The Professor - The Coaching Career of James Xavier

[Captain Canada]

Week 2 Top Stories
Despite #19 Rutgers being the favorite, they couldn’t fend off California on home field, losing 47-38
Boston College continues to stumble out of the gate after dropping opener to UMass, barely beating FCS East, 14-13
Down goes Oregon, dropping a 39-34 decision to Boise State on the road
Number one player in the nation, Georgia’s own defensive end Chip Judovsky, seems to be staying in his backyard, favouring the Bulldogs

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Week 2 MAC Results
No Results

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Week 3 MAC Matchups
Bowling Green (0-2, 0-0) at Northern Illinois (2-0, 0-0)
UMass (1-0, 0-0) at Buffalo (1-1, 0-0)

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Heisman Watchlist
QB Ryan Puglisi, Rs Fr » 29-39, 368 passing yards, 4 touchdowns (W 48-7 vs FCS Northwest)
WR Dillon Bell, Sr » 8 receptions, 150 receiving yards, touchdown (W 48-7 vs FCS Northwest)
HB Trevor Etienne, Sr » 17 carries, 136 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns (W 48-7 vs FCS Northwest)
QB John Mateer, Rs Jr » 27-34, 307 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 13 carries, 33 rushing yards, touchdown (L 38-35 vs San Diego State)
WR London Humphreys, Rs Sr » 6 receptions, 74 receiving yards, touchdown (W 48-7 vs FCS Northwest)

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Players of the Week
WR Marcello Bussey (Memphis): 36-35 W vs Liberty - 8 receptions, 206 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
DE Jackie Marshall (Baylor): 34-3 W vs FCS Northwest - 9 tackles, 4 sacks
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WR Myles Walker (Akron): 31-23 L vs Michigan State - 7 receptions, 85 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 carries, 77 rushing yards, touchdown
DE Jordan Ross (Bowling Green): 17-14 L vs Coastal Carolina - 5 tackles, sack

[Captain Canada]

Week 3 Preview: at Buffalo


Record: 1-1, 0-0 MAC
Head Coach: Pete Lambo
Offensive Scheme: Multiple
Defensive Scheme: Base 4-3

Returning Team Leaders
Passing: Hunter Herring (29-50, 426 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions)
Rushing: Al-Jay Henderson (31 carries, 129 rushing yards, touchdown)
Receiving: Nik McMillan (9 receptions, 191 receiving yards, touchdown)
Blocking: 7 sacks allowed, 22.0 PPG
Defense: Eddie Pleasant III (14 tackles, tackle for loss, 2 deflections, 5 catches allowed)

Injuries
LT Tyrone Davis, So - Torn Pectoral (Out for Season)

Buffalo Projected Starters
QB #17 Hunter Herring, Rs Sr | 6’5”, 225 lbs | 73 overall
HB #5 Al-Jay Henderson, Rs Sr | 6’0”, 210 lbs | 82 overall
WR #0 Victor Snow, Jr | 5’8”, 170 lbs | 82 overall
WR #3 Nik McMillan, Rs Jr | 6’1”, 190 lbs | 82 overall
WR #11 Raylen Sharpe, Sr | 5’9”, 165 lbs | 80 overall
TE #88 Ryan Daly, Rs Jr | 6’6”, 235 lbs | 74 overall
LT #73 Henry Tabansi, Rs So | 6’5”, 310 lbs | 74 overall
LG #79 Trevor Brock, Sr | 6’6”, 310 lbs | 78 overall
C #54 Wyatt Lawson, Rs Sr | 6’2”, 303 lbs | 72 overall
RG #56 Harvey Newman, So | 6’1”, 285 lbs | 76 overall
RT #55 Christopher Lamb, Rs Fr | 6’5”, 304 lbs | 74 overall
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EDGE #11 Nick Roy, Rs So | 6’3”, 240 lbs | 82 overall
EDGE #0 Kobe Stewart, Sr | 6’3”, 240 lbs | 82 overall
DT #55 Tristian Souza, Sr | 6’1”, 280 lbs | 75 overall
NT #91 Devin Morgan, Rs Jr | 6’2”, 280 lbs | 76 overall
OLB #2 Red Murdock, Rs Jr | 6’3”, 235 lbs | 82 overall
MLB #40 Will Clark, So | 6’4”, 240 lbs | 77 overall
OLB #51 Joseph Giggie, Rs Jr | 5’11”, 205 lbs | 70 overall
CB #21 Eddie Pleasant III, Rs Fr | 6’0”, 180 lbs | 85 overall
CB #28 Marquis Cooper, Rs Sr | 5’11”, 185 lbs | 81 overall
FS #15 Saveon Brown, Jr | 6’1”, 215 lbs | 78 overall
SS #23 Xavier Leonard, So | 5’11”, 195 lbs | 76 overall
K #27 Upton Bellenfant, Jr | 6’2”, 180 lbs | 81 overall
P #95 Ethan Duane, Sr | 6’1”, 220 lbs | 67 overall
KR #31 Jamar Reavis, So | 6’0”, 195 lbs | 84 overall

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Coach James Xavier's Offensive Gameplan

"We're feeling good after beating Boston College. We're not making too many changes in terms of the lineup. Noah Staples is going to start at tight end instead of Magnus Vol Saldern. We think he brings more of a threat to this Buffalo defense in the pass game. Magnus will still get his reps, of course. Avion [McBride] is still working up to getting involved in the tight end rotation. This Buffalo defense is younger in their secondary than when we faced them last season, but they're even quicker. They have a big hole at middle linebacker, so we will try and exploit that with our stout run game. Jalen John is going to be leaned on again in short-yardage situations. Red Murdock is someone to look out for - he's an absolute gamer."

