2018 BYU at Massachusetts

BYU Heads East For Showdown With UMass At Gillette Stadium

BYU Heads East For Showdown With UMass At Gillette Stadium

FloFootball’s season-long coverage of UMass football concludes on Saturday, as the Minutemen host BYU in their final home game of the season.

Nov 8, 2018 by Kolby Paxton
BYU Heads East For Showdown With UMass At Gillette Stadium

FloFootball’s season-long coverage of UMass football concludes on Saturday, as the Minutemen host BYU in their final home game of the season.

Who: BYU (4-5) at Massachusetts (4-6)

When: Saturday, Nov. 10, 12 PM ET

Where: Foxboro, Mass., Gillette Stadium

Watch: LIVE on FloFootball

UMass engineered a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Liberty last week, erasing a 14-point deficit in less than seven minutes, before winning the game in triple overtime. Andy Isabella set a program record with 303 receiving yards in the senior day victory.

BYU fell two yards short of an upset win on the road at Boise State a week ago, as quarterback Zach Wilson was sacked on the game’s final play—just seven feet from a game-winning score.

Both teams are still eyeing a bowl berth, however. For UMass, the odds are long, with fifth-ranked Georgia waiting next week. BYU needs to take two of its next three, with New Mexico State and Utah following this road trip to Foxboro, Mass.

Isabella Continue To Make Headlines

Wide receiver Andy Isabella is enjoying a spectacular senior season. After starting the year on the Biletnikoff Watch List, Isabella has not disappointed, tallying 1,394 yards and 11 touchdowns—and, most recently, turned in a monster performance in last week’s victory over Liberty.

Isabella’s 303 receiving yards paced a UMass offense that totaled 777 yards on the day—including 540 yards through the air for quarterback Ross Comis.

Brigham Young Is, In Fact, Young

A total of 26 freshmen have seen action for BYU this season.

Eleven different freshmen have started at least one game for the Cougars, including five true freshmen. In face, of the 26 participants who are classified as freshies, 16 of them are true freshmen.

In the Cougars’ victory over Hawaii, BYU started seven freshmen, including a half dozen on offense. More than half of the team’s scoring (111 of 198 total points) has come courtesy of a player who will have three years of eligibility remaining at the conclusion of this season.

Body Clock Game

Despite being a 14-point favorite on Saturday, BYU may be on upset alert. Why? It’s the dreaded 11 AM local kickoff on the east coast for a team that resides two timezones to the west.

BYU head coach Kilani Sitake has a plan, however.

“We’re going to get there a day early to get adjusted to the clock,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to have any problems with the distance. We’re going to practice on Thursday morning. It’ll be a lot of fun. I’m excited to see our east coast fans out there.”