{"id":2786,"date":"2011-08-11T21:29:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-12T01:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=2786"},"modified":"2011-08-14T20:31:01","modified_gmt":"2011-08-15T00:31:01","slug":"umass-minutemen-2011-jmusb-caa-football-preview-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=2786","title":{"rendered":"UMass Minutemen: 2011 JMUSB CAA Football Preview #8"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Big East not the only one abandoning all geographic good sense<\/p><\/div>\n

UMass’ announced defection to the FBS’ MAC in 2012 is one of the major storylines in the conference and will have both good and bad ramifications for the 2011 Dukes and their CAA brethren.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n

UMass should be extremely strong this year, but they are ineligible for both the CAA title and the FCS Playoffs now that they’ve announced their move to the FBS.\u00a0 They are playing an oddly “nationally” televised game against Holy Cross on the Thursday before most of college football kicks off to start the season which should be a big blowout and another chance to showcase the CAA (plus a great chance to starting getting used to all the weeknight games they’ll play in the cash-grubbing MAC).\u00a0 They’ll also be taking on rival UNH at Gillette Stadium again in the Colonial Clash which has the makings of a great tradition (if it continues after the UMass defection).<\/p>\n

The Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n

UMass is going to be damn good and could really muck up the CAA race.\u00a0 If the Minutemen finish in the top three or four of the conference, an extra playoff berth for any conference teams ranked behind them could be extremely hard to come by, potentially hurting not only that specific team, but the CAA as a whole.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there’s just no way around this.<\/p>\n

The other thing that scares the crap out of us is that UMass hosts the Dukes in the final game of the season.\u00a0 With no playoffs on tap, this will be not only senior night, but the super bowl of sorts for the Minutemen.\u00a0 The Dukes would be best served if UMass is struggling and cashing out by this point, but with all the talent they have on hand, this seems unlikely.<\/p>\n

The Outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n

UMass returns 15 starters (6 off,\u00a09 def) plus two new FBS transfers on offense.\u00a0 Pluse they return star linebacker and team leader Tyler Holmes to head that veteran defense.\u00a0 On offense, they return the best of all the Northeastern transfers from last year in RB Jonathan Hernandez, who has been near impossible to stop at both schools.\u00a0 Needless to say, an influx of talent in the freshman class after the FBS announcement could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how many of them are redshirted.\u00a0 If most are held back for next year, could be an awful thin bench in the event of injuries.\u00a0 To take the rampant, uninformed speculation even further, we’d have to guess interest in the program on-campus and among alums would spike a bit this year in anticipation of “bigger” things to come (yes, we’re mocking the MAC and hoping against hope JMU doesn’t make a similar low-budget move anytime soon).\u00a0 We fully expect the Minutemen to be a 7-9 win team challenging for the top of the standings, if not the official recognition as conference champs and we can only hope the Dukes finish at least one line above them in the final table so as to not further complicate any playoff decisions.<\/p>\n