UMass coach Walt Bell is lighting a fire under his team by stoking the embers of a bygone regional rivalry.
The Minutemen (0-5) will look to stop a 16-game losing streak when they host the UConn Huskies (0-6) in a clash of struggling FBS independents on Saturday (3:30) at McGuirk Stadium in Amherst.
“It is a big game for all of us,” said Bell. “It is a big game for our players, it is a big game for UMass and for UConn, it’s a big game for all of us.
“We are playing a home game against a regional opponent and two schools who don’t necessarily see each other as equals and don’t necessarily like each other.”
Both programs have attempted to punch above their weight class against Power-5 opponents this season with little success. UConn, which did not play a game in 2020, opened the season with a 45-0 loss at Fresno State.
That was followed by a humiliating 38-28 home loss to Holy Cross, a setback that jettisoned coach Randy Edsall from the gridiron to the golf course. The Huskies were hammered by Purdue and Army, but have since managed competitive defeats under interim head coach Lou Spanos. UConn was beaten 24-22 at home by Wyoming followed by a 30-28 loss at Vanderbilt.
“You can tell that after the first couple of games they have kind of cleaned themselves up on offense,” said Bell. “They have found something that makes them be them, a little bit of an identity and coach Spanos has them playing pretty good football right now.
“They continue to improve and much like us play a rough schedule. We expect the best version of them on Saturday.”
UMass’ problem on both sides of the ball is the inability to gain traction early in the game. Since the season opener, a 51-7 loss at Pittsburgh, the Minutemen have been repeatedly hamstrung by early deficits. That disrupts the game plan and puts undue pressure on true freshman quarterback Brady Olson of Bellingham.
The Minutemen did manage second-half rallies against Boston College and Eastern Michigan, but they were buried early in consecutive losses to No. 17 Coastal Carolina (53-3) and Toledo (45-7).
“I think our challenge right now is execution early in the football game, especially offensively,” said Bell. “We are doing everything we can to establish a nice clean early game plan and execute, especially with a young quarterback.
“That’s the challenge for us this week, to come out and start fast and put ourselves in position to play some good football.”
Olson will make his fifth start of the season in place of Tyler Lytle, a graduate transfer from Colorado who suffered a wrist injury at Pittsburgh. The Minutemen are also without tailback Kay’Ron Adams, a transfer from Rutgers who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Toledo. Ellis Merriweather is an every-down back who will have to take on an expanded role on run and pass plays.
“It makes me go out and practice and be intense about everything I am trying to accomplish,” said Merriweather. “I go out there thinking about laying it all on the line.”
