By beating Merrimack, Minutemen would enjoy their Homecoming

Progress is measured in small increments by the UMass football program.

The Minutemen won two road games in a season for the first time since 2015 when they outlasted Army 21-15 last Saturday at Michie Stadium. UMass beat New Mexico State 4130 in the season opener on Aug. 26.

UMass (2-7) has a chance to win three games in a season for the first time since going 4-4 in 2018 when it hosts Merrimack (4-4) on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) at McGuirk Stadium. Merrimack is an FCS program from the

Northeast Conference that is located in North Andover.

UMass can also win consecutive games for the first time since beating UConn and Liberty in 2018. If the Minutemen need further motivation, they have an opportunity to notch their first win at McGuirk on Homecoming Weekend.

“We have an opportunity to take care of business two weeks in a row so let’s go,” said UMass head coach Don Brown. “Now we have to put that foot on the gas pedal and get the second win (in a row) and I think that is a big deal to get that second win.

“I think this is a big game on our turf and I’m anticipating a good crowd. For the guys to win on Homecoming, as a football player that is a big deal and it is something we talked about in the team meeting.”

UMass became a onedimensional offense by choice at Army, which is not an unusual occurrence at West Point. Redshirt junior tailback Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams gave the signature performance of his breakout season when he rushed for a career-high 234 yards on 34 carries (6.9 yards per carry) and three touchdowns.

Adams is fourth in the nation and first among Independents with 926 yards on 178 carries in nine games, averaging 102.9 per game. He also has 15 catches for 93 yards.

With the Lynch-Adams Express in overdrive, that allowed redshirt junior quarterback Taison Phommachanh the opportunity to manage the game with minimal pressure. Phommachanh completed an efficient 17-of23 passes for 121 yards to seven different receivers with zero sacks or interceptions.

“The efficiency was all there,” said Brown. “Sure, we wanted him to have more yards but he did what we asked him to do. The bottom line was they couldn’t get Kay’Ron Adams on the ground. In the second half of that game we kind of rode that.”