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UMass Head Coach Mark Whipple Talks 'Battle Of The Bay State' On Gresh & Zo

BOSTON (CBS) - UMass football head coach Mark Whipple came in to the 98.5 The Sports Hub studios Wednesday morning and joined Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak for a lengthy discussion.

The Minutemen head coach from 1998-2003 is back at the helm for a second go-around after coaching stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and University of Miami Hurricanes.

As the season gears up, sports fans in the region are looking forward to the Battle Of The Bay State between UMass and Boston College. The game will take place Saturday, August 30th at 3 p.m. at Gillette Stadium.

Whipple acknowledged that his young roster was taken aback by Gillette Stadium when they visited. He has told them they need to act differently when Saturday rolls around.

"I thought we took a step in the right direction, I believe it was a week ago today. We probably had 40 guys who had never seen Gillette Stadium. They get off the bus, they're taking pictures. So I told them, 'We won't be doing that next Saturday,'" Whipple said.

As far as expectations for the big game, Whipple said the Minutemen will be in good shape if the game remains competitive by halftime.

"We need to get into halftime in a football game and then we can make some adjustments. And then we can go back to play to win in the second half," said Whipple. "We need to make some changes. We got to move the ball and play for field position and get our guys on the ground. We know Boston College is going to be big."

Listen below for the full interview:

Mark Whipple In Studio

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