T.Y. Harding scored on a 49-yard reception in the opening minute, added an 82-yard punt-return touchdown soon after and Massachusetts defeated Sacred Heart 37-10 on Saturday, the first back-to-back wins for the Minutemen since 2023.
UMass (2-0) snapped a 16-game losing streak with a 37-21 win over Rutgers of the Big Ten in its opener and followed up with the easy victory over the FCS Pioneers (0-2). The last time the Minutemen won consecutive games came in the 2023 season with wins over Army and Merrimack.
William Watson III hit Harding on the deep ball down the middle for the game's first points then Harding raced for his second TD just over three minutes later.
Watson was 9-of-10 passing for 152 yards and added 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Jahmad Harmon turned his third interception of the season into a 34-yard touchdown and a 37-0 lead early in the second half. Harmon had two picks in the win over Rutgers. Reece Adkins added rushing TD.

#harmon #back

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — There is no coming back from this for Rutgers — and maybe its head coach.
The Scarlet Knights still have 10 more games on their schedule this fall, but the 2026 season effectively came to an end after they suffered a devastating 28-21 loss to Boston College on Friday night.
Any flicker of hope remaining following a season-opening 37-21 loss to UMass — the worst loss in modern program history — were dashed at Alumni Stadium, where Rutgers showed more life than its pathetic showing against the Minutemen, but not enough to secure a win it desperately needed — and easily could have gotten.
The Scarlet Knights (0-2) were blitzed from the beginning by the Eagles (1-1), who jumped out to a 17-0 lead through the opening 17 minutes and led the rest of the way.
Rutgers was not ready to play — it was forced to call a timeout on the third play of the game when it sent two players on the field with the same jersey number (#56) — and while it came agonizingly close to stealing a game that was there for the taking, it could not stop shooting itself in the foot.

#rutgers #scarlet

Over the past few days, several national college football publications and websites have released power ranking lists for all 138 FBS college football teams following Week 0 and Week 1 of the 2026 college football season. None of these sites have been particularly kind to Rutgers following their season-opening 37-21 loss to UMass, with almost all of them dropping the Scarlet Knights by double-digit rankings. The most brutal of these sites was The Athletic, which dropped Rutgers 57 spots from 79 to 136.
First off, the ******* le of the article is "Re-ranking 138 college football teams after Week 1: LSU starts on top, Rutgers hits a new low"- not a fun start by any means. The rest of the parts of the article that mention Rutgers aren't much better.
"The most shocking win was, of course, UMass' 37-21 victory at Rutgers, ending a 16-game losing streak and 23-game Football Bowl Subdivision losing streak. For that, the Minutemen rise to No. 100. It's the first time since early in the 2025 season that UMass is not ranked last, and it's the first time in 10 years of these rankings that UMass is inside the top 100. The Minutemen's previous high was No. 102 late in the 2018 season. Congrats to UMass," said Athletic writer Chris Vannini in the article.
"Rutgers falls all the way to No. 136 for that blowout loss to UMass, which wasn't as close as the 16-point final margin would indicate. This is the new lowest position for a Power 4 team in 10 years of these rankings," said Athletic writer Chris Vannini in the article.
While Rutgers' performance against UMass is inexcusable and has put the Knights in the same ranking bracket as teams like Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Utah State and Charlotte in the eyes of the Athletic. While Rutgers' loss to UMass is an incredibly tough pill to swallow, being rated in the bottom three teams in the country still seems a little low. Even a terrible Big Ten team should be able to stay out of there.

