UMass Football Heads To Temple For Friday Night Tilt

Milestone Watch
Four Minutemen reached numerical plateaus over the prior two contests, including quarterback Andrew Ford, wide receiver Andy Isabella, tight end Adam Breneman and running back Marquis Young.

Ford eclipsed 3,000 career passing yards and Breneman reached 1,000 receiving yards as a Minuteman during the game at Coastal Carolina. Isabella surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards and Young eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards one Saturday later against Old Dominion.

Ford, short 60 passing yards entering the Coastal Carolina game, tossed for 316 yards and moved into ninth place on the team's all-time passing yards listing with his outing against the Chanticleer defense. He ended the night with 3,256 career passing yards.

Breneman began the night with 987 yards during his Minuteman tenure and finished with 126 for 1,113 at UMass. He previously reached 1,000 career yards, including his tenure at Penn State, during the season-opener against Hawai'i.

Young inched over 2,000 career rushing yards while carrying the ball against Old Dominion. He entered in need of 19 and totaled 25 on the game to cap the night with 2,006 as a Minuteman over 394 carries (5.1 ypc).

Isabella's 60-yard touchdown reception pushed the Ohio native over 1,000 career receiving yards. Entering in need of 51 to reach the benchmark, Isabella posted 105 via five receptions and finished the outing with 1,054 receiving yards at UMass. Simultaneously, Isabella went over 1,500 all-purpose yards as a Minuteman (1,643).

Isabella Goes Right To... Ludicrous Speed!
Over his last 15 games played, Andy Isabella has 1,047 of his 1,054 career receiving yards and 78 of his 80 career receptions playing mainly as a starter at wide receiver. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Isabella posted 75 or more receiving yards in eight of those 15 games, with 100 or more in four contests. He has a team-leading 10 touchdown receptions in that span.

Gigantically Slim & Trim
Ray Thomas-Ishman, Sr., stands 6-foot-5, 350 pounds entering his sophomore season. One year ago, as a true-freshman starter, Thomas weighed in at 392 pounds while holding down the left guard spot for 11 of his 12 appearances. Thomas started at left tackle in one appearance during 2016, at Old Dominion, his slated full-time placement on the line in 2017. Despite losing 42 pounds, Thomas is still the largest offensive lineman on the team by 20 pounds (Derek Dumais).

Breneman, The All-American
Adam Breneman appears on three national preseason all-America listings. He earned USA Today Preseason All-America Second Team, Athlon Sports Preseason All-America Third Team and Bleacher Report Preseason All-America. Breneman opened 2017 with a nine-catch, 179-yard outing against Hawai'i, surpassed 1,000 as a Minuteman in only his 14th appearance and ranks among the nation's leaders in receiving yards (323).

Setting The Barr High
In his first three games as a Minuteman, starting middle linebacker Bryton Barr led the team with 32 total tackles, including 1.5 TFLs and 1.0 sacks. He had 13 tackles against Hawai'i - tied for the game-high - and followed with 11 at Coastal Carolina, also tied for the game-high. He added eight stops against Old Dominion, making him the only Minuteman with at least eight stops in each game.

Prior to his arrival at UMass, Barr was a five-year member of the Towson football program, where he totaled 142 tackles, including 13.0 TFLs from 2012-16.

Deploying The Fourth Down Football Mortar
Through 27 games as the primary punter, Logan Laurent ranks among the best performing specialists in UMass football history with the career punt average and single-game punt yard records.

Over 144 career punts, Laurent averages 41.91 yards per attempt. Brett Arnold ranks second at 41.35 yards per attempt (97-4270; 2007-08). Laurent averaged at least 41.0 yards per punt attempt in 10 of the last 14 games.

Laurent's most active day came in the 2016 #BattleoftheBayState against Boston College with 12 punts covering a program-record 547 yards (45.6 per attempt). Laurent dropped four of his punts inside the Eagles' 20 yard line while four traveled at least 50 yards.

Rodgers Runs it Out
Isaiah Rodgers finished his true freshman season in 2016 with the fifth-most kick return yards in one campaign in program history, with 733 over 31 returns (23.6). Rodgers set the team record for kick returns in one game with nine against Mississippi State on Sept. 24, 2016. He also etched his name in the record book for the fifth-most returns and ninth-highest yards per return average in a single-season in program history. Only three games into his sophomore season, Rodgers is already 11th on the all-time list for total kick return yards by a Minuteman.

Whipple Approaches All-Time Wins Record
Head coach Mark Whipple is three wins away from moving into first all-time in UMass history for career victories. Whipple owns 57 triumphs over his two tenures as the program's leader (1998- 2003; '14-present). 

Vic Fusia (1961-70) currently ranks first in UMass football history with 59 victories. Whipple is one of five coaches in team history with at least five winning seasons. Fusia leads the way with eight while Don Brown (2004-08), Harold "Kid" Gore (1919-27), Mel Taube (1931-35) and Whipple each have five.