WATCH | Live Stats | Game Notes
Amherst, MA - The Wagner College football team will take on UMass on Saturday, October 26, with kickoff set for 3:30 pm on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Wagner earned a 14-0 victory over Saint Francis U to move to 2-1 in Northeast Conference (NEC) action on Saturday.
The victory marked Wagner's first shutout since the 2016 season-opener against Concordia and first shutout in NEC play since 2012, when Wagner earned a 30-0 victory over Albany.
Wagner got on the board with three minutes remaining in the first quarter on a 23-yard connection between graduate students Jake Cady and
Christian Tait. The Seahawks doubled their lead less than five minutes into the second quarter, as Cady found graduate student
Chase Stafford, who broke free for the 31-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
Defensively, senior Luke Jakubauskas, sophomore
Logan Barnes, and junior
Jorel Liverpool finished with 1.5 sacks apiece, while graduate student
Justin Reilly led the charge with eight total tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. The Green and White finished with two interceptions on the day, as junior
Jayden Brown and senior
Justin Smith both recorded takeaways.
Wagner held a 337-187 edge in total yards and held the Red Flash to just 23 yards rushing on the day.
Defense Sets The Tone
Wagner's eight sacks against Saint Francis U on Saturday were the fifth-most by an FCS team in a game this season. Senior Luke Jakubauskas earned NEC Prime Performer honors in the process.
Averaging three sacks per game, the Seahawk defense not only leads the NEC, but is also third in the country in sacks per contest while sitting 12th nationally with 7.3 tackles for loss per game.
With two interceptions against SFU, Wagner climbed to 10th nationally with nine interceptions on the year.
Wagner is 10th in the country in total defense at 292.1 yards per game, 10th in passing yards allowed at 159.4 yards per game, and 16th nationally at 19.5 points per game.
Cady Leads The Way
Graduate student Jake Cady led Wagner with 290 passing yards on 24-38 accuracy and two touchdowns against Saint Francis U, which earned him NEC Prime Performer honors.
Cady leads the NEC with 14 touchdown passes, which is 13th nationally, while sitting 21st in points responsible for (90).
Wagner has at least one touchdown pass in every game this season.
Milestone Win
With Saturday's win against SFU, Wagner has won four games by the end of October for the first time since 2016.
Masella's Homecoming
Saturday's game will be a homecoming for head coach Tom Masella. Masella spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the defensive coordinator at UMass, helping the Minutemen win the 2003 Atlantic-10 title.
Wagner Director of Football Operations TJ Masella is a UMass alumnus.
The Series
Saturday's game marks the second-ever meeting between Wagner and UMass. In 2016, Wagner junior Alex Thomson threw for 295 yards, with junior wide receiver John Williams hauling in six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown, but the Green & White could not overcome a 27-0 halftime deficit in falling at UMass, 34-10.
Spruill Closing In On Milestone
Senior running back Rickey Spruill is closing in on 2,000 rushing yards for his career. Spruill sits at 1,987 career rushing yards and is 41st nationally with 5.64 yards per carry. The senior is on pace to break into the Top-10 for rushing yards in Wagner history by the end of the season.
Bonelli's Impressive Season Continues
Sophomore Jaylen Bonelli once again led Wagner with 91 receiving yards on Saturday. Bonelli is 17th in the country with 588 receiving yards and 20th in the country with five receiving touchdowns on the season.
The Key
Wagner has allowed 10 points or less in all four victories this season and has led after every quarter in each victory. Wagner is 3-0 on the year when allowing less than 100 yards rushing. The Seahawks are 4-1 when scoring first and 4-1 when having more total yards than their opponent.
Martin Provides A Spark
Junior Sam Martin is 25th in the country with 23.7 yards per kick return and 35th nationally with 308 kick return yards on the season.
Spreading The Wealth
Eight different Seahawks have a touchdown reception, which is already more than last season's total of six different receivers with at least one touchdown.
Wagner Vs FBS Competition
Saturday's game marks the second game against FBS competition this season. Earlier this season, the Seahawks forced three turnovers in the first half and cut their deficit to one possession at 17-10 at the midway mark, but it wasn't enough, as FAU pulled away for the 41-10 victory. Wagner has two FBS opponents on its schedule for the seventh time in program history in 2024. In 2015, the Seahawks played at Rice and at BYU while in 2016 the Green & White traveled to UMass and Boston College. In 2019, Wagner faced UConn and Florida Atlantic. During the 2021 fall season, Wagner took on Buffalo and Temple. In 2022, Wagner faced off against Rutgers and Syracuse before taking on Navy and Rutgers in 2023.
The Seahawks nearly pulled off their first upset of an FBS opponent in the 2019 opener against UConn, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Huskies before falling 24-21. Thanks to an interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Myron Morris and two rushing touchdowns by Dymitri McKenzie, the Seahawks were within striking distance late in the fourth quarter but fell short in the final minutes.
In their first-ever meeting against an 85-scholarship opponent, the 2012 Seahawks dropped a hard-fought 7-3 contest at FAU in Boca Raton. That 2012 Wagner team opened the season 0-3, before reeling off nine straight wins en route to the program's first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) championship and an ensuing NCAA FCS first-round playoff win over Colgate.
Scouting The Minutemen
UMass enters Saturday's game with a 1-6 record. The Minutemen's lone victory of the season came against fellow NEC rival CCSU on September 21.
Next Up
Wagner will resume NEC action on November 2 at CCSU, with kickoff set for 12 pm.
