2000 UMass Football #11 UMass (1-1, 1-1 A-10) vs. New Haven (2-1)

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1 2000 UMass Football #11 UMass (1-1, 1-1 A-10) vs. New Haven (2-1) September 23, :00 p.m. Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium (17,000) Amherst, Mass. Game Day Quick Facts TV: None Radio: UMass Football Radio Network (Bob Behler, play-byplay; Bob Pickett, color; WHMP 1400 AM, Northampton, flagship) UMass Student Radio (WMUA 91.1 FM, Amherst) New Haven Radio (Jim Abbott and Travis Spiva; WNHU 88.7 FM, West Haven) Series Record: First Meeting 2000 UMass Schedule & Results Aug. 31 William & Mary * W, Sept. 16 at Richmond * L, Sept. 23 New Haven :00 p.m. Sept. 30 Hofstra (Fox Sports N.Y.) :00 p.m. Oct. 7 at Northeastern * :30 p.m. Oct. 14 Maine * :00 p.m. Oct. 21 American International College...1:00 p.m. Oct. 28 at New Hampshire * :00 p.m. Nov. 4 Villanova * (A-10 TV) :00 p.m. Nov. 11 Delaware * (A-10 TV) :00 p.m. Nov. 18 at Rhode Island * :00 p.m. * denotes Atlantic 10 Conference games Home games listed in bold 2000 New Haven Schedule & Results Aug. 31 at West Chester W, 7-0 Sept. 9 Clarion W, 37-7 Sept. 16 at Indiana (Pa.) L, 9-14 Sept. 23 at UMass :00 p.m. Sept. 30 at Elon :00 p.m. Oct. 7 Central Washington :00 p.m. Oct. 14 St. Joseph s (Ind.) :00 p.m. Oct. 28 at Gardner-Webb :30 p.m. Nov. 3 at Southern Connecticut :00 p.m. Nov. 11 at Jackson State :30 p.m. Home games listed in bold THE SERIES WITH NEW HAVEN: This w e e k s game marks the first-ever meeting between UMass and New Haven on the football field. The Chargers will also be the first Division II opponent for the Minutemen since 1982, when UMass downed American I n t e rnational College in the season finale. New Haven is familiar with UMass head coach Mark Whipple, who spent six seasons as the Chargers head coach from Whipple led New Haven to an overall mark of (.738) during his six seasons, including consecutive NCAA Division II Playoff appearances in 1992 and SHIPP HITS THE 100 MARK AGAIN: Senior tailback Marcel Shipp (Paterson, N.J.) had another big game against Richmond last week, rushing 27 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. With his performance against the Spiders, Shipp has now rushed for 100 yards in a game against every team in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He has accomplished the feat twice against Maine, New Hampshire, Villanova and William & Mary, and once each against Delaware, James Madison, Northeastern, Rhode Island and Richmond. Shipp also rushed for over 100 yards four times against former Atlantic 10 member Connecticut. Dating back to last season, Shipp has now rushed for over 100 yards in six straight games, and 25 times in his last 27 games. For the year, he has totaled 216 yards and three touchdowns on 57 carries, while also catching five passes for 75 yards AYI AMONG NATION S BEST : Senior linebacker Kole Ayi (Nashua, N.H.), one of the favorites to win the 2000 Buck Buchanan Award, had a big game for the Minutemen last week at Richmond. He recorded a team-best 11 tackles against the Spiders, including one tackle for loss. In the season opener against William & Mary, Ayi tied for second on the team in tackles with six, while also recording one quarterback hurry. A year ago, Ayi led the team and the Atlantic 10 Conference in total tackles with 147, including 109 solo stops. He reached double figures in tackles nine times in 13 games last season, while leading the team in tackles on eight occasions. Ayi had 15 or more tackles in a game five times a year ago, against Rhode Island (17), New Hampshire (17), Richmond (16), Toledo (15) and Villanova (15). He has moved into second place on the all-time UMass list for solo tackles, with 263 during his career as a Minuteman, while also ranking fourth in total tackles with 372. Ayi is only the third player in school history to make over 250 career unassisted tackles.

