Holy Cross Visits Towson, UMass Hosts Temple in Week 2
Saturday, September 19, 2015
UMass QB Blake Frohnaphel, photo courtesy of UMass athletics.com
Temple vs UMass, 3 p.m., Gillette Stadium
Last time out, UMass fell 48-14 on the road to the Colorado Buffaloes and are in search of a bounce back win over a Temple team that is coming off a 27-10 win over Penn State and a 34-26 win over Cincinnati.
Temple is 10 points away from being a top 25 team in the country.
Keys to win for UMass
The number one thing that UMass has to do is hold onto the ball. Colorodo scored 14 points off of turnovers in route to a blow out win. Turnovers just kill momentum and give it to the other team.
In this game, UMass is going to need to hold on to possession as much as possible and extend drives as much as possible to keep a potent Temple Offense on the bench.
The second thing UMass needs to do in this game is tighten up the run defense. Colorado ran for 390 yards on 59 attempts and reached pay dirt five times. The Buffaloes picked up 32 first downs overall, 22 of them came from running.
The success running the ball also contributed to the 36 minutes of possession that Colorado had compared to UMass's 24 minutes.
Stopping the run will not be an easy task against Temple as they come in with running back Jahad Thomas who ran for 135 and 193 yards in the first two games respectively.
Lastly, UMass's offensive line is going to need to be sharp and protect quarterback Blake Frohnaphel. Temple comes in with a defense that leads the American Athletic Conference in sacks with 11 in two games.
UMass suffered a tough loss last week, however, a win this week would be a huge momentum builder for the team and would put them right back on track.
This game will be shown on ESPN3.
The Holy Cross Crusaders are coming off of a bye week following their 27-19 win over Monmouth in the season opener. The all time series between the two teams is tied at four, however, Towson has won three straight games.
The Towson Tigers are coming off last season in which they made it all the way to the national championship game and they are looking to get back this year.
Keys to Victory for Holy Cross
The Holy Cross defense is going to have to be strong in this game, on the road. Towson's offense is owing off a 35 point performance in which quarterback Connor Frazier has thrown for 490 yards this season and has rushed for 46.
Meanwhile, Towson carries a strong running game led by Darius Victor who has 235 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the young season.
Offensively, quarterback Peter Pujals will need to continue to lead the way and this season he is off to a good start. Pujals threw for 165 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 38 yards and a touchdown last time out.
In the last game, Holy Cross won the turnover battle, forcing 4 turnovers out of Monmouth while not turning the ball over themselves. Against a high powered offense, the Crusaders will have to do a good job again of holding onto the ball. They can't afford to give Towson extra possessions.
How to follow the game
This game can be heard on WEEI 1440 AM in Worcester. Click here to listen live.
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