2021 UMass Minutemen football team

2021 UMass Minutemen football
Conference	Independent
Record	1–11
Head coach	Walt Bell (3rd season; first 9 games) Alex Miller (interim; final 3 games)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Tommy Restivo (3rd season; first 9 games)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Seasons ←  2020 2022  →

2021 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Notre Dame			–						11	–	2
No. 19 BYU			–						10	–	3
Army			–						9	–	4
Liberty			–						8	–	5
New Mexico State			–						2	–	10
UMass			–						1	–	11
UConn			–						1	–	11
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Minutemen played their home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium and competed as an independent. They were led by third-year head coach Walt Bell; UMass fired Bell after nine games and offensive line coach Alex Miller took over as interim head coach. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	4:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	L 7–51	41,486
September 11	3:30 p.m.	Boston College	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA (rivalry)	NESN+	L 28–45	12,118
September 18	3:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	NESN+	L 28–42	7,012
September 25	1:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium Conway, SC	ESPN+	L 3–53	15,261
October 2	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	NESN	L 7–45	9,456
October 9	3:30 p.m.	UConn	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA (rivalry)	NESN	W 27–13	12,765
October 23	12:00 p.m.	at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ACCN	L 3–59	51,915
October 30	12:00 p.m.	at Liberty	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ESPN3	L 17–62	16,577
November 6	3:30 p.m.	Rhode Island	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	NESN/NESN+	L 22–35	7,284
November 13	12:00 p.m.	Maine	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	NESN/NESN+	L 10–35	5,331
November 20	12:00 p.m.	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	CBSSN	L 17–33	23,610
November 27	3:00 p.m.	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	AggieVision	L 27–44	6,632
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]

Game summaries

At Pittsburgh

See also: 2021 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	0	0	0	7	7
Panthers	13	10	14	14	51

Statistics	MASS	PITT
First downs	11	35
Total yards	209	598
Rushing yards	42	223
Passing yards	167	375
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	29:12	30:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing	Tyler Lytle	14/31, 167 yards
	Rushing	Kayron Lynch-Adams	11 rushes, 32 yards
	Receiving	Jermaine Johnson	3 receptions, 52 yards
Pittsburgh	Passing	Kenny Pickett	27/37, 272 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Rodney Hammond Jr.	8 rushes, 45 yards
	Receiving	Lucas Krull	5 receptions, 58 yards, TD

Boston College

See also: 2021 Boston College Eagles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	0	21	10	45
Minutemen	0	0	21	7	28

Statistics	BC	MASS
First downs	24	20
Total yards	475	335
Rushing yards	254	121
Passing yards	221	214
Turnovers	2	3
Time of possession	32:24	27:36

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Boston College	Passing	Dennis Grosel	11/14, 199 yards, TD
	Rushing	Patrick Garwo III	15 rushes, 160 yards
	Receiving	Trae Berry	5 receptions, 98 yards, TD
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	14/29, 214 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	11 rushes, 56 yards
	Receiving	Rico Arnold	2 receptions, 85 yards, TD

Eastern Michigan

See also: 2021 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	7	7	14	42
Minutemen	0	7	7	14	28

Statistics	EMU	MASS
First downs	26	30
Total yards	507	519
Rushing yards	184	209
Passing yards	323	310
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	29:29	30:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Michigan	Passing	Ben Bryant	14/21, 298 yards, TD
	Rushing	Jawon Hamilton	16 rushes, 122 yards, TD
	Receiving	Hassan Beydoun	6 receptions, 101 yards
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	22/38, 285 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	23 rushes, 144 yards
	Receiving	Melvin Hill	4 receptions, 82 yards, TD

At No. 17 Coastal Carolina

See also: 2021 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	0	0	0	3	3
No. 17 Chanticleers	13	23	14	3	53

Statistics	MASS	CCU
First downs	13	30
Total yards	153	558
Rushing yards	28	312
Passing yards	125	246
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	26:06	33:54

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	14/23, 81 yards
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	6 rushes, 30 yards
	Receiving	Rico Arnold	4 receptions, 38 yards
Coastal Carolina	Passing	Grayson McCall	10/14, 162 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Braydon Bennett	8 rushes, 83 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jaivon Heiligh	5 receptions, 118 yards, TD

Toledo

See also: 2021 Toledo Rockets football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	7	24	7	7	45
Minutemen	0	0	0	7	7

Statistics	TOL	MASS
First downs	22	8
Total yards	455	134
Rushing yards	223	23
Passing yards	232	111
Turnovers	0	4
Time of possession	34:55	25:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Toledo	Passing	Carter Bradley	11/18, 110 yards, TD
	Rushing	Bryant Koback	11 rushes, 82 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Isaiah Winstead	4 receptions, 75 yards
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	9/22, 106 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Kayron Lynch-Adams	12 rushes, 23 yards
	Receiving	Rico Arnold	3 receptions, 44 yards