2 HEAD COACH MARK WHIPPLE: Now in his third season as head coach of the Minutemen, Mark Whipple has posted an overall re c o rd of 22-8 (.733) during his career at UMass. He was the fastest coach in school history to re c o rd 20 victories, picking up the 20th win of his UMass career against Connecticut last season. Whipple needed only 26 games to reach the 20-win mark. Pre v i o u s l y, Mike Hodges held the re c o rd for fewest games needed to reach 20 wins, going 20-7 in his first 27 games as UMass head coach. Whipple also become the first coach in school history to win 20 games in his first two seasons, as Hodges did not re c o rd his 20th victory until the sixth game of his third season. This season, Whipple has a chance to become the first UMass coach in 20 years to lead his team to thre e consecutive winning seasons. The last Minuteman coach to accomplish the feat was Bob Pickett, who led UMass to four straight winning years from Whipple owns a career re c o rd of (.696) in 13 years as a collegiate head coach, including four years at B rown (24-16 / ) and six seasons at New Haven (48-17 / ). His.696 career winning percentage ranks 12th among active Division I-AA coaches. MCGUIRK MAGIC: Since Mark Whipple took over as the head coach of the Minutemen prior to the start of the 1998 season, UMass has been almost unbeatable in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The Minutemen have gone 10-2 at home from 1998 to present, improving their all-time re c o rd at McGuirk to (.650). Since 1992, UMass has had a losing re c o rd at home only once, while posting a home re c o rd of (.674) during that time. The last team to defeat the Minutemen at McGuirk was No. 6 Hofstra, which won on Oct. 2, SHIPP AND AYI AMONG F AVORITES FOR NATIONAL AWARDS: Marcel Shipp and Kole Ayi both have good chances of winning the National Player of the Year awards presented by T h e S p o rts Network. Last year, Shipp finished fifth in the voting for the Walter Payton Aw a rd (given to the top player in Division I-AA), and is one of only four re t u rning players to finish in the top 10 last season. Ayi placed second in last year s voting for the Buck Buchanan Aw a rd (presented to the best defensive player in the country), and is the only one of the top four finishers fro m last season to return.

3 SHIPP IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior tailback Marcel Shipp, who already owns a number of all-time UMass records, has a chance to break two school career scoring records against New Haven. Shipp enters the game with career totals of 54 touchdowns and 324 points, standing only one touchdown and eight points behind Rene Ingoglia s records of 332 points and 55 touchdowns from Shipp also has a career total of 5,360 rushing yards, placing him second on the all-time Atlantic 10 list, only 945 yards behind New Hampshire s Jerry Azumah (6,193 yards / ). Here is a look at every UMass record currently owned by Shipp: Single Game All-Purpose Plays (vs. Delaware, 1999) Single Season Rushing Yards ,542 (1998) Single Season Carries (1998) Single Season Rushing Yards / Game (1998) Single Season Rushing Touchdowns (1999) Single Season All-Purpose Yards ,032 (1998) Single Season All-Purpose Plays (1998) Single Season All-Purpose Yards / Game (1998) Single Season Points Scored (1999) Single Season Touchdowns Scored (1999) Career Rushing Yards ,360 (1997- ) Career Carries (1997- ) Career Rushing Yards / Game (1997- ) Career All-Purpose Yards ,714 (1997- ) Career All-Purpose Plays ,147 (1997- ) Career All-Purpose Yards / Game (1997- ) Consecutive 100-Yard Games ( ) WHIPPLE S OFFENSE REMAINS IMPRESSIVE: U M a s s continues to boast one of the nation s top offenses, averaging 30.0 points and yards per game so far in Last season, UMass finished the year with 415 points (31.9 per game), secondmost in school history behind only the 524 points scored in 1998 (33.5 per game). The third highest scoring total in school history is 343 points set by both the 1978 and 1988 teams (the 1978 squad set the record in 13 games and the 1988 team needed 12 games). UMass also recorded the second highest single season mark in school history for total offense last year with 5,673 yards. The record of 7,074 yards was set by the 1998 Minutemen in 15 