UMass Upset of Rutgers Ends 16-Game Losing Streak

The University of Massachusetts football team secured a victory against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, New Jersey, snapping a 16-game losing streak. The win came shortly after UMass was placed at the top of ESPN’s weekly “Bottom 10” rankings ahead of the opening week of the 2026 college football season.

UMass History and Ranking Context

Entering the 2026 season, the UMass Minutemen had struggled for over a decade. ESPN columnist Ryan McGee, who has compiled the outlet’s Bottom 10 rankings since 2014, noted that UMass has appeared in over 90 percent of the nearly 150 weekly polls published during his 12-year tenure as pollster.

UMass’s placement atop the preseason list was upended by their victory against Rutgers, marking an unexpected start to their season and ending one of the longest active losing streaks in elite American college football.

Other Notable Week 1 Results

Elsewhere in Week 1, Clemson suffered a 51-10 defeat against LSU, now coached by Lane Kiffin. Meanwhile, Charlotte fell in triple overtime to lower-division FCS program The Citadel. The Citadel holds a 9-52 all-time record against top-tier FBS opponents, with two of those nine victories earned against Charlotte.

Financial Guarantees for Visiting Teams

Several visiting programs received substantial financial payouts to play non-conference away games against major-conference opponents during the opening week of the season.

A Huskies team received $1.6 million for an away game at Iowa, where they were defeated 40-0. ULM collected $1.45 million following a 62-13 loss at Mississippi State. Kent State earned $1.3 million despite a 57-0 defeat at South Carolina, while UTEP received $1.3 million after losing 51-0 at Oklahoma. Missouri State was paid $1.2 million for traveling to Texas A&M, where they lost 50-0.

Background

In American college football, non-conference schedules frequently feature guarantee games, where high-revenue athletic programs pay smaller visiting institutions fixed financial sums to play on their home fields. These agreements provide smaller athletic departments with crucial revenue while giving major teams favorable non-conference home matchups to begin their seasons.