UMass Minutemen v. Hawaii Warriors: Game preview and how to watch

The UMass Minutemen will become the first major college team in New England to kick off their season as they clash with Hawaii on Saturday night.

Hawaii has traveled over 5,000 miles for their Saturday contest with the UMass Minutemen. Finally, the college football season will begin in New England. While Boston College and UConn don’t play until Thursday and Friday next week, we have one team to watch in Week 0.

Last season, UMass was in Hawaii for this game. In the season finale, they were able to put up 40 points, their season high. Unfortunately, Hawaii was able to put 46 points on the board for the win. This year at home they’ll be looking for revenge.

The Minutemen passing attack should be even better this season, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see another 40-point game from them Saturday night. Here, I’ll give you my thoughts on a few key players and my prediction for the games final score.

Time, Location, and How to Watch

Location: McGuirk Alumni Stadium (Amherst, MA)
Time: 6 PM EST
TV: NESN
Stream: http://www.umassathletics.com

Key Players

UMass Minutemen

QB #7 Andrew Ford

According to UMass head coach Mark Whipple, both Ford and Ross Comis will play today. Ford is more of a pro-style QB while Comis can run a bit more.

Last season, Ford started 8 games for the Minutemen, averaging 296 yards per game through the air. He threw 26 touchdowns in 9 total games, but also threw 14 interceptions into the arms of the defense. As a junior, UMass will be counting on Ford to improve upon those numbers.

QB #2 Ross Comis

Comis is another junior QB for UMass. Like I said before though, he’s different from Ford in his rushing abilities. Over his career in Amherst, Comis has appeared in 9 games with 3 starts. Looking only at his four games last season, Comis threw for 1 touchdown and 1 interception on 63 attempts.

RB #8 Marquis Young

Marquis Young was pretty solid for the Minutemen last season as a sophomore. Now a year older, we hope that he can continue to get even better. In 2016, Young ran for 898 yards on 197 attempts. He found the end zone twice as well. Young was actually better the year before, with 960 yards and 7 scores.

MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 26: Diocemy Saint Juste /

Hawaii Warriors

RB #22 Diocemy Saint Juste

Saint Juste is a nearly 200-pound running back for Hawaii from Lake Worth, Florida. In 2016 he ran for 1,006 yards in 12 games on 165 attempts. He’s not a huge threat out of the backfield as a pass catcher, so UMass should be able to crash and stop some of Saint Juste’s long runs.

DE #97 Meffy Koloamatangi

Meffy earned an All-Mountain West honorable mention last season, and as a redshirt junior he’s one of the bets players on the Hawaii defense. He had three sacks last season, with one coming in the final game against the Minutemen at Aloha Stadium. UMass will have to handle Meffy if they want to keep Ford and Comis upright.

Next: 2017 UMass Football Preview

Prediction

If this game was in the middle of the season, I’d easily give UMass the win with all of the travel for Hawaii. But, since it’s week 0, Hawaii has actually already been in Massachusetts for a few days. I’m sticking with my gut from my earlier UMass season preview, and I’m giving the W to the Warriors. Hawaii 47, UMass 42

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