games, while the 1988 team had the third-highest total with 4,638 yards in 12 games. In addition, UMass has scored 30 or more points in a single game 16 times during Mark Whipple s tenure, posting a 14-2 record in those contests. The Minutemen have also tallied 400 or more yards of total offense in 21 of their last 30 games, and have topped the 500-yard mark seven times. UMass in the Rankings The Minutemen are currently ranked 11th in the nation by both The Sports Networkand ESPN / USA To d a y, and 10th by Don Hansen s Football Gazette. UMass has now been ranked in at least one national poll 33 straight weeks since Oct. 5, 1998, when it broke into the rankings for the first time since the 1995 season. The Minutemen finished the 1998 season on top of the S p o rts Network, E S P N / USA To d a y and Don Hansen s Football Gazettep o l l s, marking the first time the Minutemen had ever been ranked No. 1. Here is a look at where UMass has been r a n k e d so far this season: Poll Sports ESPN / Don Network USA Today Hansen Preseason Sept. 4 3 no poll 2 Sept Sept LUCERO PLAYING BIG AT QUARTERBACK: Junior quarterback Richard Lucero (Phoenix, Ariz.) had another solid game for the Minutemen against Richmond last week, completing 18 of 32 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns. That came on the heels of an outstanding game against William & Mary, in which he completed 18 of 30 passes for 376 yards and two touchdowns. Following the win over the Tribe, Lucero was honored as the Atlantic 10 Conference Offensive Player of the Week and the WHMP / UMass Athlete of the Week. His 376 passing yards were the second-most in school history, behind only Brian McNally s 389-yard performance against Connecticut in Lucero also set school records for most passing yards in a debut and most passing yards in a victory, breaking Todd Bankhead s marks of 323 yards at Delaware and 353 yards against Maine, respectively, both in In addition, Lucero rushed four times for 14 yards and a touchdown, giving him 390 yards of total offense on the evening. He recorded the third-most yards of total offense in school histor y, and the most ever by a UMass player at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. With 668 passing yards in his first two games, Lucero also broke Bankhead s record for most passing yards in consecutive games (646 yards against Delaware and Richmond in 1998). For the year, Lucero has completed 36 of 62 passes for 668 yards and four touchdowns. SMITH A TOP STUDENT-ATHLETE: Senior strong safety Brian Smith (Wilmington, Del.) looks to be a candidate for both All-America and Academic All-America honors this season. Smith ranked third on the team with nine tackles at Richmond, including three tackles for loss. Against William & Mary in the season opener, he tied for second on the team in tackles with six. Last year, Smith ranked third on the team in total tackles with 102, including 73 solo stops. He also had 10 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions and four pass breakups. He reached double figures in tackles six times during the 1999 season, with 14 against New Hampshire, 12 against both Toledo and Villanova, and 10 each against Furman, Richmond and Rhode Island. In addition, Smith carries a cumulative grade point average of 3.36 in Accounting. ROBINSON RETURNS AT SAFETY : Junior free safety Jeremy Robinson (Syracuse, N.Y.) looks to have yet another big year in the UMass secondary. Against Richmond last week, Robinson ranked second on the team with 10 tackles, with one tackle for loss and a pass breakup. In the season opener against William & Mary, Robinson recorded four tackles. Last season, Robinson ranked second on the team in tackles with 103, including 69 solo stops. He also made 12 tackles for loss, to go along with four sacks, six interceptions, six pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Robinson recorded double-digit tackles five times during the 1999 season, with 13 against Furman, 12 against both Toledo and New Hampshire, and 10 each against William & Mary and Hofstra. He also had a streak of five consecutive games with an interception, against Hofstra, Northeastern, Maine, Delaware and Rhode Island, while posting a career-best three sacks for 29 yards at William & Mary.

