Rutgers and UMass open their seasons tonight at SHI Stadium, and the prediction market around this one points in one direction. Rutgers is a 29.5-point favorite, with the over/under sitting at 52.5 points in a Big Ten vs. MAC matchup that has plenty of scoring baked into it.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 5-7 season, while UMass enters having not won a game since the 2024 season. With that backdrop, the picks from around the Rutgers and national media landscape all landed on the same side.
Scarlet Nation’s Bobby Deren went with Rutgers 52, UMass 10, saying, "Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is not going to embarrass his former DC Joe Harasymiak, who is now the head coach at UMass. However, the talent gap is too wide for this one to be close.
Keep in mind UMass lost all 12 games last season and is trying to fit in a lot of new pieces. There will be some hiccups and Rutgers' talent will take full advantage."
Kristian Dyer also picked Rutgers, projecting a 34-13 finish and describing the game as one that should feature a controlled pace. "I think it is going to be a tidy, ball-control type of feel on the offensive side of the ball and keep things in front of you on defense and let UMass make mistakes. Rutgers does a good job of running the clock and keeping things simple and basic---not putting too much on film, especially on the defensive side of the ball heading into next week at Boston College."
The rest of the board followed the same script. ESPN’s Bill Connelly picked Rutgers 46-8.
FOX Sports had Rutgers 48-7. Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon went with Rutgers 38-14.
Pro Football Network picked Rutgers 42-21. College Football News had Rutgers 44-10.
Asbury Park Press writer Chris Iseman projected Rutgers 49-10. Even Chat GPT sided with the Scarlet Knights, calling for a 34-17 Rutgers win.
That left Rutgers with all nine picks in the tally, while UMass finished with none.
This will be the sixth football meeting between the schools and the first since Aug. 30, 2019, when Rutgers opened the season with a 48-21 win. Rutgers leads the series 3-2 overall and holds a 2-1 edge in New Jersey.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 pm EST Saturday, and the game will air on the Big Ten Network.
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