UMass football: Pop Watson propels Minutemen past Ball State in 31-30 OT victory

AMHERST — The UMass football team desperately needed a boost in its return home on Wednesday against Ball State. Sitting on a four-game losing streak, the Minutemen suffered through a one-point loss to Miami (OH) and an overtime defeat to Buffalo in previous weeks. Against the Cardinals, the Minutemen found themselves in overtime once again, this time down by six, needing a touchdown to stay alive. Quarterback William “Pop” Watson III answered the call. Seeing the defense leave a gap up the middle, Watson bolted to the end zone. Getting an open field block, he juked one defender and ran into the end zone untouched. His score plus Derek Morris’ successful extra-point kick allowed the Minutemen to walk off with the 31-30 victory over Ball State. More than a month after recording four wins to open the season, UMass reached five wins for the first time since moving up to the FBS in 2011.

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