4 Atlantic 10 Conference Update Conference Overall W-L W-L New Hampshire Delaware Richmond UMass James Madison Maine Villanova Northeastern William & Mary Rhode Island Last Week s Results Saturday, September 16 New Hampshire 24, Northeastern 7 * Richmond 31, UMass 24 * Delaware 44, Hofstra 14 Furman 34, William & Mary 10 Maine 38, Howard 21 South Florida 26, James Madison 7 Villanova 42, Norfolk State 0 Rhode Island idle This Week s Games Saturday, September 23 Maine at Villanova * Dartmouth at New Hampshire New Haven at UMass Northeastern at Connecticut William & Mary at Central Florida Rhode Island at Hofstra West Chester at Delaware James Madison, Richmond idle ZULLO MAKES HIS MARK: Junior wide receiver Adrian Zullo (Pompano Beach, Fla.) has started off 2000 strong, totaling 10 receptions for 158 yards and three touchdowns in the first two games. He had five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown against William & Mary, and then totaled five receptions for 82 yards and two scores at Richmond. Zullo has caught at least one pass in 16 straight games and has had multiple receptions in 23 of 29 career contests. He already holds a number of UMass receiving records in only his third year as a Minuteman, including career marks for both receptions and receiving yards. Here is a look at every school record currently held by Zullo: Single Game Receptions (vs. Villanova, 1999) 11 (vs. Richmond, 1999) Single Game Receiving Yards (vs. Richmond, 1999) Single Game Receiving Touchdowns...4 (vs. UNH, 1999) Single Season All-Purpose Yards / Play (1999) Career Receptions (1998- ) Career Receiving Yards ,890 (1998- ) Career Receiving Touchdowns (1998- ) * denotes Atlantic 10 Conference games HARDY PUTS UP BIG NUMBERS AGAINST RICHMOND: Junior wide receiver DeShon Hardy (Neptune, N.J.) had one of the best games of his career at Richmond last week. Hardy caught a career-best four passes against the Spiders for a team-high 93 yards, while also returning three punts for 74 yards. He finished the game with 167 all-purpose yards, while averaging 23.9 yards every time he touched the ball. On the season, Hardy has now caught five passes for 133 yards, while returning five punts for 77 yards. UMASS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: The Minutemen faced five ranked teams last season, posting an overall mark of 2-3. UMass defeated No. 18 Delaware and No. 8 Furman in overtime, while falling to No. 22 Villanova 26-21, No. 6 Hofstra and No. 2 Georgia Southern Since the beginning of the 1998 season, UMass now stands 8-6 against ranked opponents. In 1998, the Minutemen posted wins over No. 5 Hofstra (40-35), No. 20 Villanova (36-26), No. 6 McNeese State (21-19), No. 13 Lehigh (27-21), No. 2 Northwestern State (41-31) and No. 1 Georgia Southern (55-43). The 1998 losses to ranked teams were against No. 3 Delaware (33-30), No. 15 Connecticut (44-41 in overtime) and No. 9 Connecticut (28-27). UMass six victories over ranked opponents in 1998 set a school single-season record. FOURTH AND GO: Over the last three seasons, UMass has made a habit of going for it on fourth down. In two games so far this season, the Minutemen have been successful three of the four times (.750) they have gone for it on fourth down. Last season, UMass was successful on 23 of 37 fourth down attempts for a 62.2 percent success rate. In 1998, the Minutemen converted on 21 of the 37 times they went for it on fourth down for a 56.7 percent success rate. UMass has now been successful on 60.3 percent (47 of 78) of its fourth down conversions since the beginning of the 1998 season. By comparison, UMass opponents converted on only 22 of 53 fourth down attempts over the last three years, good for 41.5 percent. MINUTEMEN BRING IN ACADEMIC HONORS: A number of UMass players received honors last season for their work both on the field and in the classroom. Graduated senior Mike Wynne led the way by being named a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete, a Burger King Division I-AA Scholar Athlete and a GTE / CoSIDA first team Academic All-American. Both Wynne and current senior Brian Smith were selected to the GTE / CoSIDA Academic All-District I first team, marking the second straight season both players were named to that squad. Wynne and Smith were joined by graduated senior Todd Bankhead, senior wide receiver Steve Ley (Philadelphia, Pa.) and senior defensive end Dan Schneider (Fitchburg, Mass.) on the Academic All-Atlantic 10 team, with both Bankhead and Wynne also being named to the Division I-AA Athletic Dire c t o r s Academic All-Star team. This year Smith will be a top candidate for Academic All-America honors, as he currently carries a 3.36 grade point average in Accounting. SANGER IS A WEAPON: Sophomore punter David Sanger (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) has punted seven times this year, landing four punts inside the opponents 20-yard line. On the year, he has averaged 40.0 yards per punt, and his net average of 39.0 has UMass ranked first in the Atlantic 10 and 10th in Division I-AA. Over the course of his UMass career, Sanger has now punted 69 times for 2,794 yards, and his average of 40.5 yards per punt ranks as the best in UMass history.

