Wk 1 · 2026
Massachusetts Minutemen at Rutgers Scarlet Knights — Thu, Sep 3
Thu, Sep 3 ·
SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
· BTN FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
at
6:00pET
RUTG -29.5 · total 54.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential RUTG by 15.0
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
UMass form
L 19-20vs M-OHL 14-38vs EMUW 35-6at SACW 36-14vs STOW 37-10vs SHU
2026 season
Rutgers form
L 15-47vs IUW 58-7vs HOWL 35-42vs USCL 21-28at BCL 21-37vs MASS
2026 season
UMass this season
Straight up4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under2-4 · 33% (6 games)
Rutgers this season
Straight up1-4 · 20% (5 games)
Against the spread2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Over / under4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 0
These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, the series is level at 1–1 · UMass won the last one
2 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
5.5 points toward Rutgers
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-03 | UMass 37 — 21 Rutgers | at RUTG | UMass |
| 2019 | 2019-08-30 | UMass 21 — 48 Rutgers | at RUTG | Rutgers |
UMass leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | William Watson III QB #5 | 74/100, 820 YDS, 7 TD, 2 INT |
| Aedan McCarthy QB #13 | 2/4, 11 YDS | |
| Rushing | Curtis Kimmons IV RB #14 | 45 CAR, 262 YDS, 3 TD |
| Elijah Faulkner RB #23 | 52 CAR, 246 YDS | |
| William Watson III QB #5 | 30 CAR, 167 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Receiving | T.Y. Harding WR #2 | 19 REC, 236 YDS, 2 TD |
| Jabari Lewis WR #19 | 10 REC, 152 YDS | |
| Joseph Griffin Jr. WR #1 | 8 REC, 134 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Max Dowling TE #11 | 11 REC, 80 YDS, 2 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Timmy Hinspeter LB #44 | 40 |
| Tyler Martin LB #5 | 29 | |
| Kendall Bournes S #3 | 29 | |
| Sacks | William DePaepe DL #98 | 2 |
| Joshua Nobles DL #2 | 1.5 | |
| Hollis Dirstine DL #95 | 1.5 | |
| Interceptions | Jahmad Harmon S #22 | 3 |
| Isaiah Reed CB #0 | 1 | |
| Timmy Hinspeter LB #44 | 1 |
Rutgers leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Dylan Lonergan QB #12 | 51/92, 775 YDS, 7 TD, 5 INT |
| AJ Surace QB #10 | 33/53, 475 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT | |
| Rushing | Antwan Raymond RB #3 | 89 CAR, 469 YDS, 4 TD |
| Clay Thevenin RB #9 | 42 CAR, 180 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Aiden Gibson RB #32 | 11 CAR, 35 YDS | |
| Receiving | KJ Duff WR #8 | 33 REC, 628 YDS, 7 TD |
| Ben Black III WR #2 | 9 REC, 180 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Jourdin Houston WR #4 | 15 REC, 169 YDS | |
| Antwan Raymond RB #3 | 9 REC, 72 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Chris Joines DB #20 | 25 |
| Bradlee Jones DB #5 | 25 | |
| Jesse Ofurie DB #16 | 23 | |
| Sacks | Moses Walker LB #2 | 1.5 |
| Rondo Porter DL #99 | 1.5 | |
| Zaire Angoy DL #55 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Moses Walker LB #2 | 2 |
| Bradlee Jones DB #5 | 2 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.