AMHERST — The early-season gauntlet continues for the UMass football team, as the Minutemen prepare to host former conference foe Toledo at noon Saturday.
UMass’ first five opponents have a combined 16-4 record and two have received votes in the AP poll: No. 16 Coastal Carolina and Boston College.
“Everybody knew going into this season we were playing five really good football teams right out of the gate, and this being the fifth,” UMass coach Walt Bell said.
It doesn’t get any easier with the Rockets, who are 2-2 but gave No. 9 Notre Dame all the Irish could handle in South Bend in Week 2. Toledo made a bowl game every year from 2014-18 and won a conference title in that stretch.
“They’re in a bowl game every year for a reason,” Bell said. “They’ve been the class of that league for a long time.”
UMass (0-4) knows how to prepare for a quality opponent. The Minutemen have done it for more than a month. Their execution hasn’t matched the preparation, and the scoreboard has shown the results. UMass has lost every game by at least two scores, an average gap of 31 points per game. Those margins haven’t worn on the Minutemen, though.
“It’s still easy. We still believe in each other. It’s still a brotherhood out there,” UMass defensive lineman Avien Peah said. “No matter what the scoreboard says, we still believe in each other. We’re going to get up for our guys, get up for each other.”
UMass has lost 15 games in a row, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Arizona (16). The Wildcats are off this week. Toledo coach Jason Candle isn’t writing this Saturday off and moving on to homecoming against Northern Illinois next week however.
“You have to respect and see and watch the tape. Somebody’s going to have an individual battle that’s really good,” he said. “Plenty of examples this weekend of how if you don’t prepare like crazy and you don’t bring it every Saturday, you can get beat.”
The Rockets won at Ball State last week, bouncing back from consecutive defeats to Notre Dame and Colorado State. They employ a two-quarterback rotation: pocket passer Carter Bradley (802 yards, three TDs) and run-oriented Dequan Finn, the team’s second-leading rusher with 213 yards. His three rushing scores lead Toledo, but Finn has also thrown for 90 yards and completes 57.9 percent of his passes.
“The biggest thing is knowing who’s in the game,” Peah said.
Whoever it is will look for Devin Maddox early and often. The sophomore has 329 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including an 84-yard catch and run against Norfolk State. He averages more than 20 yards per reception.
Defensively, Toledo allows 19 points per game, one of the top 40 marks in the country. The Rockets do give up 338 yards per game, but only 185.5 through the air. That is due to standout cornerback Samuel Womack and safety Tycen Anderson, while Desjuan Johnson holds down the fort at defensive tackle. Linebacker Terrance Taylor leads Toledo with three sacks.
“They’re a good operation,” Bell said.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.