5 UMass-New Haven per game Team Comparisons UMass Offense UNH Defense 30.0 Scoring First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Yards Plays Yards per Rush Yards per Pass Attempt Turnovers 3.7 UNH Offense UMass Defense 17.7 Scoring First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Yards Plays Yards per Rush Yards per Pass Attempt Turnovers 1.0 LUCERO NEAR TOP OF NCAA ST AT LEADERS: Richard Lucero heads a list of four different UMass players who are currently ranked in the NCAA Division I-AA statistical leaders, through games of Sept. 16. Lucero stands seventh in total offense and 14th in passing efficiency. The rankings: Categor y NCAA Rank Player/Team No./Avg. Passing Yards 6 UMass Total Offense 7 Richard Lucero UMass Net Punting 10 UMass 39.0 Punt Returns 12 UMass DeShon Hardy 15.4 Passing Efficiency 14 Richard Lucero UMass Passing Completions 16 Richard Lucero 18.0 Points Responsible For 21 Richard Lucero 15.0 Rushing Yards 27 Marcel Shipp All-Purpose Yards 35 Marcel Shipp Receptions 39 Adrian Zullo 5.0 Scoring 41 Marcel Shipp Adrian Zullo 9.0 Receiving Yards 45 Adrian Zullo 79.0 MINUTEMEN AMONG THE A-10 LEADERS: S e v e r a l Minutemen rank among the Atlantic 10 leaders through games of Sept. 16. Richard Lucero stands first in passing yards (334.0 yards/game) and total offense (335.5 yards/game), and fourth in passing efficiency (160.2 rating). Marcel Shipp ranks second in rushing (108.0 yards/game) and fourth in both scoring (9.0 points/game) and all-purpose yards (145.5 yards/game). Adrian Zullo stands second in receptions (5.0 catches/game), fourth in scoring (9.0 points/game) and fifth in receiving yards (79.0 yards/game). David Sanger ranks second in the conference in punting (40.0 yards/punt), DeShon Hardy stands second in punt returns (15.4 yards/return) and junior cornerback Rob Green (Freeport, N.Y.) ranks fourth in interceptions (0.5 picks/game). As a team, UMass leads the Atlantic 10 in passing offense (334.0 yards/game), total offense (460.5 yards/game), punt returns (15.4 yards/return) and net punting (39.0 yards/punt), while ranking third in passing efficiency (157.6 rating). UMASS ON THE 23RD: The Minutemen have an all-time record of 4-4 in games played on September 23. UMass won its last game on this date, defeating Northeastern on the road in 1995, and has been victorious in four of its last five contests on Sept. 23. The Minutemen have only played at home twice on this date, defeating Maine 37-0 in 1972 and falling to Rhode Island 5-0 in The last time the Minutemen lost on Sept. 23 came during the 1989 season with a setback at Maine. ABOUT THE CHARGERS: New Haven enters this week s game with an overall record of 2-1, and was ranked 20th nationally in Division II through games of September 9. The Chargers opened the season by defeating West Chester 7-0 and Clarion State 37-7, before falling at No. 5 Indiana (Pa.) last week Senior quarterback Jason Barnett, who began his collegiate career at Boston University, has led the offense by completing 39 of 65 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. Sophomore running back Dawud Hanif leads the New Haven ground attack with 117 yards on 31 carries, while sophomore running back Andrew Parker has totaled 116 yards on 21 carries. Senior wideout Elvert Eden has been the top receiver for the Chargers, totaling 18 catches for 200 yards and two scores. Defensively, senior strong safety Mike Summers leads the team with 27 tackles, to go along with five tackles for loss and an interception. Junior linebacker Idris Price has 18 tackles with a teamhigh three sacks, while senior cornerback Isaac Williams has four interceptions and three pass breakups. NEW HAVEN HEAD COACH DARREN RIZZI: A 1992 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Darren Rizzi is in his second season as the head coach of the Chargers, and has an overall record of 7-6. In his first year, Rizzi led New Haven to an overall record of 5-5, while facing the nation s toughest Division II schedule. The Chargers faced four Division I-AA opponents during the 1999 season, posting a 1-3 record, with the three losses coming by a total of 25 points. In 1998, Rizzi served as linebackers coach at Northeastern, and prior to that he spent four seasons as an assistant coach for New Haven. During the 1997 season, Rizzi served as defensive coordinator, helping lead the Chargers to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the Division II national championship game.