#Athletic

College football is back and the Big Ten Conference had 18 games played in the first week of the 2026 college football season with the result of many being blowouts.
The anticipation for the season has finally come to an end and most of the teams played as advertised. However, some teams hit the snooze **** on and it took them a moment to get into the game. Here is the Big Ten Roundup of each game involving a Big Ten Conference team.
Rutgers started the season off with a loss as the Minutemen dominated the Scarlet Knights from start to finish. The turning point in the game came in the second quarter as the Scarlet Knights turned the ball over twice, which gave Massachusetts the chance to create a massive 17-point second lead entering the second. Rutgers could be in for a long season.
The Golden Gophers flew past the Panthers with ease as they controlled the game on offense, defense and special teams. Senior wide receiver Javon Tracy started the Golden Gophers season with a bang with two punt return touchdowns to cap off Minnesota's exhilarating blowout.
The Fighting Illini's new senior quarterback Katin Houser took over Illinois' offense exceptionally as they moved up and down the field at will. Illinois' defense also held strong as they limited the Blazers' scoring opportunities with senior linebacker Ismael Kante getting a late-game pick-six.

#game #teams #conference #golden

PISCATAWAY – Quarterback was a major question mark throughout spring practice and training camp for Rutgers football as Dylan Lonergan battled AJ Surace for the starting job before ultimately winning it.
Now after just one game, it's a question mark once again.
Lonergan had an uneven performance in the Scarlet Knights' stunning 37-21 season-opening loss to UMass on Thursday, Sept. 3, but beyond that an injury he suffered in the fourth quarter has thrown more uncertainty onto his status for Rutgers' Friday game at Boston College – Lonergan's former team.
Lonergan finished 16-of-29 passing for 242 yards with two touchdowns against the Minutemen, but he also threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away.
Rutgers' offensive line didn't make it easy on him either, too often getting pushed around by UMass' defensive front (the Minutemen finished with five sacks).

#lonergan #minutemen #game #finished

Rutgers football is listed as 3.5-point underdogs in next week's matchup vs Boston College, according to FanDuel, after suffering an embarrassing 37-21 loss to UMass last week. The line initially opened with the Eagles as 6.5-point favorites, but quickly moved to where it is now after Boston College suffered a 34-15 blowout loss to Cincinnati.
In their loss against the Minutemen, Rutgers' defense surrendered 197 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and 40 rushing yards to the Minutemen's William Watson, who saw his first major amount of playing time in two years after transferring from Virginia Tech. They also surrendered 200 rushing yards and one touchdown. On the flip side, the Knights' starting quarterback, Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan, completed 16 of his 29 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. Running back Antwan Raymond averaged just three yards per carry in this matchup as he ran for 42 yards on 14 attempts.
In their loss against Cincinnati, Boston College starting quarterback Mason McKenzie completed 18 of 35 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He finished the game with an overall quarterback rating of 108.7. The Eagles' leading rusher against the Bearcats was Evan ******* ens, who carried the ball 11 times for 47 yards and one touchdown, while their leading receiver, Johnathan Montague, caught two out of three passes for 55 yards and one touchdown.
While racking up more first downs than their opponent, Boston College turned the ball over on downs three times and added an interception and a fumble lost, giving their opponent extra possessions. The Eagles' offensive line also surrendered 4 sacks, while the entire team committed 7 total penalties.
Much like Rutgers' two meaningless scores at the end of their game against the Minutemen, the Eagles also scored a last-second touchdown to make the ending score look better than the game actually was.

#three #rutgers #loss

Everyone is excited for the start of the 2026 college football season until their team loses. While the UCLA Bruins are hoping to avoid that fate this weekend versus Cal. UCLA saw a conference rival begin the season in humiliating fashion.
Rutgers kicked off on Thursday versus UMass and the Minutemen pulled off a 37-21 road win at SHI Stadium. Rutgers came into the season looking like a Big Ten Conference bottom-dweller and that was all but confirmed with a blowout loss to UMass.
The loss to UMass is different from your run-of-the-mill upset. The Minutemen went winless in 2025 and were four touchdown underdogs against Rutgers.
Last season Rutgers went 5-7, winning two more games than UCLA, but things are looking worse to begin 2026 for the Scarlet Knights. USA TODAY writer Matthew Glenesk discussed buyout options for Rutgers' head coach Greg Schiano after the humiliating start to the season.
"Greg Schiano is the winningest coach in Rutgers football history. But that distinction can't sugarcoat the disaster Thursday night was as the Scarlet Knights — a 29.5-point favorite — lost at home to UMass," Glenesk said. "If the school was to make a change, Schiano is owed 76.875% of his remaining base salary when he is fired. If he is let go at the end of November, that number would be approximately $18.5 million, per documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports."