[Captain Canada]

‣ CFB 2025 Regular Season, Week 3 - UB Stadium, Amherst, New York
(1-0, 0-0 MAC) UMass Minutemen at Buffalo Bulls (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

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MASS | 7 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 56
BUFF | 3 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 32

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Offensive explosion has UMass dropping a 50-bomb on Buffalo in first taste of MACtion

During his freshman season spent redshirted on the sidelines, wide receiver Kezion Dia-Johnson admits he watched former star Jakobie Keeney-James like a hawk. He would watch how he conducted himself on and off the field and promised himself, when given the opportunity, he would be even better.

All those who watched spring ball and training camp at UMass maintained one thing: T.Y. Harding was the de facto number one offensive threat in the receiver room for the Minutemen, but there was something to watch for out of Kezion Dia-Johnson. He proved that here, leading UMass in their first game in the MAC to a 56-32 victory behind his four touchdowns.

“I needed that,” he said after the end of the game. “You always want to help the team win by doing the little things - blocking, running crisp routes that open up other guys, and whatnot - but you always want to have the superstar game. Be the reason that we win. I felt like I did that tonight and I’m damn proud of it.”

Quarterback Ahmad Haston had a dominant game with four touchdowns, three of which were scored in the first half of the game, while Jalen John powered into the end zone for two more touchdowns. Backup quarterback A.J. Hairston got into the game in the second half and threw his first touchdown to Dia-Johnson as mentioned above. Running back Jackson Paradis also got into the action.

“That’s the kind of game we want to make the standard here,” commented offensive coordinator James Xavier. “Our offense is explosive and consistent. We don’t lament. We had clips to unload and we did a damn good job executing it today.”

UMass continues on the road in MACtion, heading off to face Central Michigan next week.

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Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Upton Bellenfant, 48-yard field goal [6:33]
Kezion Dia-Johnson, 5-yard pass from Ahmad Haston (Riley Moore kick) [1:47]

2nd Quarter
Upton Bellenfant, 27-yard field goal [8:06]
Jalen John, 1-yard run (Riley Moore kick) [3:54]
Kezion Dia-Johnson, 74-yard pass from Ahmad Haston (Riley Moore kick) [1:50]
Nik McMillan, 67-yard pass from Hunter Herring (Missed Kick) [1:02]
Kezion Dia-Johnson, 16-yard pass from Ahmad Haston (Riley Moore kick) [0:02]

3rd Quarter
T.Y. Harding, 19-yard pass from Ahmad Haston (Riley Moore kick) [7:41]
Nik McMillan, 23-yard pass from Hunter Herring (2-PT conversion failed) [5:24]

4th Quarter
Jalen John, 2-yard run (Riley Moore kick) [9:57]
Kezion Dia-Johnson, 5-yard pass from AJ Hairston (Riley Moore kick) [8:33]
Victor Snow, 20-yard pass from Hunter Herring (Upton Bellenfant kick) [6:24]
Jackson Paradis, 8-yard run (Riley Moore kick) [2:13]
Raylen Sharpe, 39-yard pass from Hunter Herring (Upton Bellenfant kick) [0:34]

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Player Stats
QB Ahmad Haston: 27-39, 369 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, interception
QB AJ Hairston: 5-6, 41 passing yards, touchdown
QB Hunter Herring: 17-32, 338 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, interception, 3 carries, 24 rushing yards

HB CJ Hester: 16 carries, 87 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 39 receiving yards
HB Jackson Paradis: 7 carries, 50 rushing yards, touchdown
HB Jalen John: 4 carries, 5 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 receptions, 31 receiving yards
HB Al-Jay Henderson: 8 carries, 22 rushing yards

WR Kezion Dia-Johnson: 9 receptions, 148 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns
WR T.Y. Harding: 6 receptions, 55 receiving yards, touchdown
TE Noah Staples: 5 receptions, 71 receiving yards
WR Tyseer Denmark: 2 receptions, 19 receiving yards
WR Raylen Sharpe: 5 receptions, 89 receiving yards, touchdown
WR Nik McMillan: 5 receptions, 145 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

CB Jerrod Cameron: 6 tackles
OLB Donovan Dyson: 5 tackles
OLB Derrieon Craig: 2 tackles, sack
DE Kobe Stewart: 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss
CB Eddie Pleasant III: 13 tackles, tackle for loss
OLB Red Murdock: 14 tackles, tackle for loss

[Soapy]

I feel like the proverbial corner has been turned

[djp73]

BEATDOWN!

[Captain Canada]

I feel like the proverbial corner has been turned

Drifted around that bitch.

BEATDOWN!

We up now

[Agent]

Sheesh what a beat down Prof X was reading the opponents mind in that one

[Captain Canada]

Sheesh what a beat down Prof X was reading the opponents mind in that one

We were dominant. Aside from a few garbage time scores on our defense after the backups were in, we really dictated the flow of the game from kickoff.

[supahotfire]

this is that MACtion we needed

[Captain Canada]

this is that MACtion we needed

They let us in the door just for us to take this bitch over