AMHERST —The UMass football team thought they knew what they were getting into.
Earlier in the week, Don Brown previewed his defense’s matchup against Eastern Michigan starting quarterback Cole Snyder, who played against UMass two years ago when he was the starter at Buffalo. On that October afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium – Brown’s fifth game in charge – Snyder threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-7 win for the Bulls.
Brown said he was familiar with Snyder and said he knew his strengths. But on Saturday afternoon, the Minutemen couldn’t keep up with him again, and the transfer turned in a sharp stat-line of 17-for-29, 241 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers.
Snyder worked in the no-huddle for much of the game and led some impressive drives – a 97-yarder in 3 minutes, 53 seconds for Eastern Michigan’s first touchdown, a 57-yarder in 31 seconds for its second and a 33-yarder in 29 seconds for its last. UMass and its dozens of new transfers couldn’t adjust, and the Minutemen dropped their season opener, 28-14, on Saturday.
“At the end of the day when you look at it, we’re still putting new systems together and new schemes together with new personnel,” Brown said after the game. “There was a time last week we actually put the tape on, and there wasn’t one guy that was here, it was all new guys, from February on. We’re still fighting that a little bit, and that’s fine, we’ve just got to get them all on the same page and go about our business.”
While Snyder led smooth, quick drives filled with intermediate and deep shots, the Minutemen hamstrung themselves with negative plays. They committed 10 penalties for 99 yards and Taisun Phommachanh was sacked six times for 33 yards.
“Those aren’t good days right there. Six sacks is not a fun day,” Brown said. “And usually we respond in that area with our own havoc, and today we just didn’t have that.”
UMass didn’t record any sacks. While Eastern Michigan made nine tackles for loss for a combined 37 yards, UMass recorded just two, for a combined six yards. A new defensive front struggled to penetratean Eastern Michigan offensive line that lost four of its five starters from a year ago.
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While Snyder tested the Minutemen deep, he didn’t turn the ball over, or come particularly close to. He picked up 171 of his 241 yards on balls thrown more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage and three different Eastern Michigan receivers caught passes of over 30 yards.
As soon as it seemed the Minutemen gained some momentum, Snyder and the Eagles’ no-huddle attack took it back.
After UMass pinned Eastern Michigan at its own 3-yard line with a well-placed CJ Kolodziey punt, Snyder quickly marched them down the field in 10 plays to score the opening touchdown of the game with 12:47 left in the second quarter.
Another important swing occurred at the end of the first half, with Eastern Michigan still up just 7-0. Facing a 4th-and-7 at the Eastern Michigan 37-yard line with 1:09 left, UMass initially brought out the punt team, but called timeout and brought the offense back onto the field. Phommachanh was sacked and the Minutemen turned it over on downs.
Just 31 seconds later, the Eagles were in the endzone. Snyder started the drive off with a sideline dime to Terry Lockett to get Eastern Michigan to the UMass 28. He ended it by dropping an arcing ball into Oran Singleton’s hands for an over-the-shoulder catch to double Eastern Michigan’s lead.
“He’s one of the few guys that’ll take what you give him,” Brown said. “He’s not going to force the ball into certain areas of the field. If you’re going to give him, he’s going to take the short gain. If you’re going to give him a quick sideline route, he’s going to take the sideline route.”
UMass forced a three-and-out to start the second half and Phommachanh led an efficient, 10-play, 70-yard drive to score the Minutemen’s first points of the season. Phommachanh, Jalen John and CJ Hester led the drive, almost exclusively on the ground. Brand-new transfer Brandon Campbell also figured to be in the running back committee, but did not return to the game after he was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter. He finished with just three carries for six yards, compared to John’s 14 for 55 and Hester’s eight for 36.
“You can’t do those things," Brown said. "That’s a JV act and we’re not doing that.”
After a stop and a touchdown, UMass was only down 14-7and held the momentum. But Snyder wasn’t slowing down. He led a pair of field goal drives on Eastern Michigan’s next two possessions, and then after UMass turned the ball over on downs, he led a 29-second touchdown drive to give Eastern Michigan a 28-7 lead with 5:43 left and put the game out of reach.
Down 21, Phommachanh worked out of the no-huddle and UMass scored their second touchdown of the game with 3:06 left. Hester, a Western Michigan transfer,scored his first touchdown as a Minuteman on a 2-yard run up the middle. But Eastern Michigan recovered the onside kick and ran the clock out on their fourth win over UMass in four years.
While Eastern Michigan only outgained UMass 375 to 329 and neither team turned the ball over, the Eagles moved down the field smoothly while the Minutemen progressed the ball in spurts. UMass doubled Eastern Michigan’s time of possession in the second and third quarters, but Eastern Michigan outscored them 17-7 in those quarters. Snyder showed impressive touch, and UMass’ mix of returners and transfers were seemingly always on the back foot.
“(Snyder) is a mature guy who’s been around the block a little bit,” Brown said. “Thought he played with some poise today.”
