Meet Your Insider
Greetings from the Pioneer Valley, friends. I'm Abner Kettleworth, your Massachusetts insider at The Cover Window. I was an organic farmer in the Five College area until I started grinding game tape, and now I travel and live with this team. I still bring kale chips on the bus. Nobody eats them.
Fair warning: I make a Revolutionary War pun for every scheme. One if by run, two if by pass. I'm also a stickler for the truth, which seems fitting for a Minuteman. Every number I give you carries a source. If I don't know something, I'll tell you I'm still waiting on Paul Revere's report. I celebrate our players as people first, I respect every opponent, and I thank God for every chilly autumn Friday. Shot heard 'round the film room.
The School in 60 Seconds
UMass began playing football in 1879. The Minutemen reached three FCS national championship games and won the title in 1998. They've played home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium since 1965, and CFBD lists its capacity at 17,000. UMass began moving up to FBS in 2011 and was an associate MAC member until leaving after the 2015 season. After years as an independent, the school announced in February 2024 that it would rejoin the MAC. CFBD lists UMass as a MAC member this season.
The last five seasons were a long winter at Valley Forge: 1-11, 1-11, 3-9, 2-10 and 0-12 in 2025. That's why this year's 4-3 start feels like spring planting.
The Coach and the Scheme
Joe Harasymiak leads the regiment. CFBD records his hire date as Dec. 4, 2024. In December 2015 he became the youngest head coach in Division I football when Maine hired him. He went 20-15 there in three seasons, and his 2018 team won the CAA and reached the FCS semifinals. He later was co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Minnesota, then defensive coordinator at Rutgers from 2022 to 2024.
You can see that defensive résumé in the numbers. UMass allows 307.9 yards per game (30th in FBS) and 19.1 points (33rd). The pass defense ranks 30th at 183.1 yards per game, and the run defense ranks 45th at 124.7. The Minutemen are +7 in turnover margin, 8th in FBS, and they've returned two interceptions for touchdowns. That's a militia that shows up on time.
The offense is a work in progress. UMass gains 339.1 yards per game (113th) and scores 28.0 points (77th). It runs for 160.1 yards per game (64th) and throws for 179.0 (117th).
Players to Know
QB William Watson III: 820 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 74.0% completions. CollegeFootballDigest lists him going 20 of 27 for 210 yards against Eastern Michigan.
QB Logan Inagawa: played quarterback at Buffalo, going 14 of 25 for 168 yards with an interception. He also ran 19 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. I don't know which quarterback starts Friday, and I won't guess.
RB Elijah Faulkner: 361 yards on 83 carries, one touchdown. He ran 23 times for 84 yards and scored at Buffalo.
RB Curtis Kimmons IV: 297 rushing yards and four touchdowns, per ESPN.
WR T.Y. Harding: team-best 28 catches for 327 yards and two touchdowns. CollegeFootballDigest lists nine catches for 91 yards against Miami (Ohio).
WR Kezion Dia-Johnson: five catches for 79 yards at Buffalo.
LB Timmy Hinspeter: the tackle leader. ESPN's API lists 59 tackles and its web page lists 51, so his total is conflicting.
DL William DePaepe: team-high two sacks.
The Conference Picture
UMass is 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the MAC. The Minutemen won their first four games: 37-21 at Rutgers, 37-10 over Sacred Heart, 36-14 over Stonehill and 35-6 at Sacramento State. Then came three losses: 38-14 to Eastern Michigan, 20-19 to Miami (Ohio) and 25-18 in overtime at Buffalo. Two of those three were decided by a point or in overtime.
This is a nonconference game, since UConn is an FBS independent. After it, UMass hosts Ball State on Nov. 4. Then come Toledo on the road, Akron at home and Bowling Green on the road.
This Week: Game Preview from Both Sides
UMass (4-3) at UConn (3-3) · Friday, Oct. 23, 7:00 p.m. ET · Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. · CBS Sports Network
Last time out. UMass lost 25-18 in overtime at Buffalo on Oct. 17. UConn had a bye after beating Temple 34-20 on Oct. 10.
UMass' offense vs. UConn's defense. Here's the opening for our redcoats-and-raccoon-caps attack. UConn's pass defense allows 290.5 yards per game, 135th in FBS. Opponents convert 43.3% of third downs against the Huskies (113th). Watson completes 74% of his passes, so short throws to Harding can move the chains. UConn's run defense is stronger, at 117.0 yards per game (39th).
UConn's offense vs. UMass' defense. UConn can fire cannons. The Huskies gain 451.8 yards per game (24th) and score 35.7 points (29th). Kalieb Osborne has 1,421 passing yards and Cyncir Bowers has 433 rushing yards. At Temple, Trey Cornist ran seven times for 114 yards. Our defense has the numbers to answer, and the turnover margin matters most. UMass is +7, and UConn is even. UConn also averages 79.0 penalty yards a game, 130th in FBS.
Series. CFBD shows UConn 4-2 against UMass from 2016 to 2025. CollegeFootballDigest lists UConn ahead 6-4 all-time, with a 47-42 UConn win in 2024 and a 27-13 UMass win in 2021. Those last figures are thin.
Availability. No official conference availability report has been published. The quarterback plan is unknown after Inagawa played at Buffalo.
Three questions that decide it:
1. Can Watson or Inagawa exploit UConn's 135th-ranked pass defense?
2. Can the +7 turnover margin travel?
3. Can UMass finally win a close one after two one-score league losses?
Local Flavor
It's Friday night under the lights at the Rent. UConn calls it "The Rent at Night," and it's also the Huskies' Cancer Awareness game. That's a cause worth cheering for, whatever colors you wear. I'll bring a thermos of cider and a heart full of thanks. Not an ad.
My call: UConn Huskies 33, Massachusetts Minutemen 20.