# 2020 UMass Minutemen football team

The 2020 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Minutemen competed as an independent. They were led by second-year head coach Walt Bell.
UMass originally announced on August 11, 2020, that they would not play football in the fall over concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision was reversed on September 21, as UMass announced that opponents would be announced "as they become official". Although the Minutemen's home stadium was Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, all games there were cancelled; the team played only away games in 2020.
The Minutemen finished the abridged season winless, at 0–4, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 161 to 12.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released.
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Outland Trophy | Larnel Coleman | OL | RS SR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Cole McCubrey | LB | SR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Solomon Siskind | TE | RS JR |

## Schedule

UMass went 0–4, scoring 12 total points while allowing 161 points by their opponents.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 17 | 4:00 p.m. | at Georgia Southern | Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GA | ESPN2 | L 0–41 | 4,856 |
| November 7 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 16 Marshall | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | ESPN+ | L 10–51 | 11,711 |
| November 20 | 8:00 p.m. | at Florida Atlantic | FAU StadiumBoca Raton, FL | CBSSN | L 2–24 | 5,554 |
| November 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at Liberty | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | ESPN3 | L 0–45 | 250 |
| Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Georgia Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Eagles | 14 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 41 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| GASO −31 | 62 |
| Statistics | UMass | Georgia Southern |
| First downs | 10 | 20 |
| Total yards | 191 | 436 |
| Rushing yards | 111 | 308 |
| Passing yards | 80 | 128 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 29:09 | 30:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Mike Fallon | 7/12, 41 yards, 1 INT |
| UMass | Rushing | Will Koch | 4 carries, 41 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | Samuel Emilus | 4 receptions, 28 yards |
| Georgia Southern | Passing | Shai Werts | 11/16, 128 yards, 3 TDs |
| Georgia Southern | Rushing | Wesley Kennedy III | 6 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD |
| Georgia Southern | Receiving | Malik Murray | 4 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD |

### At Marshall

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • No. 16 Thundering Herd | 14 | 17 | 13 | 7 | 51 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MRSH −44.5 | 55.5 |
| Statistics | UMass | Marshall |
| First downs | 12 | 33 |
| Total yards | 190 | 495 |
| Rushing yards | 41 | 267 |
| Passing yards | 149 | 228 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 26:53 | 33:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Will Koch | 12/18, 99 yards, 1 TD |
| UMass | Rushing | Ellis Merriweather | 10 carries, 31 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | Taylor Edwards | 1 reception, 37 yards |
| Marshall | Passing | Grant Wells | 21/30, 228 yards, 3 TDs |
| Marshall | Rushing | Brenden Knox | 14 carries, 118 yards, 2 TDs |
| Marshall | Receiving | Artie Henry | 5 receptions, 71 yards |

### At Florida Atlantic

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| • Owls | 7 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| FAU −32.5 | 50.5 |
| Statistics | UMass | Florida Atlantic |
| First downs | 8 | 16 |
| Total yards | 147 | 368 |
| Rushing yards | 62 | 140 |
| Passing yards | 85 | 228 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 25:10 | 34:50 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Will Koch | 12/22, 67 yards, 1 INT |
| UMass | Rushing | Ellis Merriweather | 11 carries, 48 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | Josiah Johnson | 8 receptions, 42 yards |
| Florida Atlantic | Passing | Javion Posey | 13/27, 203 yards |
| Florida Atlantic | Rushing | Javion Posey | 19 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD |
| Florida Atlantic | Receiving | TJ Chase | 4 receptions, 79 yards |

### At Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Flames | 14 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| LIB −35.5 | 57.5 |
| Statistics | UMass | Liberty |
| First downs | 12 | 31 |
| Total yards | 227 | 629 |
| Rushing yards | 55 | 378 |
| Passing yards | 172 | 251 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:50 | 34:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UMass | Passing | Garret Dzuro | 9/22, 172 yards, 1 INT |
| UMass | Rushing | Cam Roberson | 5 carries, 17 yards |
| UMass | Receiving | Samuel Emilus | 4 receptions, 82 yards |
| Liberty | Passing | Malik Willis | 16/24, 223 yards, 3 TD |
| Liberty | Rushing | Peytton Pickett | 10 carries, 125 yards, 1 TD |
| Liberty | Receiving | DeMario Douglas | 4 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD |