UMass ended a 16-game losing streak Thursday night with a 37-21 victory over Rutgers, turning a season opener into the kind of result that can reset a program’s mood in a single night. William “Pop” Watson III drove the break from the middle of it, throwing three touchdown passes, running for 40 yards and finishing with only three incompletions.
The win came after 677 days without a victory for UMass, a span that made every snap feel heavier than the first game of the year should. Rutgers struck first when Dylan Lonergan hit KJ Duff on a 4-yard touchdown pass, but UMass answered by scoring 30 points in a row and never let the game settle back into the Scarlet Knights’ control.
Watson completed 11 of 14 passes for 197 yards, and his efficiency gave UMass a clean edge in a game that had already turned from tense to decisive. Rutgers still got production from Lonergan and Duff, who finished with 196 receiving yards and three touchdowns, but the Minutemen kept taking the ball away and the momentum kept changing hands the other way.
UMass forced five turnovers, including three interceptions, its first five-turnover game since 2022. That mattered because this was not just a win over any opponent; it was Joe Harasymiak’s first victory as UMass’ coach, and it came against Rutgers, where he served as defensive coordinator from 2022-24. The connection gave the result a second edge: a coach beating the program he once helped guide on the other side of the ball.
The cleanest reading of Thursday night is that UMass did not merely snap a streak. It showed how quickly a team can change its own season when the quarterback is accurate, the defense steals possessions and the first punch from the other side does not stick. The next test is whether that version of UMass carries over, because the win is already historic and the schedule will not wait for the feeling to linger.