6 Where to Find UMass Football ON THE RADIO All University of Massachusetts football games can be heard live on the UMass Football Radio Network, with WHMP 1400 AM (Northampton) serving as the flagship station. Bob Behler is in his second season as the play-byplay announcer, while former UMass head coach Bob Pickett is in his third year as color analyst. Here is the list of this week s affiliates on the UMass Radio Network: WXKS 1430 AM (Boston) WGAM 1520 AM (Greenfield) WUHN 1110 AM (Pittsfield) WPNT 1600 AM (Springfield) WVNE 760 AM (Worcester) In addition, WMUA 91.1 FM, the UMass student station, will carry most Minuteman football games during the 2000 season. THE MARK WHIPPLE SHOW Head coach Mark Whipple s weekly radio show, The Mark Whipple Show, airs live from The Hangar Pub & Grill in Amherst each Thursday from 6:00-7:00 p.m. during the season on WHMP 1400 AM. Bob Behler serves as the show s host. The show is open to the general public. COACH S CORNER WITH MARK WHIPPLE Every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m., the Coach s Corner with Mark Whipple can be seen on WGGB TV, channel 40 in Springfield. The short segment, which runs at the tale end of the Sunday night news, features highlights from Saturday s game and a look ahead to the next week s opponent. The show will run through the end of UMass season. ON TELEVISION The Minutemen will have three games carried on live television during the 2000 season. The first televised game comes against Hofstra, which will be carried by Fox Sports New York. In addition, both the Villanova and Delaware games will be shown on the Atlantic 10 Te l e v i s i o n Network. Both the Villanova and Delaware games will be carried locally by Fox Sports New England, with other affiliates still to be determined. The Minutemen have a record of 8-1 in televised games since the beginning of the 1998 season. ON THE INTERNET Information on Minuteman football and all 29 UMass varsity sports is available through the UMass Athletics home page at h t t p :// w w w. u m a s s a t h l e t i c s. c o m. In addition, links to UMass football radio broadcasts can be found on the UMass Athletics home page. THE UMASS-NEW HAVEN CONNECTION: In addition to head coach Mark Whipple, three other UMass staffers have close ties to the University of New Haven. Recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach Paul Gorham spent six seasons as New Haven s recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach from Linebackers and special teams coach Keith Dudzinski is a 1990 graduate of New Haven, where he was an All-New England linebacker and team captain as a senior. Dudzinski also spent three years as the outside linebackers coach for the Chargers under Whipple from Defensive tackles and linebackers coach Frank Forcucci graduated from New Haven in 1987, after earning All-America honors as a four-year letterwinner for the baseball team. EXTRA POINTS: UMass and James Madison, which tied for the 1999 Atlantic 10 Conference title without facing each other, will not meet again this season. Beginning in 2001, the Atlantic 10 will play a full round-robin schedule, with each team playing nine league games UMass has scored in 60 straight games since a 34-0 loss to Rhode Island on Sept. 30, 1995 UMass will play its 1,000th football game when it travels to New Hampshire on Oct. 28 The Minutemen will play seven home games this season in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The only other time UMass played seven contests at home in a single season came in 1993, with the Minutemen posting a 6-1 record at McGuirk. If UMass should play host to an NCAA playoff game this year, it would set a new school single-season record for most home games played.

7 2000 Game-By-Game Recaps Game #1 UMass 36, William & Mary 16 August 31, 2000 Amherst, Mass. Quarterback Richard Lucero threw for 376 yards to lead the fourth-ranked Minutemen to a victory over William & Mary in the first-ever night game at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Lucero s 376 yards were the second-highest single game total in school history, while his 390 yards of total offense were the thirdbest mark ever by a Minuteman. UMass jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when Lucero hit Adrian Zullo with a 15-yard scoring pass on the first drive of the game, but the Tribe came back to tie the score at 7-7 on an 86-yard pass from David Corley to Rich Musinski. The Minutemen then took the lead for good in the second quarter, when Lucero scrambled into the end