Injuries Hamper Already Struggling UMass Defense
A review of the bad, worse & unacceptable for the Minutemen defense
Last Saturday, Massachusetts Football suffered a loss to the FCS Bryant Bulldogs that was nothing short of unacceptable and embarrassing. Both sides of the ball have had periods of hope and putridness through the first two weeks of the season.
Although the offense hasn’t been as good as advertised, a sudden quarterback change in Week Two after starter Brandon Rose went down with an arm injury, and moments of magic from backup Grant Jordan let them somewhat off the hook.
On the other hand, the defense has been a major disappointment. When head coach Joe Harasymiak came in with his heavily experienced staff, there was an expectation of success on the defensive side of the football. Last season, his red zone defense at Rutgers finished No. 21 in the nation and No. 3 in the Big Ten. In 2023, his group finished No. 16 nationally in total defense. To continue that, he and his staff went out and got the guys they needed.
In came experienced defensive lineman David Onuoha from Rutgers, commanding middle linebacker Timmy Hinspeter also from Rutgers, Yale captain Dean Shaffer, ACC defensive back Malcolm Greene and many, many more.
The coaching staff emphasized its satisfaction with the defense's performances in practice during training camp. The excitement in the air was palpable, but not many people expected what was going to happen.
The Minutemen entered an excited and amped McGuirk Alumni Stadium for the first time of the 2025 campaign, facing off against the Temple Owls and quarterback Evan Simon.
On the offense’s first drive, Rocko Griffin and the Minutemen stomped down the field to score the game’s first touchdown. The place was loud and ready for the previously highly-touted Harasymiak defense to step on the field.
Simon and the Temple offense came out slow, but converted on third down. Then they converted on third down once again, and again, until they were in the end zone celebrating a touchdown.
This would go on all game long until the final whistle blew, and the Owls had rung up 42 points on the board.
Simon threw six touchdowns, ultimately torching a secondary filled with injury and incompetence. The linebackers looked slow covering Temple crossing routes all contest long.
The defensive line lost star edge Josh Nobles with a torn achilles two weeks prior, according to his social media, but with that time to prepare without him, they totaled zero sacks.
It’s understandable on an opener, right? You lost Nobles and have to adjust with Shambre Jackson moving over to a position he’d never played before. You didn't have starting cornerback Ryan Barnes, or backup safety DD Snyder. Zeraun Daniel also went off twice with an injury. It’s all good, just adjust for next week against an easier FCS opponent in Bryant.
The Bulldogs came into the game after a Week One loss vs. New Mexico State 19-3 where their starting running back averaged 1.7 yards per carry and their quarterback threw for 187 yards and an interception.
The UMass defense made the first mark with a Tyler Martin interception returned for a touchdown.
It looked like the defense that everyone expected was finally here to stay. The Minutemen held Bryant scoreless in the first quarter, and Bulldog quarterback Brennan Myer was struggling to find his targets. Early, it was McNeese transfer Marques White finally getting into the backfield for the Minutemen, making Myer struggle on third down.
As the game went on though, Bryant started to gain confidence. UMass tacked on 14 more points in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs responded with 10.
Coming out of the half, UMass could only notch a field goal, ultimately handing Bryant the controls.
The big plays continued to hurt the Minutemen, but the third quarter killed them. It looked like UMass was going to escape the frame with a six-point lead up 23-17, but right before the end of the interval, Bryant took its first lead.
Myer dropped back to pass and found a streaking Zyheem Collick on a simple go route to tie it. Collick pranced past redshirt sophomore defensive back Brennan Bailey and senior captain Derrieon Craig, both in coverage on the play. Bulldog kicker Bryce Soli tacked on the extra point to take the lead.
Yes, this was demoralizing, but a team with a strong culture and mindset should respond with a whole quarter left to play, right?
Over the next 12 minutes, they answered the bell. White found himself in the backfield once again. Graduate nose tackle Tim Grant-Randall did the same with a sack a couple plays later.
Incredibly, after a miraculous 53-yard field goal by Derek Morris, Ball State transfer DD Snyder made the defensive play of the game with an interception to pretty much seal the game.
However, due to a quick three-and-out and smart clock management by the opposition, Harasymiak’s defense still needed one final stop to win the game.
Punter Keegan Andrews set them up perfectly, pinning them with one of his trademark skyscraping punts that stopped rolling at the Bryant 14.
Then, the Minutemen defense got back to their mistake-ridden ways. Myer quickly fired a 20-yard spiral to Aldrich Doe, targeting the coverage of star cornerback TJ Magee, who played an impeccable game up to that point. That’s when you sensed things were starting to go wrong.
Bryant then false started, produced a small gain and incomplete pass, ultimately forcing third down. Tristan Riley ran a simple and flat out-route to shake free of UMass safety Jeremiah McGill’s loose coverage for the first down.
A couple plays later, Riley did it a second time against McGill with a 25-yard reception to bring the Bulldogs into field goal range. Myer knew who to pick at, and started to execute.
This time it was Collick who beat out a desperate McGill, who interfered with him while the ball was on its approach. The defensive pass interference brought Bryant into easy field goal range, ultimately ending it with a Soli swing of the leg.
Yes, injuries and ejections hampered them throughout. They didn’t have Malcolm Greene, Kamren Watkins-Hunter, Zeraun Daniel, Ryan Barnes, Raheim Sexil and Kendall Bournes going into the late parts of the game.
Yes, it's tough to adjust to losing your best defensive player. Nobles was supposed to provide the quarterback pressure they so badly needed in the program.
However, the players Bryant was finding success against were players on the depth chart. McGill is the starting safety, and has been for two years now. Bailey is young, but he earned himself the second string tag on the depth chart because of his talent.
What isn’t acceptable is to go 0-2 against arguably your two easiest opponents of the year.
What isn’t acceptable is to produce two sacks and give up nine passing touchdowns in two games.
Those results aren’t enough for a fanbase that has been searching for something to be excited about on the football field for a very long time.
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