UConn

See also: 2021 UConn Huskies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	10	0	0	3	13
Minutemen	7	0	3	17	27

Statistics	CONN	MASS
First downs	14	21
Total yards	291	407
Rushing yards	163	247
Passing yards	128	160
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	20:49	39:11

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UConn	Passing	Steven Krajewski	13/24, 128 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Nathan Carter	20 rushes, 136 yards
	Receiving	Keelan Marion	4 receptions, 80 yards, TD
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	10/22, 162 yards
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	39 rushes, 171 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Eric Collins	3 receptions, 66 yards

At Florida State

See also: 2021 Florida State Seminoles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	3	0	0	0	3
Seminoles	10	28	14	7	59

Statistics	MASS	FSU
First downs	14	25
Total yards	241	586
Rushing yards	112	365
Passing yards	129	221
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	30:17	29:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	12/27, 110 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Zamar Wise	12 rushes, 60 yards
	Receiving	Ellis Merriweather	4 receptions, 65 yards
Florida State	Passing	Jordan Travis	5/10, 123 yards
	Rushing	Jashaun Corbin	11 rushes, 127 yards, TD
	Receiving	Andrew Parchment	2 receptions, 65 yards

At Liberty

See also: 2021 Liberty Flames football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	3	0	7	7	17
Flames	21	20	7	14	62

Statistics	MASS	LIB
First downs	15	26
Total yards	284	604
Rushing yards	210	195
Passing yards	74	409
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	36:35	23:25

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	9/25, 74 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	24 rushes, 149 yards
	Receiving	Rico Arnold	1 reception, 30 yards, TD
Liberty	Passing	Malik Willis	19/27, 307 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	T. J. Green	5 rushes, 60 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	D. J. Stubbs	2 receptions, 72 yards, TD

Rhode Island

See also: 2021 Rhode Island Rams football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	7	14	14	0	35
Minutemen	6	10	0	6	22

Statistics	URI	MASS
First downs	16	21
Total yards	337	335
Rushing yards	168	108
Passing yards	169	227
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	30:38	29:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rhode Island	Passing	Kasim Hill	11/20, 169 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jaylen Smith	16 rushes, 111 yards, TD
	Receiving	Paul Woods	3 receptions, 55 yards
UMass	Passing	Tyler Lytle	15/28, 227 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	30 rushes, 118 yards, TD
	Receiving	Rico Arnold	6 receptions, 99 yards

Maine

See also: 2021 Maine Black Bears football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Bears	0	14	7	14	35
Minutemen	10	0	0	0	10

Statistics	ME	MASS
First downs	18	15
Total yards	366	297
Rushing yards	157	184
Passing yards	209	113
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	31:23	28:37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Maine	Passing	Joe Fagnano	16/27, 209 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Elijah Barnwell	16 rushes, 84 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Devin Young	8 receptions, 78 yards, TD
UMass	Passing	Brady Olson	14/29, 113 yards, TD
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	27 rushes, 177 yards
	Receiving	Tray Pettway	2 receptions, 48 yards

At Army

See also: 2021 Army Black Knights football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	3	7	0	7	17
Black Knights	8	11	0	14	33

Statistics	MASS	ARMY
First downs	12	20
Total yards	277	419
Rushing yards	199	377
Passing yards	78	42
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	27:04	32:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing	Garrett Dzuro	7/13, 78 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	17 rushes, 110 yards
	Receiving	Tray Pettway	1 reception, 38 yards
Army	Passing	Christian Anderson	2/12, 42 yards
	Rushing	Tyrell Robinson	9 rushes, 137 yards, TD
	Receiving	Isaiah Alston	2 receptions, 42 yards

At New Mexico State

See also: 2021 New Mexico State Aggies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	0	13	14	0	27
Aggies	7	20	7	10	44

Statistics	MASS	NMSU
First downs	16	30
Total yards	405	623
Rushing yards	281	203
Passing yards	124	420
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	27:30	32:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing	Garrett Dzuro	12/23, 124 yards, TD
	Rushing	Ellis Merriweather	23 rushes, 168 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Rico Arnold	2 receptions, 77 yards, TD
New Mexico State	Passing	Jonah Johnson	26/32, 420 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Juwaun Price	24 rushes, 156 yards, 4 TD
	Receiving	Jared Wyatt	6 receptions, 126 yards, TD

Notable players

RB Ellis Merriweather

QB Brady Olson

WR Rico Arnold

References

1. Grabowski, Kyle (November 7, 2021). "Walt Bell fired as UMass head football coach". Daily Hampshire Gazette . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
2. "2021 UMass Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.