#season

In one of the first days of the 2026-27 college football season, chaos ensued at the SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. On Thursday, Sept. 3, coach Greg Schiano's Rutgers Scarlet Knights hosted coach Joe Harasymiak's Massachusetts Minutemen for their first game of the campaign. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, the Minutemen defeated them by 16 points, 37-21.
It was an embarrassing defeat, to say the least, for the Scarlet Knights, as they were the overwhelming favorites to beat the Minutemen. As the rest of the college football world reacts in shock to the game, insider Brett McMurphy called out the Big Ten Conference, where the Scarlet Knights play, following the Minutemen victory with a post on X/Twitter.
"Can a conference be considered the nation's best conference if one of its teams loses to UMass? Asking for a friend," McMurphy wrote.
– Brett McMurphy, September 3, 2026
McMurphy later reported on On3 that the Scarlet Knights paid the Minutemen $1.5 million for the fixture, which ended up backfiring for the Big Ten program.

#scarlet #conference #coach

Rutgers football paid $1.55 million to lose to UMass, 37-21, on Sept. 3, snapping the Minutemen's 16-game losing streak. But that number presumably didn't include pyrotechnics.
The Scarlet Knights hosted the saddest fireworks show in the world after the loss at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, putting a droopy exclamation point on an 0-1 start to Greg Schiano's seventh season.
REQUIRED READING: UMass snaps longest college football losing streak with rout of Rutgers
It's the kind of loss that immediately puts a coach on the hot seat, and Rutgers will now have to reconcile what this means for the nation's oldest program. While the team has hardly been even middle-of-the-road in the college landscape since Schiano's first stint in 2001-2011, losing a buy game to a team that hadn't won a game since 2024 is program-shakingly bad.
The loss to UMass is arguably as bad or worse as losing to some FCS programs. Since joining the FBS in 2012, the Minutemen have been brutally bad, amassing a 26-134 record with six seasons with 11 losses or more.

#rutgers #umass #loss #Football

RICHFIELD — A backyard rivalry game in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park takes center stage in Week 1 of OHSAA high school football action.
Revere plays host Woodridge at Revere Stadium Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. The Minutemen finished 8-3 last season and reached the Division III playoffs, while Woodridge finished at 6-2. Revere won last year's Week 1 game 35-20 at Woodridge.
Check here for live updates from Revere Stadium.
Watch Ohio High School Football Live on NFHS Network all year
Much of Revere's returning strength will be on its lines. That group will be anchored by two-way linemen Jackson Farrow and Ryan Ferrara, both of whom are multi-year starters. Joel Caipen returns at defensive end where he finished with seven sacks in 2025. Michael Mark also returns at defensive end after 8½ tackles for loss last season. Revere will likely start Carter Hajdu at quarterback with twin brother Brady Hajdu likely to get the majority of carries at running back.

#last

ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Here's a preview of the 2026 Liberty Minutemen.
Head Coach: Scott Jennings (1st Season)
Last Season: 3-7….Missed the playoffs
2026 Schedule
August 28th - at William Campbell

#season #liberty #head #last

Each year, one thing holds true for area boys soccer in the Northern Lakes Conference and at the local Class 3A sectional.
The champion in each will be severely tested.
Shawn McCuen, who is beginning his 29th year as Concord's head coach, has been in the middle of those league and state tournament battles and enjoyed a lot of success. The Minutemen, who are ranked 10th in the preseason coaches poll, have won three straight sectional ******* les and were one win away from going to state two years ago.
McCuen expects more heart-pounding games this year in the area.
"As always, both our conference and sectional will be extremely tough," said McCuen, who has led his program to three straight (3A) sectional ******* les.

