Joe Harasymiak was hired by UMass in December of 2024 to do something that proved impossible for those who tried it before him.
By the end of his first season, plenty of people were convinced it would be impossible for him too.
60 minutes into Year Two, it suddenly looks like Harasymiak may be in position to actually turn UMass Football around.
It’s not just that nobody saw UMass’ 37-21 stunner over Rutgers coming. It’s how dramatically one night changed what seems possible for the Minutemen.
Coming into the game, I publicly wondered whether Harasymiak would keep his starters on the field during a three-score game in the fourth quarter. Turns out he did.
Of course, I asked the question under the only scenario I could imagine - the only one anyone could have imagined - with UMass being the team down three scores.
Instead, as the team winning 37-14, it was obvious the Minutemen would keep their starters in as anybody involved in UMass Football had been conditioned for years to fear an all-time collapse.
How big of an upset was it?
ESPN’s Bill Connelly had Rutgers and UMass separated by 140 spots in his preseason SP+ rankings. There are only 138 FBS teams.
That’s right. Connelly didn’t merely have UMass (#201) ranked behind every other FBS program in the country. He had the Minutemen behind 63 non-FBS programs too.
And yet, Thursday’s game never felt like the plucky underdog catching a superior opponent off guard or getting a couple lucky bounces and then hanging on for dear life.
UMass whipped Rutgers.
After allowing a touchdown on the opening possession, the Minutemen scored 30 straight points and looked like the better team all night.
The Minutemen didn’t need any miracles. They were just better. If these two teams ran it back next week, UMass would probably be favored by more than a touchdown.
Imagine that, UMass being favored on the road over a Big Ten team.
It felt bizarre. It still does.
Go back to last November, probably the most embarrassing moment of an embarrassing season came during UMass’ 10th loss. After kicking a field goal midway through the fourth quarter against Northern Illinois to cut the Huskies’ lead to 45-3, operations at McGuirk set off celebratory fireworks.
But Rutgers’ postgame pyrotechnics on Thursday night looked like the grand finale of the Boston Pops Fourth of July display by comparison (via @cfbtravelguy).
That’s how quickly things have reversed.
Last year’s loss to Bryant, an FCS team that proved to be a bad FCS team at that, was viewed by many as the worst loss in UMass history.
A year later, the Minutemen handed Rutgers what some of its own fans were calling the worst loss in their school’s history.
And it wasn’t simply because Rutgers lost to UMass. It was the way UMass beat them.
Coming into the season, we looked at the schedule and said if UMass could somehow return to Amherst 3-1 for its October home game against Eastern Michigan, there would be a real buzz around the program.
That seemed like the most optimistic scenario.
Forget October. That buzz is almost certain to be present when the Minutemen return to Amherst next week for their home opener against Sacred Heart.
And 3-1?
What was a best-case scenario as recently as Thursday afternoon now feels like it would represent a letdown of sorts.
That’s an insane sentence to write about a team that entered Thursday having lost 16 straight games. But Thursday changed the math.
Sacred Heart and Stonehill come to McGuirk Stadium the next two weeks. Then UMass travels to Sacramento State before returning home to face Eastern Michigan.
Many fans may still be entering those home dates against FCS foes with more caution than optimism, but the expectation will be what it probably should have been all along. The Minutemen need to pound those teams.
Going to California to face Sacramento State is no gimme, but UMass should be favored there too.
Before Thursday, it was reasonable to wonder where the wins were going to come from. Now, it’s time to start wondering how many there may be.
Our friends at the Rutgers TKR Podcast now have virtually zero confidence in the Scarlet Knights reaching a bowl game.
Meanwhile, our friend Rene Ingoglia’s long-held dream of UMass going bowling suddenly doesn’t seem so crazy after all.
We understand we’re getting way, way, way ahead of ourselves. It was one game and the Minutemen could crash back to earth in embarrassing fashion. But these are the moments that make being a fan of a team worth it.
And even the most pessimistic UMass follower has to admit, Thursday night felt different.
After every game a year ago, UMass fans were understandably asking why they continued subjecting themselves to the torture. They got their answer Thursday night.
For once, it was the other team’s fans wallowing in their sorrows and questioning their life decisions.
By the end of last season, Harasymiak acknowledged needing to remind himself he hadn’t forgotten how to coach.
One game into 2026, Rutgers fans are openly discussing the idea of firing Greg Schiano and trying to replace him with Harasymiak.
They say all publicity is good publicity. Not for UMass. Not last year.
At least for today though, the Minutemen are the darlings of college football.
None of this makes any sense.
We can’t explain it. But we can enjoy it.
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