane Ciucci 43-yard field goal(5 plays, 17 yards, 2:13) MRSH 24–7 2:38 MASS Jeremy Martin 46-yard field goal(8 plays, 46 yards, 3:26) MRSH 24–10 0:38 MRSH Sheldon Evans 11-yard rush (Shane Ciucci kick)(6 plays, 74 yards, 2:00) MRSH 31–10 3 6:47 MRSH Xavier Gaines 13-yard pass from Grant Wells (Shane Ciucci rush failed)(11 plays, 80 yards, 5:12) MRSH 37–10 3:46 MRSH Xavier Gaines 16-yard pass from Grant Wells (Shane Ciucci kick)(2 plays, 16 yards, 0:44) MRSH 44–10 4 13:04 MRSH Knowledge McDaniel 14-yard pass from Grant Wells (Shane Ciucci kick)(5 plays, 61 yards, 2:37) MRSH 51–10
Pregame line Over/under MRSH −44.5 55.5
Statistics UMass Marshall First downs 12 33 Total yards 190 495 Rushing yards 41 267 Passing yards 149 228 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 26:53 33:07
Team Category Player Statistics UMass Passing Will Koch 12/18, 99 yards, 1 TD Rushing Ellis Merriweather 10 carries, 31 yards Receiving Taylor Edwards 1 reception, 37 yards Marshall Passing Grant Wells 21/30, 228 yards, 3 TDs Rushing Brenden Knox 14 carries, 118 yards, 2 TDs Receiving Artie Henry 5 receptions, 71 yards
At Florida Atlantic [ edit ] Massachusetts at Florida Atlantic 1 2 3 4 Total Minutemen 0 0 2 0 2 • Owls 7 0 14 3 24
Scoring summary 1 10:58 FAU BJ Emmons 1 yard run (Vladmir Rivas kick)(8 plays, 57 yards, 3:04) FAU 7–0 3 06:47 FAU Brandon Robinson 13 yard pass from Nick Tronti (Vladmir Rivas kick)(15 plays, 65 yards, 8:13) FAU 14–0 04:27 FAU Javion Posey 70 yard run (Vladmir Rivas kick)(1 play, 70 yards, 0:13) FAU 21–0 01:55 UMASS 9 yard safety FAU 21–2 4 04:58 FAU Vladmir Rivas 30 yard field goal(5 plays, 53 yards, 1:53) FAU 24–2
Pregame line Over/under FAU −32.5 50.5[5]
Statistics UMass Florida Atlantic First downs 8 16 Total yards 147 368 Rushing yards 62 140 Passing yards 85 228 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 25:10 34:50
Team Category Player Statistics UMass Passing Will Koch 12/22, 67 yards, 1 INT Rushing Ellis Merriweather 11 carries, 48 yards Receiving Josiah Johnson 8 receptions, 42 yards Florida Atlantic Passing Javion Posey 13/27, 203 yards Rushing Javion Posey 19 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD Receiving TJ Chase 4 receptions, 79 yards
At Liberty [ edit ] Massachusetts at Liberty 1 2 3 4 Total Minutemen 0 0 0 0 0 • Flames 14 17 14 0 45
Date: Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 12:05 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2 hours and 55 minutesGame attendance: 250Game weather: Sunny • Temperature : 62 °F (17 °C) • Wind : E 4 MPH Referee: Riley JohnsonTelevision network: ESPN3 Scoring summary 1 6:38 LIB Kevin Shaa 31-yard pass from Malik Willis (Alex Barbir kick)(8 plays, 80 yards, 2:28) LIB 7–0 1:12 LIB Joshua Mack 59-yard run(2 plays, 72 yards, 0:28) LIB 14–0 2 10:39 LIB Michael Bollinger 13-yard pass from Malik Willis (Alex Barbir kick)(5 plays, 76 yards, 1:52) LIB 21–0 4:41 LIB Demario Douglas 41-yard pass from Malik Willis (Alex Barbir kick)(7 plays, 80 yards, 4:30) LIB 28–0 0:02 LIB Alex Barbir 24-yard field goal(7 plays, 55 yards, 0:37) LIB 31–0 3 6:14 LIB Malik Willis 54-yard run (Alex Barbir kick)(5 plays, 67 yards, 1:27) LIB 38–0 0:26 LIB Peytton Pickett 16-yard run (Alex Barbir kick)(3 plays, 41 yards, 1:35) LIB 45–0
Pregame line Over/under LIB −35.5 57.5[6]
Statistics UMass Liberty First downs 12 31 Total yards 227 629 Rushing yards 55 378 Passing yards 172 251 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 25:50 34:10
Team Category Player Statistics UMass Passing Garret Dzuro 9/22, 172 yards, 1 INT Rushing Cam Roberson 5 carries, 17 yards Receiving Samuel Emilus 4 receptions, 82 yards Liberty Passing Malik Willis 16/24, 223 yards, 3 TD Rushing Peytton Pickett 10 carries, 125 yards, 1 TD Receiving DeMario Douglas 4 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD
References [ edit ] ^ "UMass reverses call, to play limited fall schedule" . ESPN.com . September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020 . ^ "2020 Outland Trophy Watch List Unveiled" . July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020 . ^ "The Wuerffel Trophy 2020 Watch List (Non AP)" . July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020 . ^ "Massachusetts Minutemen vs Georgia Southern Eagles" . Odds Shark . Retrieved October 18, 2020 . ^ "Massachusetts Minutemen vs Florida Atlantic Owls" . Odds Shark . Retrieved November 17, 2020 . ^ "Massachusetts Minutemen vs Liberty Flames" . Odds Shark . Retrieved November 27, 2020 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold