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UMass football starts final stretch against Ball State Wednesday

Despite UMass’s record, Blake Frohnapfel has had a statistically impressive season.Mark Humphrey/AP

The past two weeks have surely provided plenty of reflection and lamentation for the football team at the University of Massachusetts. Now, we get to see what will come of it.

After losing its first six contests, UMass notched two wins in a row, the program’s first back-to-back victories since making the jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012. The team was gaining confidence. There was a feeling that something larger could be brewing.

But any aspirations of a run to a bowl berth came crashing down at the hands of the Toledo Rockets. In a back-and-forth affair Oct. 25, Toledo soared ahead for good courtesy of a 19-yard scamper by Terry Swanson with 34 seconds left in regulation.

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The final score was 42-35, as Toledo stole the “W” and ended UMass’s bowl aspirations.

Absent postseason plans and fresh off a two-week hiatus, the Minutemen (2-7, 2-3 Mid-American) are set to welcome Ball State at McGuirk Stadium Wednesday evening.

While plans for a visit to some place warm in December have evaporated, the final three games should provide the Minutemen plenty of opportunity to grow as a team.

The offense continues to be the team's driving force.

Blake Frohnapfel has developed statistically into one of the top quarterbacks in college football. The graduate student has tossed for 2,921 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first season orchestrating a passing attack that is ranked sixth in the nation.

Against Toledo, Frohnapfel logged 438 yards through the air, the fourth time in five games he was north of 300. He connected for five touchdowns for the second time this season.

Tight end Jean Sifrin was Frohnapfel’s favorite target against the Rockets, hauling in six catches for 185 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown that tied the game at 35.

While flashing signs of promise in the two wins, the UMass defense has struggled this season. A contest against Ball State may just be the cure to what ails the Minutemen.

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The Cardinals (3-6, 2-3 ) started out with a 30-10 romp over Colgate, then lost five straight.

Ball State then rattled off victories over Central Michigan and Akron. But last Wednesday, its winning streak came to an end with a 35-21 loss to Northern Illinois.

The Cardinals appear to be clicking on offense despite losing junior quarterback Ozzie Mann earlier in the season. Sophomore Jack Milas has totaled 923 passing yards and six touchdowns in four games. Four of those touchdowns came in a 42-38 loss to Western Michigan in his first game under center.

The Minutemen have found recent success against backup quarterbacks. Against dual-threat quarterback Reginald Bell Jr. and Eastern Michigan, the UMass defense kept the freshman under 200 yards of total offense as the Minutemen picked up a 36-14 victory.

The Minutemen’s greatest challenge may be silencing Ball State senior running back Jahwan Edwards, the workhorse in the backfield. The senior has rushed for 920 yards on 199 attempts with nine touchdowns.

UMass has three games left to show more progress before the offseason — three chances to rekindle the feel-good vibes that poured from the locker room just two weeks ago.

Lofty ambitions may now be out of reach, but for a team still learning how to win, three games afford plenty of chances to grow.


Andrew MacDougall can be reached at aj.macdougall@globe.com

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