AMHERST — Mark Whipple understands he’s not always the nicest toward his quarterbacks on game day.
If fifth-year seniors Ross Comis or Andrew Ford had started, he might not have had to put as much thought into his demeanor. But with redshirt junior Michael Curtis making his first start for UMass, the veteran coach was sure to remind his son, Spencer, the quarterbacks coach, to speak with Curtis often during the game.
“He’s more of a calming influence,” Mark Whipple said of Spencer.
Curtis, who entered the season as UMass’ third-string quarterback, did enough to lead the Minutemen to a 49-31 win over Charlotte on Saturday at home. He was efficient through the air – 12 of 19 for 189 yards and two touchdowns – and smart when he used his legs, jetting off eight times for 40 yards and two touchdowns if you exclude the sack he took.
He also put his coach at ease after Whipple admitted he wasn’t sure what he was going to get from his quarterback situation against the 49ers.
“I was really nervous the whole game, I just didn’t want to put him in harm’s way,” Whipple said. “When you get thrown in the game, it’s one thing as a player, as a quarterback, but when you’ve got to start, you’re thinking about it, you’re talking with the media and all those things and you have a bigger plan. I thought he did a good job.
“It’s like any time someone goes in for the first time, you don’t know what’s going to happen. You’d like to think you do, but you don’t.”
Fortunately for the Minutemen (2-3), Curtis eased any concerns about his play. UMass kept the playbook a bit simpler for Curtis, staying within the concepts he was most comfortable with. But the Texas native’s preparation paid off, too, and he helped the Minutemen take advantage of the shifts in Charlotte’s game plan.
When asked Wednesday what he felt he could exploit in Charlotte’s defense, Curtis said “a lot” and went on to describe the confidence he had in his receivers. When the 49ers didn’t play as much zone defense in the secondary against UMass as they had in their first three games, Curtis made them pay.
He found Brennon Dingle for a 37-yard pass when the sophomore beat his man deep to set up a Marquis Young touchdown run. He also hit Jessie Britt for a 29-yard touchdown a few possessions later after Britt beat his man up the seam and found himself wide open near the end zone.
Curtis also had a beautiful touchdown to Andy Isabella called back because of an ineligible man downfield.
“They definitely showed a lot of the stuff that we thought they would show,” Curtis said. “They tried to switch it up throughout the game and give us a little more man than we expected. But that’s what we want. We want man because our receivers out there, there are some nice players out there.
“We wanted those matchups and we started going to it, and that’s when people like Jessie Britt started getting involved in the game and other receivers, too.”
PADS MADE DIFFERENCE: UMass went through its full week of practice with pads ahead of Saturday’s game, and it showed early and often.
The Minutemen’s defense was more energetic than it has been the last three weeks and was far more physical. UMass won the battle of the trenches easily and harassed Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds all game.
The 49ers couldn’t move the ball on their first six drives, picking up just one first down.
“There was a little bit more of an edge to practice and a little more competition, and I think that showed up, certainly in the first quarter,” Whipple said. “We just had to change something, we had to change the attitude and the way the guys and the seniors handled it was really good.”
SECONDARY WHOLE AGAIN: For the first time all season, UMass had all four starters in the secondary healthy and able to play in the same game.
Graduate transfer safety Brice McAllister returned from an injury to link up with senior safety Tyler Hayes, junior corner Isaiah Rodgers and senior corner Lee Moses. The experience in the back end helped UMass be more aggressive on defense and eliminated several big play chances with clinical pass breakups.
Whipple said having the four defensive backs out there together helped keep the defense more organized and improved the communication. He said those two things were part of the reason the Minutemen were able to play well defensively in the early going.
KICKER UPDATE: Redshirt junior Mike Caggiano missed a 20-yard field goal off the right uprights and did not attempt a kick the rest of the game. Whipple said Caggiano hurt his groin on Thursday and tried to tough it out against Charlotte.
In addition to missing the field goal, Caggiano also had both of his kickoffs fall short of the end zone and allow for returns. Junior Cooper Garcia made all four of his extra points and handled the final four kickoffs of the game for the Minutemen.