The season may have started on Sept. 1, but the Massachusetts football team finally arrived on Saturday, just in time for a 38-7 rout of Colonial Athletic Association rival Maine.
The Minutemen jumped out early against the Black Bears and never let up. That's something we've yet to see from this team - a complete performance. A win from opening kickoff to the game-ending kneel down.
In the three games prior to Saturday's win in Orono, Maine, UMass stumbled, struggled and fumbled its way to a 3-0 record. The Minutemen were undefeated, yes, and off to their best start since 1986, but had a tough Maine team ahead and Boston College looming a week beyond that.
The Maroon and White survived its early gaffes unscathed, but needed to right the ship before the waters became too turbulent. That's just what happened against the Black Bears. UMass finally looked like the team UMass coach Don Brown said was coming.
None of the first three games were pretty - penalties, dropped passes, fumbles, and interceptions were abundant - but the Minutemen did what good teams do on rough days. They found a way to win.
It's a no-brainer that ugly wins are better than pretty losses, but eventually, ugly football catches up to you, and you start losing ugly as the opponents get tougher.
Against the Black Bears, the Minutemen won pretty, and they needed to start doing so to prove they are still part of the class of the Football Championship Subdivision. During the first three weeks, UMass looked like an unfinished product.
Holy Cross turned a blowout into a game too close for comfort with a trio of touchdowns in the second half. After UMass jumped out to a 37-9 lead, the Crusaders got the Minuteman defense reeling, and got within a touchdown of tying the game.
The defense tightened up late in the fourth, and a late field goal assured UMass would hold on against its Patriot League opponent.
However, meanwhile in Ann Arbor, Mich., Appalachian State - the team UMass fell to in the championship game last December - was busy completing possibly the biggest upset in college football history.
Two teams that were so close - tied going into the fourth quarter - appeared worlds apart in Week 1 of the 2007 season.
At Colgate, a rough second half against Holy Cross carried over into a rather unpleasant first half, in which the Minutemen could not accomplish anything.
Once again though, UMass found a way to win, capitalizing on a fumble recovery and an interception with two touchdowns. Despite getting outplayed, the Minutemen took a lead into the half, and came out swinging in the third quarter, running away with the win.
Then last week, the Minutemen got closer with a strong performance against Towson, but still struggled with penalties and miscues. The game was never close, as the defense completely stifled Sean Schaefer and the Tiger offense, but things still weren't quite right.
It was clear following all three games that Brown wasn't thrilled with his team's performance, and neither were the players. Special teams plays were sloppy, the offense never really had a rhythm and the defense looked like its best games were still to come.
Everything came together at Maine. UMass committed just four penalties (compared to 13, 13 and 15 in the first three games), one interception - which was nullified by an exceptional defensive performance - and was fundamentally sound. There were no fumbled punts, dropped passes or unnecessary penalties - just solid, dominant football.
The game was not supposed to be so one-sided. This is the same team that, with the Atlantic 10 title on the line in 2006, came within an extra point of overtime against the Minutemen.
This is the Maroon and White squad that fought past everyone on its way to the NCAA championship game last year. And it couldn't have arrived at a better time.
The Minutemen have a date with No. 14 Boston College in Chestnut Hill Saturday, which will likely be their biggest test this season. While it doesn't count for anything in the standings, if UMass plays well against a very good Bowl Subdivision team, the momentum could build and carry the team through the rest of the regular season.
A bye week follows the BC game, but after that, the CAA season is in full swing. Chestnut Hill is no place to try to find yourself, so the Minutemen are fortunate to have seemingly solved most of their problems before visiting the Eagles, and before hitting the meat of the conference schedule.
Brown acknowledged the team's struggles in the first three games, but never appeared worried. It's clear now why he never sweated the 41 penalties. He could tell things were coming together.
He defended his players, saying that the penalties were mostly due to aggression, something he certainly would not try to curtail, but the mental mistakes there was no excuse for. Yet, Brown seemed confident in every interview.
The press conference after the win over Maine explained it. He pointed out the four penalties, Coen's quiet but efficient day (15-of-19 for 142 yards), and an outstanding running game that bowled over the Black Bear defense like no one has done in a long time.
Like I said, it couldn't have come at a better time; UMass was running out of time to figure things out. Now the Minutemen can go into BC and their bye week with confidence and come back for the final six weeks of conference play.
If Maine was any indication, there should no longer be any doubt that this team deserved its preseason prediction to win the inaugural CAA championship.
UMass needed to make a statement before heading into a game they will likely need a handful of miracles to win, and they did just that.
Now, regardless of what happens in Chestnut Hill, the Minutemen ought to be feared by the rest of the CAA when they return to the field two weeks later.
Jeremy Rice is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at jeremy@student.umass.edu.
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