UMass marched into Rutgers and dropped a 37-21 victory on the Scarlet Knights Thursday night, ending a brutal 16-game losing streak that had plagued the program since October 2024. This wasn’t just some regular season win, folks, it was a statement. The Minutemen, as heavy road underdogs, took down a Power 4 school in the very first week of the 2026 season. If you didn’t have UMass on your radar, you better now!
The Streak is Over, And It Was a Long One
For UMass, this victory means everything. They entered this season with the longest active losing streak in the entire nation. Think about that, 16 straight games without a W. Their last win before this Thursday came all the way back in October 2024! The 2025 season was a complete nightmare, going a miserable 0-12. They barely kept games close, with only two contests all year being decided by one score. Most of the time, they were simply blown off the field. This isn’t some perennial powerhouse we’re talking about either. UMass has been grinding in the trenches, literally, for years. They haven’t seen more than four wins in a single season since way back in 2011! Ten times in the last 14 seasons, they finished with two wins or fewer. For one night, though, none of that history mattered. They produced a memorable highlight for their program, and you can bet that locker room was absolutely electric.
A New Streak Leader Emerges, Coach Harasymiak Gets His Win
And guess what? With UMass finally off the hook, the dubious honor of the nation’s longest active FBS losing streak now belongs to Oklahoma State. Eleven straight losses! Ouch. The Cowboys won their first game in 2025, but then proceeded to lose every single game after that. They couldn’t buy a win in Big 12 play last year, going 0-11 to close out 2025. That’s a rough stretch. Oklahoma State will try to break their own streak on Saturday, opening their season on the road against Tulsa, a game they absolutely *should* win. But stranger things have happened, right?
Meanwhile, let’s give a shout-out to Coach Joe Harasymiak. He took the reins at UMass after the 2024 season and inherited the whole 0-12 nightmare in 2025. But the program stuck with him, and he delivered a huge road win against his old squad, Rutgers, where he spent 2022-24 as an assistant. That’s a full-circle moment if there ever was one. It might just be one game, but this victory against a Power 4 team could be the spark this program desperately needs. Oklahoma State, on the other hand, faces a real gut check against Tulsa; fail there, and that streak continues to snowball.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
Leave a Reply