By Jack Welland
AMHERST – On the last play of the first half Saturday, Northeastern quarterback Anthony Orio cocked his muscular arm back to fire a Hail Mary downfield. As he snapped it forward, the ball slipped out, floundering in a high arch before landing in the hands of the nearest defender – in this case, University of Massachusetts linebacker Cesar Rosario. After a chaotic return, which included a lateral and a Minutemen fumble, the half ended.
Typical.
Northeastern’s mud-drenched follies at Atlantic-10 rival UMass’ rain-soaked McGuirk Stadium resulted in a 27-0 defeat, the first time the Huskies have been shut out since Delaware blanked them in 2000. The Huskies are now 1-4 overall, 1-2 in the A-10.
Orio threw three first half interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown as the Minutemen scored all their points before halftime. In addition, Northeastern fumbled four snaps, with a handful of other close calls.
“We’re a better football team than we played today, but there wasn’t a lot of evidence for that on the field,” coach Rocky Hager said. “We struggled with the weather more than they struggled with the weather – in particular in the second half. Our defense firmed up and played better in the second half. Offensively, we struggled all afternoon to the point where we lost our composure at points with procedure penalties and difficulty getting the exchange.”
He paused, pensively.
“I know we’re a better football team than we played today, but we didn’t give you an awful lot of evidence of that.”
UMass (4-1, 3-0) scored on its second possession of the game. After a short punt gave the Minutemen the ball at Northeastern’s 32-yard line, it took just two plays for the hosts to post the winning score. After an incomplete pass on first down, UMass senior R.J. Cobbs (15 carries, 99 yards) raced in, untouched, for a 31-yard touchdown. Kicker Armando Cuko missed the extra point wide left.
With two minutes left in the first half, Cobbs scored his second touchdown of the game. The 5-11, 190-pound runner cashed in on a 13-yard carry, hurdling one defender and diving past another to paydirt.
On the first play of the second half, Orio intended a pass for Parks on the near sideline.
It never got there.
UMass safety Shannon James stepped in front of the senior receiver and raced untouched into the Northeastern end zone, culminating the play with a well-executed somersault. The pick gave James UMass’ interception record of 19. It was the senior’s first career interception return for a touchdown.
“[The weather] was tough, but I’m not going to make any excuses for the way I played in the second half,” Orio said. “I looked at Cory too long on a play and threw a pick six … the second one just sailed on me, but there’s no excuse. The quarterback on the other team was throwing the ball just fine. I put the defense in some tough situations with the turnovers in the first half.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Liam Cohen (5 for 9, 53 yards) concluded the scoring with 5:30 left in the half, finding a wide-open Kyle B. Harrington for a 14-yard score.
Orio was 4 for 14 in the first half, good for 36 yards. With the rain picking up in the second half, he attempted just one pass – incomplete. Maurice Murray was NU’s only rusher with positive yards, accounting for 72 yards on 25 carries. As a team, the Huskies gained 72 yards on 52 plays.
That can happen when you’re facing the nation’s top-rated 1-AA defense.
“The numbers are frightening,” said current UMass coach and former Northeastern coach Don Brown. “We’ve given up 29 points in five games, and 14 of those were on turnovers when the defense wasn’t on the field. So, you start to add those up after five games, that’s 15 points in five games.”
Northeastern hosts William ‘ Mary Saturday for Homecoming at 2 p.m. The Tribe had an impressive 42-10 upset of top-ranked New Hampshire Saturday.
“William ‘ Mary are coming in after a big win,” Hager said. “It’ll be a tremendous opportunity. I’ll be interested to see how we handle that as a team.”
Following William ‘ Mary, the Huskies are on the road for two straight weeks. First is Ricky Santos and No. 9 New Hampshire and then Northwestern St.
