The numbers on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet may sting for struggling UMass but the cruelest figure might be found on the sideline, where a paucity of enough healthy bodies could be its biggest hurdle, according to program officials.

On Saturday, UMass (1-9) fell, 63-7, at Army (4-6) to extend its current losing streak to five. The Black Knights controlled the football for a whopping 41:13, compared to 18:47 for the Minutemen. Army ran 84 offensive plays (6.5 average gain), amassing 546 total yards. UMass, which had just seven first downs and converted only 2-of-12 third-down plays, ran 48 plays for a 2.6 yards-per-play.

Despite giving up more than 60 points for the third time in the past four weeks, and more than 50 points for a sixth time, UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford isn’t about to holler “abandon ship.” Bamford maintains the Minutemen will be competitive in FBS and has no designs in dropping down to FCS or worse.

“No discussion. We’re 100-percent committed to staying in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). We’ve proven we can win games at this level. We’ve just had to take a step back in order to take a step forward. It all comes down to a depleted roster,” Bamford said Sunday.

According to Bamford, when first year coach Walt Bell took over, the Minutemen were below the allowable 85-scholarship player total. Through injuries, transfers, graduation, and players leaving the program, that total number has dwindled. Bamford estimates there were between 40 and 50 “healthy scholarship” players available against Army.

“You need depth. We’re not going to get back to 85 scholarship players overnight. It’s going to take a couple of years. We’ve had to hit the reset button but I think you’ll see some incremental improvements. It’s going to take time,” he said.

UMass has two remaining games on the schedule starting with a road trip to Northwestern this Saturday followed by a season-ending home game with BYU on Nov. 23.

Northeast-10 to the wire

What a dandy of a league finish taking place in the Northeast-10, which has a 4-way logjam at the top. Currently, Assumption, Bentley, New Haven, and Stonehill all share top billing with identical 6-3 overall marks and 5-2 league records heading into the final weekend. This week, Stonehill travels to New Haven. No. 6 American International (4-5, 3-4 NE-10) visits Bentley, and Assumption plays at No. 7 Saint Anselm (3-7, 3-4 NE-10).

On Saturday, Stonehill sophomore running back Justin Felder earned a weekly Gold Helmet from the New England Football Writers after posting his second consecutive 300-yard rushing game with a career-high 40 carries for 311 yards and four TDs (three rushing) in a 34-22 win against Pace (5-4, 4-3 NE-10). Felder matched the NE-10 mark for most 300-yard rushing games in a season, originally set by 1999 Harlon Hill Trophy runner-up Kavin Gailliard of AIC. Felder also re-wrote the Stonehill record book for single-season 1,349 rushing yards, eclipsing the old mark of 1,267 by Tyrone Jefferson (2000). His 14 rushing scores and 16 total TDs erased the old standards of 13 and 14, respectively, by Eddie Vachon in 2010. Felder’s 96 points snapped Vachon’s single-season mark of 84.

Bentley pummeled last place Franklin Pierce (1-9, 0-8 NE-10) to the tune of 70-0, most points in program history. Bentley had 10 rushing touchdowns, the most by a Division 2 team since Colorado School of Mines in October 2016. Six different Falcons scored a rushing TD, led by junior Andrew Brazicki with three. The Falcons used 63 players in the victory.

NESCAC finale

NESCAC closed out the 2019 schedule with Middlebury (9-0 NESCAC) posting an unblemished ledger after edging host Tufts (4-5), 31-24. Jumbos senior Jacob Carroll threw for a season-high 367 yards and three touchdowns in the loss and reached 19 touchdown passes, setting a new program mark. His 2,225 passing yards moved him to No. 2 single-season best. Junior Matt Alswanger finished with 26-of-27 in PATs and became the all-time leader in extra points with 84.

Around the region

Dartmouth senior defensive end Niko Lalos was the large school winner of the weekly Gold Helmet after registering a 22-yard pick-six, a sack, and breaking up two passes as the No. 13 Big Green knocked off previously undefeated No 9 Princeton, 27-10, at Yankee Stadium. … Kudos to Framingham State (7-2, 7-0 MASCAC), which beat Bridgewater State (5-4, 5-2 MASCAC), 40-20, to capture its third straight league title. Senior Adam Wojenski tossed four touchdowns in the victory.