Sense Of Belief Remains In UMass Locker Room

Temple loss a “humbling experience,” but players won’t quit.

(UMass Athletics)

After an opening day rout of their “new and improved” Massachusetts football team, many fans are still wondering if it's just going to be another year with the same old unwatchable football team.

The worries aren’t unhinged. Temple won just about every relevant category on the stat sheet Saturday. The Owls were converting on third down, putting together big plays right through the heart of the “newly improved” Minutemen defense and prevented anything UMass had to offer in the last three quarters.

Although the concerns are valid, new head coach Joe Harasymiak was very clear in his postgame press conference to convey that this wouldn’t be the case.

“I told (the players) exactly what was going to happen,” Harasymiak said. “People are going to tell us that it’s the same old UMass. They’ll make assumptions, but this is why we are all here. They’ve got to block out the noise and keep believing in each other.”

UMass showed signs of what could be to come of the highly-touted Mike Bajakian offense in the first quarter. On the first drive, the run game was on display with Rocko Griffin converting two big runs and a touchdown. New quarterback Brandon Rose gained rhythm gradually throughout the contest, throwing for 193 yards and an interception.

“We definitely have a great offense, offensive line and everything,” Griffin said. “We definitely have a lot more in store that we can do. I think it was good just to see that and work together with the offensive line.”

Returning wide receiver Jacquon Gibson has been a player throughout the years with high expectations and a skillset not many have on the team, but it seems like this could finally be the year he turns into the player UMass brought him in to be.

He finished the game with 12 receptions and 132 receiving yards. His playmaking ability earned the Minutemen many first downs, and set up a field goal late in the first quarter.

Despite all this, Gibson’s focus wasn’t on his fantastic statistics. He was instead looking at what he could improve to help the team win.

“Really in the run game I wasn’t as aggressive as I was supposed to be,” Gibson said. “Coach (Jordan) Hogan definitely got on me for loafing during run blocks. A couple plays could've gone for more if I stayed on my guy some more.”

Usually that kind of sentiment comes from someone that is a captain, which the players selected him to be. His expectation to be better, even on a career day, speaks volumes.

“I don’t think too much about (the stats),” Gibson said. “I just want to win. I’ve been here too long, man. I feel like I owe it to y’all, the fans. I just want to put smiles on peoples’ faces. I’m sick of coming into the locker room and everybody is down. We are going to get it right, trust me.”

Griffin, Gibson’s fellow offensive captain, even described the loss as “exciting.”

“It was very exciting even after the game,” Griffin said. “We have so much more in store for us. Honestly, it was a humbling experience knowing that we are definitely going to build and learn from, so the energy is still the same. We still have the same belief, nothing has changed.”

Harasymiak and the rest of the staff just saw it as a day of mishaps. He saw a successful defense in practice throughout the prior weeks, but one that wasn’t able to put it together on game day.

“We just didn’t play well enough,” Harasymiak said. “It had nothing to do with the effort, heart or belief that they wanted to win. We just didn’t play well enough. It’s going to take some pride and belief to get out of it. It’s the beauty of football. You can’t grow weary of being good.”

Will Harasymiak and UMass respond? They will have a chance to answer that question Saturday against Bryant.

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