2018 UMass Minutemen football team

	2018 Division I FBS independents football records
	** – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules (can apply for waiver if not enough bowl eligible teams) ; As of January 19, 2025 • Rankings from AP Poll

UMass Minutemen football
	2018 UMass Minutemen football
	File:UMass Amherst Athletics logo.svg
Conference	Independent
2018 record	4–8
Head coach	Mark Whipple (11th overall, 5th straight season)
Offensive coordinator	Mark Whipple (11th season)
Defensive coordinator	Ed Pinkham (2nd season)
Home stadium	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium; (Capacity: 17,000)
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the fifth year of head coach Mark Whipple's second stint at UMass and 11th year overall. The Minutemen divided their home schedule between two stadiums. Five home games were played at the UMass campus at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium with one home game at Gillette Stadium. This was UMass's third year as an independent. They finished the season 4–8.

On November 21, head coach Mark Whipple resigned.^[1] He finished with a record of 16–44 in the five years of his second stint as head coach and 65–70 in his eleven overall seasons. On December 3, the school hired Florida State offensive coordinator Walt Bell for the head coaching job.^[2]

Previous season[]

The Minutemen finished the 2017 season 4–8.

Preseason[]

Award watch lists[]

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Davey O'Brien Award^[3]	Andrew Ford	QB	SR
Doak Walker Award^[4]	Marquis Young	RB	SR
Fred Biletnikoff Award^[5]	Andy Isabella	WR	SR
Butkus Award^[6]	Bryton Barr	LB	SR
Paul Hornung Award^[7]	Andy Isabella	WR/KR	SR
Wuerffel Trophy^[8]	Andrew Ford	QB	SR
Wuerffel Trophy^[8]	Andy Isabella	WR	SR
Manning Award^[9]	Andrew Ford	QB	SR

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 25	5:30 p.m.	Duquesne	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	W 63–15	8,684
September 1	1:00 p.m.	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ACCN Extra	L 21–55	30,112
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	L 13–34	15,071
September 15	7:30 p.m.	at FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	L 24–63	14,695
September 22	3:30 p.m.	Charlotte	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	W 49–31	10,086
September 29	2:00 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	L 42–58	19,056
October 6	3:30 p.m.	South Florida	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	L 42–58	7,988
October 20	3:30 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	L 13–24	11,134
October 27	12:00 p.m.	at UConn	Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 22–17	24,150
November 3	3:30 p.m.	Liberty	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	W 62–59 ^3OT	10,338
November 10	12:00 p.m.	BYU	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA	ELVN	L 16–35	14,082
November 17	4:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	SECN	L 27–66	92,746
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[10]

☆All Eleven Sports broadcasts will be simulcast on NESN or NESN+.

Game summaries[]

Duquesne[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Dukes	3	6	0	6	15
Minutemen	21	14	21	7	63

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

The Minutemen's game against Duquesne was the first of the 2018 college football season, kicking off 90 minutes before Prairie View A&M–Rice.^[11]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring Information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring Information	DUQ	UMass
1	13:57	1	32	0:08	UMass	Brennon Dingle 32-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Ford, Mike Caggiano kick good	0	7
1	11:35	2	77	0:45	UMass	Andy Isabella 60-yard touchdown reception from Ross Comis, Cooper Garcia kick good	0	14
1	6:20	8	87	3:01	UMass	Bilal Ally 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Caggiano kick good	0	21
1	0:50	6	28	2:58	DUQ	32-yard field goal by Mitch MacZura	3	21
2	14:30	5	75	1:20	UMass	Andy Isabella 14-yard touchdown run, Cooper Garcia kick good	3	28
2	3:12	12	62	4:19	UMass	Marquis Young 2-yard touchdown run, Mike Caggiano kick good	3	35
2	0:05	9	66	3:07	DUQ	Nehari Crawford 5-yard touchdown reception from Daniel Parr, 2-point pass failed	9	35
3	12:22	6	54	2:38	UMass	Andy Isabella 44-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Ford, Cooper Garcia kick good	9	42
3	10:09				UMass	Interception returned 60 yards for touchdown by Brice McAlister, Mike Caggiano kick good	9	49
3	3:33	8	81	3:40	UMass	Ross Comis 1-yard touchdown run, Cooper Garcia kick good	9	56
4	10:27	17	71	2:55	DUQ	Daniel Parr 2-yard touchdown run, Mitch MacZura kick failed	15	56
4	7:42	7	87	2:43	UMass	Zak Simon 14-yard touchdown reception from Ross Comis, Mike Caggiano kick good	15	63
"TOP" = Time of Possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							15	63

at Boston College[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Minutemen	7	0	0	14	21
Eagles	14	34	0	7	55

