The first game in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season has already delivered a massive upset. UMass — a 29.5 point underdog — stunned Rutgers 37-21 on Thursday night.
Make no mistake, this result was no fluke. The Minutemen simply whipped the Scarlet Knights. Behind transfer quarterback Pop Watson III, the UMass offense recorded 251 total yards in the first half to pull out to a 24-7 lead. And after giving up 433.8 yards a game last season, the Minutemen displayed marked improvement to slow the Rutgers offense after giving up a touchdown on the first drive of the game and forced two turnovers in the second quarter.
UMass also didn’t punt until late in the third quarter. And the defense continued to make timely plays in the second half by stopping Rutgers on downs and recording an interception to stop a drive with momentum early in the fourth quarter. Add in another pick with less than five minutes to go, and the defense made more than enough plays to complement a much-improved offense.
UMass finished with a 397 to 349 edge in yardage. The Minutemen dominated the line of scrimmage on defense by recording five sacks and seven tackles for a loss. This unit also held the ground game to 30 yards.
The Minutemen were widely projected as the No. 138 in most preseason rankings after going 0-12 last season. However, coach Joe Harasymiak — a former Rutgers assistant — rebuilt the roster through the portal this offseason, with several of those additions coming up big in Thursday night’s win.
“Let’s just be real: We’ve never, ever been good at the FBS level,” Harasymiak told Athlon Sports earlier this offseason.
Entering the ‘26 season, the Minutemen were 7-53 since ‘21.
“I think we certainly belong,” Harasymiak also told Athlon Sports, “because I know what we’re doing as of the last year to compete.”
Just how far has UMass improved in just one season? Consider this: the Minutemen lost 47-7 to Iowa and 42-6 to Missouri last year. And in 2024, this program lost 45-3 to Missouri and 59-21 to Georgia.
Watson III — a Massachusetts native — returned to his home state after spending three years at Virginia Tech and was instrumental in the upset. The Minutemen scored 37 points – more than this team scored in any game last season.
While this victory is a huge moment for Harasymiak’s rebuilding effort, disastrous sums up the night for Rutgers. After going 5-7 last year, the Scarlet Knights hoped an offseason revamp to its defensive staff and the retention of star running back Antwan Raymond and receiver KJ Duff would lift coach Greg Schiano’s team back to a bowl. Instead, Rutgers leaves Week 1 with more questions — and plenty of doubt on whether Schiano can actually get this team back to relevancy in the Big Ten.
To add insult to injury for Rutgers, UMass was paid $1.5 million to schedule this game.