zone from six yards out. William & Mary would cut the lead to with a Brett Sterba field goal on the opening drive of the third quarter, before UMass scored three straight touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Marcel Shipp scored on runs of six and two yards, while Lucero added a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Howard. Komlan Lonergan would score the Tribe s final touchdown in the fourth quarter, then Compton Webster concluded the scoring with a safety of Corley. Zullo led a productive group of UMass receivers with five catches for 76 yards, while Jimmie Howard caught three passes for 84 yards and Jeff Howard had four receptions for 83 yards. Shipp finished the day with 30 carries for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Corley led the Tribe by completing 13 of 25 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Lonergan rushed 14 times for 52 yards. Shawn Murray led the UMass defense with eight tackles and Rob Green recorded an interception and a forced fumble, while Jason Sisto posted a game-high 14 tackles for William & Mary. Team Statistics William & Mar y UMass First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Passes Interceptions Thrown 1 1 Fumbles / Lost 2 / 1 1 / 1 Penalties / Yards 10 / 88 7 / 65 Punts / Average 4 / / 36.3 Punt Returns Kickoff Returns Time of Possession 28:57 31:03 Scoring Summar y 1st 2nd 3r d 4th Total William & Mary UMass st 10:56 UM Zullo 15 pass from Lucero (Cherry kick) 9:48 W&M Musinski 86 pass from Corley (Sterba kick) 2nd 5:16 UM Lucero 6 run (White kick) 3rd 12:31 W&M Sterba 22 field goal 8:03 UM Shipp 6 run (Cherry kick) 5:48 UM Ji. Howard 53 pass from Lucero (White kick) 3:01 UM Shipp 2 run (Cherry kick failed) 4th 14:55 W&M Lonergan 4 run (Lonergan rush failed) 9:26 UM Webster safety Stat Leaders William & Mar y UMass Rushing Lonergan ( ) Shipp ( ) Howard ( ) Quinlan ( ) Passing Corley ( ) Lucero ( ) Receiving Rosier (5-94-0) Zullo (5-76-0) Musinski ( ) Je. Howard (4-83-0) Game #2 Richmond 31, UMass 24 September 16, 2000 Richmond, Va. Marcel Shipp rushed 27 times for 112 yards and a touchdown, but it was not enough as the third-ranked Minutmen fell at Richmond The Spiders started the game on fire, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead on a 25-yard touchdown run by Sean Gustus and a 27-yard field goal from Doug Kirchner. The Minutemen came back in the second quarter to take the lead, as Richard Lucero hit Adrian Zullo with a pair of scoring strikes, from 16 and 43 yards. UMass increased its lead to early in the third quarter, taking the opening drive of the second half and marching 66 yards, with Shipp scoring the touchdown from 14 yards out. But the Richmond offense came back to life, with TyRonne Turner scoring on a one-yard run and Gustus hitting Ryan Tolhurst with a 69-yard pass to give the Spiders a lead. The Minutemen tied up the game at on a 21-yard field goal by Jason Cherry, before Gustus found Tolhurst again with a 56-yard touchdown pass to conclude the scoring. Lucero completed 18 of 32 passes on the day for 292 yards and two touchdowns, with Zullo catching a team-high five passes for 82 yards and two scores. DeShon Hardy also had a big day, catching four passes for 93 yards and returning three punts for 74 yards. Gustus supplied almost all of the offense for the Spiders, rushing 20 times for 119 yards and a score, while also completing six of 11 passes for 173 yards and two more touchdowns. Kole Ayi led the UMass defense with 11 tackles, while Joe Ferrer totaled seven tackles with three tackles for loss. David Giles totaled 11 tackles and an interception to lead the Spiders. Team Statistics UMass Richmond First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Passes Interceptions Thrown 2 0 Fumbles / Lost 1 / 0 1 / 0 Penalties / Yards 10 / 80 4 / 32 Punts / Average 4 / / 41.8 Punt Returns Kickoff Returns Time of Possession 28:47 31:13 Scoring Summar y 1st 2nd 3r d 4th Total UMass Richmond

8 1st 10:36 UR Gustus 25 run (Kirchner kick) 3:50 UR Kirchner 27 field goal 2nd14:08 UM Zullo 16 pass from Lucero (White kick) 3:37 UM Zullo 43 pass from Lucero (Cherry kick) 3rd 11:28 UM Shipp 14 run (White kick) 4:20 UR Turner 1 run (Kirchner kick) 4th 11:47 UR Tolhurst 69 pass from Gustus (Kirchner kick) 6:13 UM Cherry 21 field goal 2:27 UR Tolhurst 56 pass from Gustus (Kirchner kick) Stat Leaders UMass Richmond Rushing Shipp ( ) Gustus ( ) Passing Lucero ( )Gustus ( ) Receiving Zullo (5-82-2) Tolhurst ( ) Hardy (4-93-0) Shipp (4-43-0) 2000 Game-By-Game Recaps