Massachusetts finally snapped college football’s longest FBS losing streak on Thursday night, and it did so by beating Rutgers in convincing fashion.
In the first of 11 FBS games scheduled for Thursday night, the Minutemen and Scarlet Knights traded early punches before UMass took control and rolled to a 37-21 upset. Rutgers opened with a four-yard touchdown pass to KJ Duff, and Massachusetts answered right back with a 21-yard touchdown strike to Elijah Faulkner.
From there, the game flipped hard. Massachusetts scored on four of its next five possessions and built a 20-point cushion on its way to the win. The Minutemen were up by as many as 23 in the second half.
Pop Watson was sharp throughout for Massachusetts, finishing 19 of 22 for 197 yards and three touchdowns. The Minutemen also had a big night on the ground, piling up 200 rushing yards against Rutgers. On the other side, Dylan Lonergan hurt the Scarlet Knights with four turnovers.
The victory ended a long drought that stretched nearly a season and a half, but the run of frustration against FBS opponents had gone on even longer. Massachusetts finished 2-10 in 2024, with both wins coming against Central Connecticut State and Wagner, a pair of FCS programs. Its last win of 2023 came against another FCS opponent, Merrimack, in a 31-21 result.
Before Thursday, the Minutemen’s last FBS win dated back to Oct. 28, 2023, when they beat Army 21-14 on the road. In that game, Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams ran for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
UMass also went nearly five decades between Power Four wins. Its last one came on Nov. 25, 1978, when it shut out Boston College 27-0.
The victory came with Joe Harasymiak leading the program. Harasymiak got into the FBS coaching ranks as a defensive coach at Minnesota in 2019 after three years as Maine’s head coach. Minnesota hired him as safeties coach, then promoted him to co-defensive coordinator two years later.
A New Jersey native, Harasymiak later returned home to serve as Rutgers’ defensive coordinator under Greg Schiano for three seasons before taking over as Massachusetts’ head coach in the 2025 offseason.
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