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–21	2016	Boston College, 26–7

at Georgia Southern[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Minutemen	3	7	3	0	13
Eagles	0	17	10	7	34

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1	2017	UMass, 55–20

at FIU[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Minutemen	7	3	14	0	24
Panthers	14	28	14	7	63

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1	2017	FIU, 63–45

Charlotte[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
49ers	0	10	7	14	31
Minutemen	28	7	7	7	49

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Ohio[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Minutemen	21	7	7	7	42
Bobcats	14	21	17	6	58

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–3	2017	Ohio, 58–50

South Florida[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Bulls	10	10	28	10	58
Minutemen	7	7	14	14	42

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Coastal Carolina[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Chanticleers	3	0	14	7	24
Minutemen	3	3	7	0	13

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2017	Coastal Carolina, 38–28

at UConn[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Minutemen	3	0	6	13	22
Huskies	7	0	7	3	17

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
36–34–2	2012	UConn, 37–0

Liberty[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Flames	14	10	0	21	59
Minutemen	14	10	7	14	62

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

BYU[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Cougars	7	7	14	7	35
Minutemen	10	0	0	6	16

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	2017	UMass, 16–10

at Georgia[]

	1	2	3	4	OT
Minutemen	7	6	7	7	27
No. 5 Bulldogs	14	28	17	7	66

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Players drafted into the NFL[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	62	Andy Isabella	WR	Arizona Cardinals

References[]

↑ https://www.gazettenet.com/Mark-Whipple-steps-down-as-UMass-football-coach-21712625
↑ VanHaaren, Tom (December 3, 2018). "Walt Bell new UMass head coach after 1 year as FSU coordinator". http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25445622/walt-bell-florida-state-seminoles-offensive-coordinator-new-umass-minutemen-coach. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
↑ "Davey O’Brien Award Watch List includes 26 players". July 17, 2018. http://daveyobrienaward.org/2018/07/2018-davey-obrien-award-watch-list-includes-26-players. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
↑ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. https://www.smu.edu/DoakWalkerAward/Candidates. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
↑ "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. http://biletnikoffaward.com/2018-biletnikoff-award-watch-list. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
↑ "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. http://www.thebutkusaward.com/watchlist/view.aspx?t=c.
↑ "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. http://www.louisvillesports.org/ph-article/43-players-named-to-2018-paul-hornung-award-watch-list/. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
↑ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. https://www.wuerffeltrophy.org/news1/wuerffel-trophy-unveils-2018-watch-list. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
↑ "Manning Award: See which quarterbacks made the preseason watch list for 2018". August 16, 2018. https://www.nola.com/sugarbowl/index.ssf/2018/08/manning_award_watch_list_2018.html. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
↑ "2018 UMass Minutemen Football Schedule | Minutemen | FBSchedules.com". FBSchedules.com. http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-umass-minutemen-football-schedule.php. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
↑ "2018 College Football Schedule". http://www.fbschedules.com/college-football-schedule/. Retrieved August 18, 2018.

[1] ttps://www.gazettenet.com/Mark-Whipple-steps-down-as-UMass-football-coach-21712625

[2] VanHaaren, Tom (December 3, 2018). "Walt Bell new UMass head coach after 1 year as FSU coordinator". http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25445622/walt-bell-florida-state-seminoles-offensive-coordinator-new-umass-minutemen-coach. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

[3] "Davey O’Brien Award Watch List includes 26 players". July 17, 2018. http://daveyobrienaward.org/2018/07/2018-davey-obrien-award-watch-list-includes-26-players. Retrieved July 17, 2018.

[4] "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. https://www.smu.edu/DoakWalkerAward/Candidates. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

[5] "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. http://biletnikoffaward.com/2018-biletnikoff-award-watch-list. Retrieved July 19, 2018.

[6] "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. http://www.thebutkusaward.com/watchlist/view.aspx?t=c.

[7] "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. http://www.louisvillesports.org/ph-article/43-players-named-to-2018-paul-hornung-award-watch-list/. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

[8] "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. https://www.wuerffeltrophy.org/news1/wuerffel-trophy-unveils-2018-watch-list. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

[9] "Manning Award: See which quarterbacks made the preseason watch list for 2018". August 16, 2018. https://www.nola.com/sugarbowl/index.ssf/2018/08/manning_award_watch_list_2018.html. Retrieved August 17, 2018.

[10] "2018 UMass Minutemen Football Schedule | Minutemen | FBSchedules.com". FBSchedules.com. http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-umass-minutemen-football-schedule.php. Retrieved March 5, 2018.

[11] "2018 College Football Schedule". http://www.fbschedules.com/college-football-schedule/. Retrieved August 18, 2018.

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