AMHERST — The UMass football team has two more opportunities in its last three contests to salvage something this season, the first coming on Saturday afternoon when the Minutemen host Liberty for a noon kickoff at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

Through nine game, UMass is currently 0-7 against FBS opponents and 2-0 against FCS opponents. The Minutemen travel to Athens, Ga. next weekend to play perennial powerhouse Georgia before returning home to close out the season with UConn. If UMass can defeat Liberty and/or the Huskies, it’ll match last season’s win total of three.

Head coach Don Brown has urged his guys to simply go out and compete each and every day, regardless of the Minutemen’s record and what team they’re getting ready to play.

“Just play. Got to play,” Brown said. “Bottom line, you got to put it on the table and compete and play your butt off. And you know, the one good thing is, I feel very good about our mindset and how we go about our business… how they handle themselves during the bye week and the practice format and so forth. I feel really confident in our team's ability to get ready for these final three games.”

For the first time this year, however, UMass (2-7) is going to be without its starting quarterback. Taisun Phommachanh left the Minutemen’s Nov. 2 game against Mississippi State and didn’t return. Sources tell the Daily Hampshire Gazette he has suffered a torn meniscus in one knee and is feared to have torn his ACL in the other.

Freshmen quarterbacks AJ Hairston and Ahmad Haston – both of whom saw time against the Bulldogs following Phommachanh’s departure – are in line to suit up as the team’s next QB1.

“We've got guys, a couple of young guys, that have been working hard all year long,” Brown said. “We'll see how that plays out on Saturday.”

Brown didn’t name a starter when speaking to the media on Monday, but mentioned that Hairston and Haston will each likely get time against Liberty this weekend.

UMass’ second bye couldn’t have come at a better time as the coaching staff had time to do everything it could to prepare for life after Phommachanh.

“Both guys will certainly get their work in, for sure,” Brown said. “For this time of the year, the one good thing, like with Ahmad and AJ, is they're both healthy. So that's a positive so we can really run them around and do some things and get them game-ready throughout the practice week.”

While the Minutemen hope to figure out some sort of continuity at the most important position on the field, the Flames have the furthest thing from a question mark taking the field behind center.

Quarterback Kaidon Salter is the catalyst for Liberty’s offense. The dual-threat junior gave UMass’ defense fits last fall, throwing for 225 yards and two touchdowns while running for 118 yards and two more scores. He accumulated 343 total yards and four total TDs. This season, Salter has thrown for 1,581 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 440 rushing yards and three TDs.

Alongside Quinton Cooley (851 yards, eight touchdowns) in the backfield, Salter and the Flames are going to be tough to stop.

“Salter, it kind of keys off of him, for sure,” Brown said. “Good player for sure. He can run, dual threat guy. He can run it, he can throw it, he's got a couple key running backs there that are very, very solid. I think they've had some injuries in the receiving corps, but looks like they're getting healthier there. So that remains to be seen and we're not going to worry about game plan thinking about injuries. But obviously, very talented group. And the nice thing is, we're playing at home.”

Not all is the same for Liberty personnel-wise from last year to this one, and although Brown hinted at the idea that he has a good game plan to compete with the Flames on Saturday, he wouldn’t dish out much detail. Liberty won last year’s meeting 49-25 at home, and the Flames hold a 5-1 record all time against UMass. The Minutemen’s only victory in the series came in 2018, a wild 62-59 victory in Amherst.

Liberty (6-2) started 5-0 but lost two games in a row (a 27-24 defeat against Kennesaw State and a 31-21 loss to Jacksonville State) before bouncing back to handle Middle Tennessee 37-17 last week. The Flames are seventh in FBS in rushing yards per game (243.4), something the Minutemen have struggled with this season.

“I think they’ve changed significantly,” Brown said. “Still very solid schedule-wise. When you got the quarterback, that’s a beautiful thing. [Salter is] definitely a dual-threat guy. He can whip it around good, but he can run equally as well. He’s a good leader. Obviously we’re going to have to try to make it tough on him.”

Considering UMass’ most winnable games are behind it, Brown’s strategy moving forward is as simple as it gets.

“You just put your best players out there and let the chips fall,” Brown said.