UMass and Toledo both blew up their rosters this offseason — one team is climbing out of a historic disaster, the other is trying to avoid becoming one.
Bush’s Picks
MASSTOL
MASSTOL
OverUnder
Best BetToledo
Toledo still has more roster continuity and a coach with a winning résumé, even after losing key pieces to UConn. UMass is trying to snap a 16-game losing streak with a completely rebuilt quarterback room, which is a tall order on the road. Back the Rockets here.
Massachusetts
+Harasymiak gets a full offseason as UMass's coach
+aggressive 10-player transfer reload on offense
+full MAC membership brings more conference resources
−Finished 0-12 in 2025, one of 19 FBS teams ever to do so
−carries a 16-game losing streak into this one
−all three 2025 quarterbacks transferred out
Toledo
+Went 8-5 with a bowl trip in 2025
+led the MAC in passing touchdowns last season
+hired Jacobs after back-to-back SoCon titles
−Lost its QB, leading RB, six WRs and four OL to UConn
−brand-new staff still sorting out a QB battle
−far less roster continuity than last year's bowl team
Both sidelines on Tuesday, November 10 will be led by coaches still finding their footing. Toledo hired Mike Jacobs off back-to-back SoCon titles at Mercer after Jason Candle bolted for the UConn job, and UMass enters year two under Joe Harasymiak, the former Rutgers defensive coordinator trying to dig the Minutemen out of a hole few programs ever fall into.
The Rockets didn't just lose their coach. Candle took quarterback Kalieb Osborne, running back Kenji Christian, six wide receivers and four offensive linemen with him to Connecticut, gutting the group that helped Toledo go 8-5 and lead the MAC in passing touchdowns a year ago. Jacobs is now sorting out a QB battle between Lenoir-Rhyne transfer Khamoni Robinson and returner John Alan Richter with a mostly rebuilt cast around them.
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MASS Massachusetts
TOL Toledo
UMass has its own quarterback puzzle, minus the recent success to fall back on. All three passers who saw snaps in 2025 transferred out, and Harasymiak went out and got Virginia Tech transfer Pop Watson III and Florida A&M transfer Johnson to compete for the job, part of a 10-player transfer haul aimed at rebuilding an offense from scratch.
Massachusetts Minutemen
Nov 3?vs Ball State—
Oct 23?@ UConn—
Oct 16?@ Buffalo—
Oct 9?vs Miami (OH)—
Oct 2?vs Eastern Michigan—
Sep 25?@ Sacramento State—
Sep 19?vs Stonehill—
Sep 12?vs Sacred Heart—
Sep 3?@ Rutgers—
Toledo Rockets
Nov 3?@ Sacramento State—
Oct 16?@ Eastern Michigan—
Oct 9?vs Buffalo—
Oct 2?@ Ball State—
Sep 25?vs San Diego State—
Sep 19?vs Temple—
Sep 12?vs Central Connecticut—
Sep 4?@ Michigan State—
Recent form.
It's worth remembering how far UMass has to climb. The Minutemen finished 0-12 in 2025, one of only 19 FBS teams ever to finish a season 0-12 or worse, and they've now dropped 16 straight games dating back to 2024. Full MAC membership, official as of the 2025-26 school year after nine seasons as an independent, was supposed to bring stability. Instead it's been a reset button.
Toledo, even in transition, still carries the program pedigree — a bowl trip last season, a coach with a proven track record of winning somewhere else, and comparatively more continuity on the roster despite the exodus. This isn't a marquee MAC matchup, but for two staffs trying to establish an identity in real time, it's a night where the little things — protection, ball security, a young quarterback settling in — will decide plenty.
