The rubble, to be clear, was ugly. UMass finished 0-12 in 2025, its first season back in the MAC after nine years as an FBS independent, part of a 16-game losing streak that made national news for all the wrong reasons. Rutgers went 5-7 and turned down a bowl bid against Georgia Southern rather than play out the string, which says plenty about where that program's expectations actually sit heading into Year 2 of Schiano's latest rebuild.
Rutgers also went and reinforced its front seven this offseason, adding pass rusher J'Dan Burnett from Tulsa — 6.5 sacks a year ago — and interior defender Rondo Porter from Appalachian State, both penciled in as projected starters. That matters against a UMass offense still figuring out its quarterback and its identity. On paper, this is close to the best-case scheduling spot Rutgers could ask for: analysts have already flagged the Scarlet Knights' 2026 slate as the 4th-easiest in the Big Ten, and this opener is step one of turning that soft schedule into an actual bowl bid.
None of this means UMass is hopeless. Eight Minutemen earned Phil Steele Preseason All-MAC recognition, and the program's own outlook calls for a step forward in Harasymiak's second season, helped along by what's reportedly the easiest overall schedule in FBS. A shootout opener against a Rutgers team still sorting out its own quarterback room isn't the worst spot to test the new-look Minutemen offense before conference play starts in earnest.
Historically, this series has gone Rutgers' way — the Scarlet Knights lead 3-2 all-time and won the most recent meeting back in 2019 by a 48-21 final. Given where both rosters sit right now, there's little reason to expect that trend to flip on Thursday night in Piscataway.