UMass walked into Piscataway and blew up one of the easiest assumptions on UConn’s schedule.
That Oct. 23 Friday night game in Storrs against the Minutemen looked like an automatic win when the schedule first came out.
After Thursday night’s 37-21 rout of Rutgers, it looks a lot less comfortable. UMass didn’t just beat a Big Ten team on the road - it did it in a way that suggested the program may finally be shifting.
The Minutemen snapped a 16-game losing streak, the longest active skid in the FBS, and got their first win against an FBS opponent since beating Army in 2023. For a program that had been buried in the sport’s bottom tier for years, it was a loud, emphatic statement.
Quarterback William “Pop” Watson III was the engine. The Virginia Tech transfer threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns, finding Elijah Faulkner twice for scores and Joseph Griffin Jr. once as UMass raced to a 24-7 halftime lead. That was the Minutemen’s first halftime advantage against a power conference team since they led Mississippi State in 2017.
Watson didn’t need to do everything, but he did plenty. He completed 18 passes to seven different receivers and added 40 rushing yards on six carries, mostly operating from the shotgun. UMass put points on seven of its 10 drives, which is the kind of efficiency that changes how people look at a team.
Curtis Kimmons IV added a 17-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to stretch the margin to 37-14 and keep Rutgers from making it interesting.
The backdrop makes the result even bigger. Since 2019, UMass had been 10-76, now 11-76, with two winless seasons and three seasons with just one victory.
Last season, the Minutemen averaged 11.1 points per game, the fewest in the country. This offseason, they brought in 56 new players, including 30 transfers and 26 freshmen, in a wholesale overhaul of the roster.
Watson’s connection with Griffin Jr. mattered, too. Griffin, who transferred from Boston College, was teammates with Watson at Springfield (Mass.) Central High School, and the two hooked up for a touchdown in the win.
For UMass coach Joe Harasymiak, the night carried extra weight. He was Rutgers’ defensive coordinator from 2022-24, grew up in Waldwick, New Jersey, about 40 miles from campus, and had family and friends in the building at SHI Stadium. The biggest win UMass has recorded since joining the FBS in 2012 came in a place that clearly meant something to him.
“I think probably the most special part about it is, my mom, my dad are here (Piscataway), and my two brothers,” said Harasymiak. “I just face-timed my wife and my kids, they’re at home. So certainly, growing up here, an hour away, working here for Coach (Greg) Schiano, it means a lot, but I’m just really proud about our team and what we did.”
In Other News...
UConn Just Turned Its Duke Schedule Reveal Into A Taunt
UConn unveiled its 2026-27 mens basketball nonconference schedule with a little extra swagger, and the Duke matchup sat right at the center of it. The Huskies leaned into the history of the rivalry, pointing to the 11-game series and the kind of moment that has made this one of college basketballs more compelling modern pairings: a recent Elite Eight win over the Blue Devils that carried all the drama UConn fans could want.
The schedule release doubled as a reminder that this isnt just another big-name date on the calendar. Duke is still the measuring-stick opponent in these kinds of announcements, and UConn made sure that last meeting still loomed large as the teams head toward another showdown next season. There is already a fresh chapter coming, and after the way the Huskies framed the rivalry, it is fair to expect the buildup to be part celebration, part needling, and all business by the time the game arrives. [Read more 🡒]
UConns LSU Matchup Just Got Easier For A Serious Reason
LSUs womens basketball roster took a notable hit just before the academic year began, and the ripple effect reaches all the way to a scheduled meeting with UConn. Sophomore Kate Koval is no longer with the program, leaving the Tigers thinner at a time when teams are still settling into new roles and rotations for the season ahead.
The departure comes in the wake of LSU adding a Russian recruit, a development set against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and the personal toll it has taken on Koval. She had family ties to the conflict and hometown damage to reckon with, and her exit leaves LSU with one less established piece as it prepares for a demanding schedule that includes the Huskies. [Read more 🡒]
UConns 2023-24 Team Just Earned Rare All-Time Praise
A season that already stood out in UConn history just picked up another layer of validation. CBS Sports recently surveyed nearly 100 Division I mens basketball coaches to find the best team of the 21st century, and the 2023-24 Huskies came out on top in a field full of heavyweights. For a program that has spent decades collecting trophies, the kind of attention this group earned speaks to how complete and overwhelming that run felt from start to finish.
The Huskies went 35-3, swept the Big East regular season and tournament titles, landed the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and then rolled through March to the national championship. Coaches also kept other modern powers in the conversation, including Dukes 2000-01 team, Michigans 2022-23 squad and Villanovas 2017-18 group, but UConns latest title team clearly left the strongest impression. It is rare for a roster to enter the all-time debate so quickly, and even in Storrs, that kind of praise is usually reserved for the very best of the best. [Read more 🡒]