The Massachusetts football team came into the 2023 season looking to prove it wasn’t the UMass of old. 

The Minutemen made quite a statement in their season opener on Saturday against New Mexico State. 

After finishing last in the country in scoring a season ago, the UMass offense — led by transfer quarterback Taisun Phommachanh — came up with big drives when the squad needed them most. 

Phommachanh ran in for a touchdown with 14 minutes, 28 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to give the Minutemen a 20-10 lead. The Aggies responded with a score of their own, but UMass had an answer itself, going on a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams 10-yard touchdown run to give itself a 27-17 lead. 

Arizona transfer Isaiah Rutherford jumped a throw to the sideline by New Mexico State QB Diego Pavia and returned it 57 yards to the house to make it a three-score game with 6:40 to play. Both teams traded touchdowns from there while the Aggies scored on the final play of the game, but it was too little, too late as the Minutemen return to Amherst victorious with a 41-30 victory in Las Cruces, N.M. 

“Hopefully this is a great start for the new year,” UMass coach Don Brown said after the game. “Hats off to [New Mexico State coach] Jerry Kill. His teams play so hard and he’s such a good friend. I just feel good tonight. It’s a nice win. The alternative, I can tell you, sucks.” 

It was the first opening day win for UMass since 2018 and its first win over an FBS opponent on opening day since 1984. 

Getting a victory to kick off the 2023 campaign will only add some much-needed confidence for the Minutemen. 

“I think we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and there’s a lot of room to grow still,” Brown said. “You have to play a game to figure out what you can do and what you can’t do and what you have to get better at. That’s what we’re working on.

“I’ve been through the thick and thin of this game,” Brown added. “I love the challenge and I’m not afraid of the challenge. But it’s nice to see the guys bear the fruit from their labor. That’s what I feel good about.”  

It was both Phommachanh’s arm and legs that gave the Aggies defense trouble throughout. The redshirt junior ran for 96 yards on 17 carries while going 10-of-17 for 192 yards through the air, offering a multidimensional threat to the offense that UMass hasn’t had in recent years. 

A turnover helped get the Minutemen on the board in the first quarter. 

Pavia looked to hit a slant over the middle but UMass’ Michael Oppong undercut the route, tipped the ball in the air to himself and came down with the catch, setting the Minutemen up at the New Mexico State 35. 

Three plays later, Arizona transfer Anthony Simpson took a jet sweep untouched into the end zone from 10 yards out to give UMass an opening 7-0 lead with 10:20 to play in the first quarter. 

After getting nothing against the Minutemen defense throughout the first quarter, New Mexico State’s Monte Watkins took a toss out wide and sprinted into the end zone from 80 yards out, knotting the game 7-7 with 8:34 to play in the second quarter. 

UMass kicked a field goal with 3:55 to play in the half while the Aggies drove down for a field goal in the final seconds of the frame, with the game tied 10-10 at intermission. 

The Minutemen took the lead with 6:27 to play in the third quarter after Cameron Carson made his second field goal of the game to put UMass ahead, 13-10. 

The Minutemen took over at their own 20 following an Aggies missed field goal. Two plays later, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Phommachanh made one of his best throws of the game by zipping a ball into Christian Wells over the middle, putting the ball on the money between a pair of New Mexico State defenders. 

Wells broke a pair of tackles and bolted down to the Aggies 11 for a 68-yard gain. Phommachanh used his legs to run one in on the next play and give UMass a 20-10 lead. 

New Mexico State answered quickly. Sitting at its own 38, Pavia lofted a ball deep to Trent Hudson, who skied up over a pair of Minutemen defenders in the end zone for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 20-17 with 13:27 to play. 

A departure from last year, the UMass offense came up with one of its best drives in recent memory to regain a two-score lead. 

Phommachanh hit Simpson for a 27-yard gain while the Minutemen used their run game to get down into New Mexico State territory. Sitting at the Aggies 31, UMass faced a fourth-and-seven. 

Brown kept his offense on the field and Phommachanh reinforced the decision by making the biggest play of the game, using his legs when nobody was open to gain the first down and more, rumbling down to the New Mexico State 5.

Following a false start, Lynch-Adams ran it in from the 10 to give UMass a 27-17 lead. 

“I just think the guys, they never wavered,” Brown said. “That was the biggest point I was concerned when we unraveled and it didn’t happen. We just kept banging away.” 

Rutherford’s pick-six put the game out of reach, and proved to be key. New Mexico State went down and cut the lead to 34-24 with 4:35 to go after Pavia connected with Jordin Parker for a 40-yard score. 

The Minutemen recovered the onside kick and two plays later, Lynch-Adams ran it in from 21 yards out. The Aggies closed it out with Pavia hitting Hudson for a score on the final play of the game. 

While the final numbers for Pavia — 248 yards and three touchdowns through the air — look good, most of the damage came in the fourth quarter after UMass had control of the game. 

The Minutemen held the Aggies to a mere 14 yards through the air in the first half and allowed just 30 yards passing in the fourth quarter. Take out the 80-yard touchdown run and the UMass defense held New Mexico State to 130 yards on the ground on 36 carries, just a 3.6 yards-per-carry clip. 

“We have a chance to do something special this year,” Brown said. “I really mean that. I think we’re just starting to find our sea legs.”

Next up is another nationally-televised game on ESPN as UMass travels to play at Auburn on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.