Jumbos sport new look in opener

If the basis of comparison for this year's football team is the success of last season's squad, the Jumbos started the season out on a promising note against Hamilton on Saturday.

Last year, Tufts opened the season with a convincing 35-20 victory over Wesleyan, which set the tone for the Jumbos' 6-2 romp through the season. On Saturday, the Jumbos dismantled an out-matched Hamilton team, 20-0, a start they hope will send them on their way to another winning season.

But while the outcomes of the season openers may be the same, the methods used to achieve them were slightly different.

Last year against Wesleyan, the Jumbos plowed their way through the game behind the strength of running back Kevin Kelley's sequoia sized legs, which churned their way to 168 yards rushing, part of a 315 yard combined rushing effort on the day. This left the passing game as almost an afterthought, with then junior quarterback Scott Treacy completing ten passes for a mere 74 yards.

The Jumbos ran 63 rushing plays in the game, compared with just 17 passing plays.

Against Hamilton on Saturday, Tufts was without Kelley, and displayed a much more balanced offensive attack. Senior running back Chuck McGraw saw just 16 carries, which he turned into 63 rushing yards, and overall the Jumbos ran only 37 running plays, almost half as many as in last year's season opener.

The passing game, however, showed much more life. Treacy, now a senior, completed 11 of 19 passes for 164 yards on the day. With two completions by sophomore back up QB Jay Casey, the Jumbos were 13 of 22 for 171 yards _ almost 100 yards more than last year's per game average of 75.8.

"We think we're gonna have to be more balanced this year," coach Bill Samko said. "So that was part of the plan."

The 171 yards in the air is more yards passing than Tufts saw in any of its games last year. In fact, the Jumbos only surpassed 100 yards passing twice the entire season _ 112 yards against Amherst and 152 yards against Williams. The last time a Tufts team passed for more yardage was two years ago on Nov. 4 against Colby, when then quarterback Todd Scalia went 20-42 for 224 yards.

From the looks of their first game, the Jumbos have found the balance they are looking for in their offensive attack. And with a more confident Treacy, behind an experienced offensive line, the new approach just might work.

"We just do what we have to do. If they're up on the line stopping the run, then we're gonna have to pass," Treacy said. "I had so much time back there today, I had no worries about getting sacked at all. I'm definitely more confident this year."

The mix of pass and rush plays worked so well in the first half on Saturday, that the Jumbos scored on each of their first four drives, with Treacy passing to junior tight end Ryan Papi for two touchdowns. In those four drives, Tufts threw the ball nine times for 87 yards, while rushing 14 times for 71 yards.

If there is a negative side to the increased emphasis on the passing game, however, it is the loss of clock control. Although they shut down Hamilton's offense, allowing only nine rushing yards, the Jumbos actually possessed the ball for almost five fewer minutes than Hamilton. While this is partly due to poor offensive execution by Tufts in the second half, it is also due to fast, efficient scoring drives _ in the second quarter Tufts drove 62 yards for a touchdown in 1:20.

But if clock control is a concern for the team, nobody is showing it. Tufts still considers itself a running team, just a more balanced one.

"We do what we have to do, but we're primarily a running team," Treacy said. "We have a big offensive line so we're definitely going to be running the football."

And if the first game was any indication, they'll be passing it too