AMHERST — UMass football head coach Joe Harasymiak has talked about it essentially all summer. Turnovers and to a lesser extent, explosive plays, decide football games.
On Saturday afternoon against Temple, the Minutemen found themselves on the short end of the stick in both categories in a 42-10 defeat to the Owls at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Temple scored two touchdowns directly following UMass turnovers (one fumble, one interception) and two more scores right after the Minutemen failed to convert on fourth down.
Basically, the Owls translated four UMass mistakes into 28 points on the scoreboard on the way to the Minutemen’s discouraging loss in front of 11,565 hopeful, home fans.
“I’ve said a lot, we lost the ball, we lost explosives and we lost penalties, so right off the bat, you’re not going to have a very good chance to win,” Harasymiak said. “I thought the guys’ effort was good, but just too many mistakes at the end of the day.”
UMass played a clean first quarter and actually led, 10-7, after 15 minutes. It wasn’t until a fumble from Minuteman starting quarterback Brandon Rose in the second quarter changed the complexion of the game.
Rose scrambled out of the pocket near the 50-yard line, rolled right and saw a pocket to run, however the former Utah slinger got popped by a Temple defender as he was leaping over another Owls player and subsequently lost the ball.
Temple took over possession and in less than a minute, visiting quarterback Evan Simon guided the Owls 41 yards down field and threw one of his six total touchdown passes of the game to put Temple ahead, 14-10.
“The second quarter kind of took on a life of its own,” Harasymiak said. “That turnover there, on the fumble, we were going in, moving the ball pretty well in the first quarter, second quarter. Then that second quarter kind of got away. I think we gave up six explosive plays in the first half from my notes. Any time you do that, you’re probably going to be down.”
The back-breaker for the Minutemen occurred on Temple’s very next possession, which came about after UMass failed to convert on fourth down in the red zone. The Owls started on their own 1-yard line and proceeded to go 99 yards in in a little over two minutes on nine plays, including a 55-yard carry from Temple running back Jay Ducker.
A 29-yard Peter Clarke touchdown snag capped off Temple’s march, turning a three-point Minutemen lead at the start of the frame into a 21-10 UMass deficit in about 10 minutes of game action.
“I thought we could put the hammer down there and I felt good,” Harasymiak said on the fourth-and-goal situation. “We got into goal-line personnel and they made a good play. Obviously [we] were tripped up on that motion, the guy ran over the top. I don’t second-guess that.”
The Owls rubbed dirt into the Minutemen wound with an end zone interception off Rose late in the third quarter. Temple kept to its successful script and eased down field, before Simon hit Ryder Kusch for a 3-yard score and a 35-10 advantage.
Altogether, the Owls obtained seven catches that stretched at least 15 yards (155 total yards) and three rushes of at least 10 yards (83 total yards).
“The big thing is momentum,” UMass running back Rocko Griffin said. “Any time you play, you can see the momentum shift. Whether that’s from a turnover, whether that’s from a gameplan on special teams, momentum is a big part of the game.”
Gibson steps up on offense
One noticeable positive that stemmed from Saturday’s loss was wide receiver Jacquon Gibson’s performance.
The redshirt junior pulled in 12 catches for 132 yards and appeared to be Rose’s first option on multiple plays.
“Coach [Mike] Bajakian calling the right plays, [Brandon] Rose putting it in the right spot,” Gibson said on his performance. “We left a lot of meat on the bone, including me.”
Gibson was targeted 20 times — partly due to T.Y. Harding exiting the game early due to injury — but also because the Fayetteville, North Caroline native was consistently hauling in balls thrown his way.
Gibson’s longest catch measured in at 39 yards, which led all receivers.
“The guy has been playing at that level in spring ball, camp,” Harasymiak said. “I think [Rose and Gibson] have a certain feel for each other.”
As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, Gibson caught 23 passes for 270 yards in 12 games.
Despite shining, Gibson, who has spent his entire college career in the Pioneer Valley, is more concerned with helping his team secure ‘W’s’.
“I’m just trying to win, I’ve been here too long,” Gibson said. “I feel like I owe it to the fans, the alumni’s, I just want to win and put a smile on people’s face. I’m tired of coming into the locker room and everybody [is] down we’re going to get it right, trust me.”
