OTB Staff Picks Rutgers vs UMass

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Rutgers fans, its game day! The wait is over as the Scarlet Knights are set to kick off tonight at 6 p.m. against the UMass Minutemen. As is tradition here at OnTheBanks, the staff will try to guess the score of the game and give context as to why they think that way.

Andrew Rice

We made it, everybody; a new season of Rutgers football is here. The fresh air of a new season is filled with a sense of optimism that can only be summed up in one sentence: college football is back. Some Power Four teams will lose that sense of optimism after one week, as they will either lose to an opponent they shouldn’t lose to, or fall early to another Power Four opponent. Rutgers will not be one of those teams. Last season, UMass was terrible, arguably the worst team in the FBS, posting an 0-12 record. They haven’t done much in the off-season to inspire the thought of any drastic change. Rutgers, on the other hand, kept three of its offensive cornerstones and made significant changes to its defense that should yield some amount of improvement. Since the offense will have a new signal-caller in Dylan Lonergan, it might take a few drives to get going, but it should be off to the races from there. After a slow first quarter, Rutgers runs away with this one.

Rutgers 49, UMass 7

Bob Cancro

It’s never easy being Rutgers. You’re installed as 29.5 point favorites in your season opener: win by less and you’re “in for a long season”; win by too much more than that and it’s “you’re supposed to win” that one. Play your starters – especially Dylan Lonergan – too long and “you’re not getting Surace ready”. Let UMass score a bunch in the fourth and, well, you get it. Hopefully, this one is settled by the middle of the second quarter and Surace, along with the 2s and 3s, get plenty of grass time. Then there’s the coaching paradox: “show what you can do without showing too much of what you have”. Never easy.

Rutgers 41 UMass 10

Ryan Castellano

Here we are, another year, another easy nonconference opponent for Rutgers to pounce on to kick off the 2026 season. In my eyes, UMass is just about a step or two above Norfolk State, who Rutgers beat by 50 points last year. This is a better Rutgers team, though, and starting your season against the worst team in the FBS is going to inspire an exaggerated level of confidence, but that may be what’s needed to get students back in the stands.

I think all of the noise surrounding starting Dylan Lonergan will be put to rest by the halfway point of the second quarter, as Rutgers will be up by four possessions and handing off to Antwan Raymond just to keep the clock moving. In my season preview, I wrote that Sean Ashenfelder would see the field this year, and that it wouldn’t be during a blowout win. I would like to be wrong about this by the middle of the fourth quarter, as Rutgers will kickstart another winless season for UMass.

Rutgers 58, UMass 3

Arnav Sarkar

Happy game week everyone! Looking forward to being back at SHI Stadium after a long and monumental offseason for both Rutgers football and myself. The new season begins with an opponent the program hasn’t seen in some time, however, a familiar face in Joe Harasymiak will return to the sideline as a visitor.

After last year’s opening scare against a solid Ohio team that went 11-3 and won the MAC the season prior, this year’s opener should be no sweat for the Scarlet Knights. UMass was the worst team in FBS last season and even lost to a 3-9 Bryant (FCS) team. Even if the Minutemen are somehow significantly better, they should be no match for even a lower-tier Big Ten team. The Knights will also have a significant skill advantage, but truth be told, these types of games are already decided in the huge mismatch in the trenches.

It might take a few drives to get going, but the Scarlet Knights pull away comfortably by halftime, get Surace in the game as the backup along with the second and third-stringers, and Rutgers cruises on opening night for a comfortable 1-0 start to the 2026 season.

Rutgers 52, UMass 7

Greg Patuto

Remember in 2019 when UMass led Rutgers, 21-7, after the first quarter? Oh, how social media would be a fun place if that happened again on Thursday night. But, no one expects that to happen. Rutgers Football is back and it is against a familiar face in Joe Harasymiak. This is the perfect tune up game for Rutgers as it implements a new quarterback and many new faces in other positions as well. Faces that are not new includes K.J. Duff and Antwan Raymond. Get your skill players touches early, put up some numbers, and hopefully get a chance to rest a bit in the fourth quarter.

Who knows what the season holds ahead of us, but Thursday night will give fans a chance to cheer and celebrate in their home stadium. Rutgers is a 30-point favorite and that feels like a good number for this game, especially if Rutgers gets some bench pieces in the game in the second half.

Rutgers 45, UMass 14

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos