Don't let the fact that Bryant played in Division II last year fool you, because the No. 17 Massachusetts football team won't be fooled.
Despite being in a transition year as its program moves from Division II to Division I-AA, the Bulldogs and their defense are not something that should be overlooked.
"They are very aggressive on defense," UMass coach Don Brown said. "They are gonna blitz from the time they get off the bus until the time they go home."
Even that may be an understatement for Bryant (4-3).
The Bulldogs come into Amherst averaging just over three sacks per game. Of the 22 sacks Bryant has recorded this season, 12 players have been credited with at least one full sack and four of them have more than two.
Defensive linemen Don Smith leads the team with five sacks and is followed by linebackers Paul Polomski and Pat Gauthier who each have three. Bryant's blitzing success does not end at getting to the quarterback.
"They'll not only blitz the pass game, they'll blitz the run game," Brown said. "I would even say their ability to blitz the run game is impacting them in a positive way more than in the pass game."
The pressure is evident with the number of times that the Bulldogs have gotten to their opponents in the backfield. Smith leads a Bryant defense that has recorded 46 tackles for losses with 7.5 tackles for a loss. Six other players have at least three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
"They are trying to penetrate and get after people and setting the line of scrimmage," Brown said.
The Bulldogs' strong blitzes will face their toughest match so far this season when they meet the No. 17 Minutemen's (4-3, 2-2 Colonial Athletic Association) offensive line. The line, led by senior captain Sean Calicchio, has allowed six sacks through UMass' seven games this year. The six sacks are the fewest in the CAA and UMass is the only team to allow fewer than a sack per game in the conference.
The other advantage that the Minutemen may have is their ability for the big play. With Bryant sending extra defenders at the quarterback, UMass quarterback Liam Coen will have to quickly get the ball to his two leading receivers Victor Cruz and Jeremy Horne.
Just as they have all year, Coen and his wideouts should fare well going deep. Through seven games Coen has completed 28 passes of 20 yards or longer, 21 of which have gone to Cruz or Horne.
But when Coen feels the pressure from Bryant's blitzes, he cannot rush his throws because the Bulldogs have a strong secondary as well. Bryant has 12 interceptions on the year, led by freshman Samad Wagstaff who has five of them. Three other players have two, including Polomski.
As well as intercepting 12 passes, the Bulldogs have deflected another 33.
Bryant's aggressiveness against the UMass run game may prove to be beneficial for the Maroon and White as well. Coen and his wideouts are not the only offensive threat that the Minutemen have to break a big play.
Tony Nelson, the CAA's leading rusher, broke a 64-yard run in the first game of the year against Albany and broke multiple long runs against Northeastern two weeks ago. In the contest with the Huskies, Nelson ran for a career high 175 yards, his fifth career 100 yard game; UMass is 4-1 when Nelson runs for over 100 yards.
While the Bulldogs strength may be getting after its opposition quickly, they may just be feeding into the hands of the Minutemen who should be able to counter their blitzes well.
Jeffrey R. Larnard can be reached at jlarnard@dailycollegian.com.
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