Dave Portnoy makes strong bet to kick off college football season & it immediately backfires

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Good ole college football, you never know what you’re going to see.

And that rang true on Thursday night, during the first Thursday game of the season. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights hosted UMass, a game in which Rutgers paid the Minutemen $1.55 million to come play, but it didn’t go the way anyone expected.

That included Barstool’s Dave Portnoy.

Prior to the game kicking off, Portnoy went to X and posted that he made his first college football bet of the season, and it might be the strongest bet of the entire year. Portnoy expected Rutgers to not only cover the 29.5 points, but also win by over 40.

Instead, UMass shocked the world and won, 37-21. Portnoy’s post was exposed on ‘Freezing Cold Takes’ once UMass had full control of the game.

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A big upset to start the season

Entering the contest, Rutgers wasn’t supposed to be a good team this season; however, the Scarlet Knights did return two stars of the Big Ten, with RB Antwan Raymond and WR KJ Duff returning.

But even those two weren’t enough for Rutgers’ poor play to rear its ugly head. UMass captured its first win against an FBS team since 2023, when it took down Army. The Minutemen’s win also snapped a 16-game losing streak.

Virginia Tech transfer Pop Watson was incredible for UMass, throwing for 197 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 40 yards.

As for Rutgers, it started Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan, and he was less than desirable. He tossed three interceptions in his debut, and head coach Greg Schiano would end up replacing him with backup AJ Surace during the game.

After the loss, it appears like it will be a long season for the Scarlet Knights, but people may need to keep an eye on this UMass team, which is much improved from its 0-12 season a year ago.

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