Ford returns home hungry
AMHERST — UMass quarterback Andrew Ford will fulfill a childhood ambition when the Minutemen engage Temple tonight at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound redshirt junior is from Camp Hills, Pa., a small community about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where the Eagles, not the Owls, are the big birds of football.
“I am really looking forward to that opportunity and it’s something I’ve thought about,” Ford said. “I am from just a little over an hour away and I grew up an Eagles fan. I’ve been to Lincoln Financial Field a number of times as a fan but never played on it.”
Ford was a particular fan of a former Syracuse quarterback who led the Eagles against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
“When I was in Pee Wee football I was a huge Eagles fan and especially a Donovan McNabb fan,” Ford said. “Obviously he was the quarterback on the team when the Eagles were very successful.”
UMass (0-3) takes on Temple (1-1) after an ugly start in which different parts of the machine have broken down on game day. In consecutive losses to Hawaii and Coastal Carolina, the offense supplied enough points (63) to win, but the defense evaporated in the fourth quarter.
In last weekend’s 17-7 home loss to Old Dominion, the defense played well enough to win but the offense surrendered eight sacks while managing just one second-half touchdown.
UMass coach Mark Whipple identified the problems in the film room and began the process of fixing them on the practice field. Whipple needs his offensive front working in unison to exploit a Temple defense that surrendered more than 1,000 combined yards in its first two contests.
“I think the offensive line is disappointed in their play but it wasn’t as a group, it was just one guy missing at a time,” Whipple said. “I like the last two days of (practice) and we are trying to be a little more physical. On some plays there was a technique or a mental error when they give us a different look.”
Ford knows there were things he should have done better to allow his line and receivers to perform more efficiently against Old Dominion.
“We know we didn’t play to the best of our abilities on Saturday and we came in on Sunday ready to work and get ready for Temple,” Ford said. “There are things I can do as a quarterback — mixing up the cadence and keep the defensive line guessing and extending plays with my legs when I have to.”
The passing combination of Ford to tight end Adam Breneman dates back to Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hills. Breneman began the season on the watch list for the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end, and he had 18 catches for 305 yards over the first two games.
But Breneman suffered a leg injury at Coastal Carolina and was limited against Old Dominion (three catches, 23 yards). Whipple said Breneman will be ready for Temple.
The Minutemen will not play their scheduled game against South Florida on Oct. 14 in Tampa, because of a Hurricane Irma-related schedule change request from USF and the American Athletic Conference. That leaves UMass with consecutive byes the first two weeks in October.
To fill the vacated game, UMass said it has “agreed in principle” to play Florida International in Miami on Dec. 2.
But the game won’t be played if FIU qualifies for the Conference USA championship game, scheduled for that day. In that event, the UMass season would end after the Nov. 18 game at BYU.