FOXBOROUGH — The Minutemen, in search of their first win on Saturday, trailed Bowling Green by just one touchdown at halftime. Appropriately, the atmosphere in the UMass locker room reflected how close they were to what has eluded them all year.

“Jacked up,” is how coach Charley Molnar described his players. “Guys could taste it. I think our guys really believe in themselves, for the most part. It’s fragile. But they really trusted that our offense would get on track and the defense would continue doing what they were doing.”