Copyright berkshireeagle
AMHERST — University of Massachusetts football coach Joe Harasymiak said he, his players and the staff are excited to play the University of Akron. After all, it's UMass' first excursion into what is called "MAC-tion." "I think there's excitement. I think, listen, we can use a little bit of a change and shake-up probably," Harasymiak said. "Hopefully, playing in the middle of the week, on national television, there are two games on. "We can go out and show people that we can be the team that we want to be." The Minutemen are in northeast Ohio for the first weeknight football game in UMass' history in the Mid-American Conference. UMass will travel to InfoCision Stadium for an election night game against the Zips. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. Former New England Patriots defensive back Logan Ryan will be the analyst on the telecast. For the record, the Mid-American Conference began playing weeknight games in October, 1999, and have scheduled games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays ever since. The Sun Belt Conference also plays weeknight games, and has done so since 2016. "It's a great venue that this league provides," the UMass coach said late last week, during his weekly meeting with reporters. "Not only does the league provides us with stability, it provides us with this platform to put our best foot forward to go out there and put our best effort out." It is the first of four weeknight games the Minutemen will play to close their first season as a full member of the MAC. After Tuesday's game, UMass will host Northern Illinois at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Wednesday, Nov. 12. UMass will then finish up the regular season with Tuesday night games at Ohio on Nov. 18, and at home against Bowling Green on Nov. 25. "I remember game-planning over the last seven years and those games are on in the background a little bit, when I'm at larger schools," Harasymiak said. "It's cool to peek up and watch and see some of the stuff that happens. They call it 'MAC-tion' for a reason." The first-year UMass coach said in preparing for the weeknight games, the only thing the Minutemen did differently was move the schedule. Monday became a travel day instead of a day off. The coach did say that, due to academic schedules, the Minutemen still practiced in the mornings. "Our guys take class, primarily, anywhere from 11:30, on, so that we go in the morning more like a Saturday game," Harasymiak said. "They do have class Friday afternoon. Normally, that's a travel day, so that's a little different. We'll go Saturday and Sunday. To keep their body clocks the same, we'll go in the morning. The difference is, which we hope is a help for us, is they don't have class afterward. The training room, the treatments that might get pushed back to later in the day, they can do right after." The Minutemen are winless in 2025 and are 0-18 against FBS opponents since beating Army on Oct. 28, 2023. UMass is also 0-4 in MAC play, with their most recent loss a 38-13 decision at Central Michigan back on Oct. 25. The Zips are 3-6 and 2-3 in the MAC. Akron enters Tuesday's game coming off a 24-16 win over Buffalo. That's the same Buffalo team that stunned UMass with a last-minute touchdown in a 28-21 win at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Oct. 18. The last time UMass and Akron played was back on Sept. 28, 2019, and the Minutemen beat the Zips 37-29. In that game, during former coach Walt Bell's first season, a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown by current Minnesota Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers broke a 7-7 tie, and the Minutemen never trailed. As for the 2025 Zips, coach Joe Moorhead has redshirt senior Ben Finley at quarterback, and the ground game is led by running back Jordan Gant. Gant has run for 697 net yards as part of a balanced Akron attack. The Zips have run the ball 315 times and thrown it 295. "I think Joe Moorhead, over the last 10-15 years is more than likely one of the top play-callers in the country at every level," Harasymiak said. "When he was at Fordham, I was at Maine. We never played each other, but our tape crossed. He was at Penn State before I got to Minnesota. We went against him last year at Rutgers. "You always know, he's going to get you. No matter what you do, he's going to have a play or a scheme, he's going to have a one-on-one, a formation, a motion. I think he's great with the eye candy, which we struggle with." A.J. Hairston has solidified himself as UMass' starting quarterback. While running back Brandon Hood will likely be starting his third consecutive game, Harasymiak did say Rocko Griffin could see action. Griffin was not, however, on the depth chart. He did play in the loss at Central Michigan, carrying the ball seven times for 56 net yards, and a 43-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. "I've spoken very highly of him. Just the way he operates, the way he was raised, he just wants do whatever he can do for the team," Harasymiak said. "Getting someone like him back, I think it helps the running back room. I think it helps the team, the offense, with his energy and positivity. He has to be a critical factor for us moving forward. "You saw what Hood did against Buffalo, and if we can get a two-headed monster going here that enables us to run the ball and keep the pressure off of A.J. in some situations, anyone in third-and-long doesn't do that well. We've got to eliminate that."
