Future Penn State opponent loses season opener in embarrassing fashion

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The first full slate of Saturday college football hasn't even been played yet, and we may have witnessed one of the most embarrassing losses of the 2026 college football season. It came at the expense of a future Penn State opponent this fall.

Rutgers lost its season opener on Thursday night in front of a home crowd to UMass, 37-21. The game was even more lopsided than the final score would suggest. The win by the Minutemen snapped a 16-game losing streak.

Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff had quite the night in the stat book with receptions for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns came in the last half of the fourth quarter after UMass built a 30-7 lead with 7:54 remaining in the game (UMass led 24-7 at halftime). Duff's 78-yard touchdown less than a minute later was the highlight of the night for the Scarlet Knights, though there was some question about whether or not he got away with pushing off on the defender.

Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan had a forgettable night with three interceptions thrown. The defense also gave up 200 rushing yards. UMass quarterback William Watson III, who transferred from Virginia Tech, was impressive in completing 19 of 22 passes for 197 yards with three touchdowns.

UMass went 0-12 last season and was bringing a 16-game losing streak into the 2026 season. This was the first win over a current Power Four conference member since beating Boston College in 1978.

And of course, with Rutgers being the Big Ten team paying a lower-tier program to play in New Jersey, the lumps just get a little bigger as a result. How much did Rutgers pay UMass for the opportunity to lose by 16 on their home field to the Minutemen? A cool $1.55 million. UMass getting to clear that check on its way home to celebrate a monumental win for the program is the cherry on top of this mess.

According to ESPN's analytics, Penn State was getting an 87.7% chance of winning its Week 12 game against Rutgers prior to Thursday's developments. That win percentage has already jumped up to 94.2% as of Friday morning. The chances of Rutgers winning any game remaining on its schedule just took a significant hit as a result of its catastrophic season-opening loss to UMass. Penn State will host Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 21 for the final home game of the season in Beaver Stadium.

Illinois and Minnesota were also in action on the Big Ten schedule on Thursday night. Both the Illini and Gophers avoided a similar disaster by easily taking care of their opponents in their respective home openers. Illinois pulled away from UAB for a 42-23 victory, and Minnesota blasted Eastern Illinois by a score of 59-7.

Three more Big Ten teams will be in action on Friday night to kick off the Week 1 schedule. Purdue hosts Indiana State, Michigan State will host Toledo, and USC will host Fresno State. USC was the lone Big Ten team in action during Week 0, winning at home against San Jose State.

Here is the full Week 1 Big Ten schedule.

Big Ten Football Schedule – Week 1

All times are Eastern. All games are scheduled on Saturday, September 5, 2026 except where noted.

  • UMass 37, Rutgers 21 (Thur.)
  • Minnesota 59, Eastern Illinois 7 (Thur.)
  • Illinois 42, UAB 23 (Thur.)
  • Purdue vs. Indiana State (0-1) – 7:00 p.m., Big Ten Network (Friday, Sept. 4)
  • Michigan State vs. Toledo – 8:00 p.m., FS1 (Friday, Sept. 4)
  • USC (1-0) vs. Fresno State – 9:00 p.m., FOX (Friday, Sept. 4)
  • Indiana vs. North Texas – 12:00 p.m., FOX
  • Nebraska vs. Ohio – 12:00 p.m., FS1
  • Ohio State vs. Ball State – 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
  • Oregon vs. Boise State – 3:30m p.m., CBS
  • Penn State vs. Marshall – 3:30 p.m., FS1
  • Iowa vs. Northern Illinois – 4:14 p.m., Big Ten Network
  • Michigan vs. Western Michigan – 7:30 p.m., NBC
  • Maryland vs. Hampton – 8:00 p.m., Big Ten Network
  • Northwestern vs. South Dakota State – 8:00 p.m., Big Ten Network
  • California vs. UCLA -10:30 p.m., ESPN
  • Washington vs. Washington State – 4:00 p.m., NBC (Sunday, Sept. 6)
  • Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (Green Bay, Wisc.) – 7:30 p.m., NBC (Sunday, Sept. 6)

Be sure to check our staff predictions for this week's Big Ten slate of games. Our final score predictions for Penn State's home game against Marshall are also available.

Kevin McGuire is the lead writer for Nittany Lions Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on BlueSky, Threads or any of these other platforms.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Future Penn State opponent loses season opener in embarrassing fashion

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