# 2023 UMass Minutemen football team

The 2023 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts and compete as an FBS independent. They were led by head coach Don Brown in his second season since he was rehired, his seventh overall as head coach. The Minutemen drew an average home attendance of 10,598 in 2023.

## Schedule

UMass announced their 2023 football schedule on February 2, 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 26 | 7:00 p.m. | at New Mexico State | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN | W 41–30 | 15,356 |
| September 2 | 3:30 p.m. | at Auburn | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | ESPN | L 14–59 | 88,043 |
| September 9 | 3:30 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA | ESPN+ | L 28–41 | 9,207 |
| September 16 | 2:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPN+ | L 17–19 | 16,138 |
| September 23 | 3:30 p.m. | New Mexico | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA | ESPN+ | L 31–34 | 8,298 |
| September 30 | 3:30 p.m. | Arkansas State | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA | ESPN+ | L 28–52 | 9,494 |
| October 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Toledo | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA | ESPNU | L 24–41 | 9,623 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 6 Penn State | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | BTN | L 0–63 | 105,533 |
| October 28 | 12:00 p.m. | at Army | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | CBSSN | W 21–14 | 29,625 |
| November 4 | 3:30 p.m. | Merrimack | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA | ESPN+ | W 31–21 | 14,672 |
| November 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at Liberty | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | ESPN+ | L 25–49 | 16,860 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | UConn | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA (rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 18–31 | 12,291 |
| HomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at New Mexico State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 7 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 41 |
| Aggies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 30 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: August 26
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT/5:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 95 °F (35 °C) • Wind: NW 9 mph
* Game attendance: 15,536
* Referee: Rory Bernard
* TV announcers (ESPN): John Schriffen, Rocky Boiman, and Dawn Davenport
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MASS | NMSU |
| First downs | 16 | 22 |
| Total yards | 389 | 468 |
| Rushing yards | 197 | 220 |
| Passing yards | 192 | 248 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 28:20 | 31:43 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Taisun Phommachanh | 10/17, 192 yards |
| UMass | Rushing | Taisun Phommachanh | 16 rushes, 92 yards, TD |
| UMass | Receiving | Christian Wells | 1 reception, 68 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Diego Pavia | 16/27, 248 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Monte Watkins | 2 rushes, 95 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jonathan Brady | 2 receptions, 48 yards |
This was the Minutemen's first road win since week 9 of the 2018 season.

### at Auburn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Tigers | 10 | 21 | 21 | 7 | 59 |
at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama
* Date: September 2
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 83 °F (28 °C) • Wind: E 8 mph
* Game attendance: 88,043
* Referee: Lee Hedrick
* TV announcers (ESPN): Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, and Stormy Buonantony
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MASS | AUB |
| First downs | 11 | 27 |
| Total yards | 301 | 492 |
| Rushing yards | 140 | 289 |
| Passing yards | 161 | 203 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 29:25 | 30:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Carlos Davis | 6/8, 106 yards, TD |
| UMass | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 14 rushes, 101 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | Anthony Simpson | 4 receptions, 89 yards, TD |
| Auburn | Passing | Payton Thorne | 10/17, 141 yards, TD |
| Auburn | Rushing | Sean Jackson | 5 rushes, 64 yards, TD |
| Auburn | Receiving | Jay Fair | 5 receptions, 56 yards, TD |

### Miami (OH)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| RedHawks | 21 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 41 |
| Minutemen | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, Massachusetts
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 87 °F (31 °C) • Wind: S 7 MPH
* Game attendance: 9,207
* Referee: Charles Lamertina
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Jay Burnham, Andy Gresh, and Matt Goldstein
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | M–OH | MASS |
| First downs | 17 | 18 |
| Total yards | 446 | 306 |
| Rushing yards | 144 | 62 |
| Passing yards | 302 | 244 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 30:59 | 29:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Miami (OH) | Passing | Brett Gabbert | 12/22, 302 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT |
| Miami (OH) | Rushing | Rashad Amos | 23 rushes, 115 yards |
| Miami (OH) | Receiving | Gage Larvadain | 8 receptions, 273 yards, 3 TD |
| UMass | Passing | Carlos Davis | 22/32, 244 yards, 3 TD |
| UMass | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 16 rushes, 57 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | Mark Pope | 4 receptions, 70 yards, TD |

### at No. 6 Penn State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 6 Nittany Lions | 7 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 63 |
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 47 °F (8 °C) • Wind: NE 10 MPH
* Game attendance: 105,533
* Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
* TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill, Jake Butt, and Brooke Fletcher
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MASS | PSU |
| First downs | 9 | 28 |
| Total yards | 109 | 408 |
| Rushing yards | 64 | 246 |
| Passing yards | 45 | 162 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 32:58 | 27:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Taisun Phommachanh | 6/14, 25 yards |
| UMass | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 14 rushes, 31 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | George Johnson III | 2 receptions, 24 yards |
| Penn State | Passing | Drew Allar | 16/23, 162 yards, 3 TD |
| Penn State | Rushing | Nicholas Singleton | 15 rushes, 79 yards |
| Penn State | Receiving | Theo Johnson | 4 receptions, 66 yards, 2 TD |

### at Army

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 13 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 21 |
| Black Knights | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Michie Stadium, West Point, NY
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 73 °F (23 °C) • Wind: NW 9 MPH
* Game attendance: 29,625
* Referee: Stuart Mullins
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Dave Ryan, Adam Breneman, and Tina Cervasio
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MASS | ARMY |
| First downs | 19 | 19 |
| Total yards | 352 | 362 |
| Rushing yards | 231 | 204 |
| Passing yards | 121 | 158 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 31:37 | 28:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Taisun Phommachanh | 17/23, 121 yards |
| UMass | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 34 rushes, 234 yards, 3 TD |
| UMass | Receiving | Anthony Simpson | 7 receptions, 36 yards |
| Army | Passing | Champ Harris | 6/8, 130 yards |
| Army | Rushing | Kanye Udoh | 15 rushes, 76 yards |
| Army | Receiving | Tobi Olawole | 2 receptions, 57 yards |

### UConn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 6 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 31 |
| Minutemen | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Hadley, Massachusetts
* Date: November 25
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 36 °F (2 °C) • Wind: SW 2 MPH
* Game attendance: 12,291
* Referee: Jerry Magallanes
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Jay Burnham, Andy Gresh, and Matt Goldstein
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | CONN | MASS |
| First downs | 24 | 18 |
| Total yards | 414 | 289 |
| Rushing yards | 240 | 59 |
| Passing yards | 174 | 230 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 37:36 | 22:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UConn | Passing | Ta'Quan Roberson | 16/28, 174 yards |
| UConn | Rushing | Cam Edwards | 19 rushes, 102 yards, 2 TD |
| UConn | Receiving | Cameron Ross | 3 rec, 52 yards |
| UMass | Passing | Taisun Phommachanh | 18/30, 230 yards, TD |
| UMass | Rushing | Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams | 18 rushes, 51 yards, 2 TD |
| UMass | Receiving | Anthony Simpson | 6 rec, 107 yards |

## Personnel

UMass 2023 Roster
* Don Brown Head coach
* Alex Miller Associate head coach/Offensive line
* Steve Casula Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
* Keith Dudzinski Defensive coordinator/Linebackers
* Valdamar Brower Defensive line
* Mike McCray Outside linebackers
* Damian Mincey Running backs
* Matt Layman Tight ends
* Michael Livingston Defensive backs
* Matt Zanellato Wide receivers