#sectional

Voting is open NOW for the 2026 South Bend Tribune girls soccer preseason player of the year poll, which can be found at the bottom of this article. Readers can vote as many times as they would like until the poll closes Friday, Aug. 14 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
These are the 14 nominees from 14 different South Bend Tribune coverage area schools, listed in alphabetical order by school.
More: South Bend Tribune preseason girls soccer top 5 led by usual powerhouses
Last season, the senior goalkeeper was named an Indiana Northern State Conference (INSC) Honorable Mention for the IHSAA 1A state runner-up Lions. She made 113 saves.
Last season, the sophomore earned All-NLC honors after leading the Minutemen in scoring with more than 12 goals.

#bend #season

The Rutgers football 2026 season is set to kick off in just under 2 months, meaning that it is time to start looking at the opponents the Scarlet Knights have on the schedule.
First up on the slate is the UMass Minutemen, who Rutgers will be taking on Thursday, June 3 at 6 p.m. UMass is led by second-year head coach and former Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak. The Minutemen did not win a single game during Harasymiak's first year with the team, even falling to 3-9 FCS Bryant by one point.
The Minutemen's starting quarterback for most of last season was AJ Hairston, although he did miss a few games at the end of the season with an injury. Last year as a freshman, he totaled 957 passing yards, four touchdowns, and four sacks while completing 49.5% of his passes. However, after just one season with the program, Hairston opted to transfer to Merrimack. His backup, Grant Jordan, decided to transfer elsewhere as well. That leaves junior quarterback Brandon Rose as the only UMass quarterback to get playing time with the team last year.
Rose started two games last year and ended the season with 424 passing yards and one touchdown against three interceptions. He also posted a 59.1 percent completion percentage. UMass also added Virginia Tech transfer Pop Watson III in the portal. He has a total of 558 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions over three seasons with the Hokies.
UMass' leading rusher, Brandon Hood, transferred out after last season, leaving Rocko Griffin as their best returning running back. Griffin recorded 53 carries for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns last season while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. UMass also brought in former Marshal running back Justin Williams-Thomas, who carried the ball 35 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry for the Thundering Herd last season.

By late September of 2015, Notre Dame’s offense was becoming one of the most dangerous units in college football. Whether it was C.J. Prosise breaking long runs, Will Fuller stretching defenses deep, or DeShone Kizer growing more comfortable under center with each passing week, the Irish had discovered something powerful: they could score in bunches.
That firepower was on full display on Sept. 26, 2015, when sixth-ranked Notre Dame welcomed Massachusetts to South Bend. While the Minutemen managed to hang around for much of the first half, the Irish eventually overwhelmed them with an avalanche of big plays, piling up 681 yards of offense and 62 points in a game that showcased just how explosive Brian Kelly’s offense had become.
The following excerpt originally appeared in the September 28, 2015 edition of The Observer (Vol. 49, Issue 29).
Five rushing touchdowns and 457 total rushing yards paved the way for No. 6 Notre Dame’s 62-27 win over Massachusetts on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
The Irish (4-0) out-ran the Minutemen (0-3) by more than 300 yards on their way to 681 total offensive yards and Notre Dame’s highest scoring output since 1996.

MENDHAM — Lexi Alofs can barely remember when draw controls were not part of her game. She started taking the draw to jump-start play in third grade with Steps Lacrosse, alongside teammates like Cristiana Laracca and Shea Shoulberg.
Not much has changed. Those same girls were at her side as Alofs won nearly every draw control as Mendham defeated Sparta, 17-6, to win the NJSIAA Group 2 North trophy.
The top-seeded Minutemen move on to the overall Group 2 final at 1:30 p.m. on June 13 at The College of New Jersey.
The Minutemen will learn their opponent on Tuesday, after the rest of the sectional finals are played. This game was moved up due to Mendham's prom.
"The faith they have in me, and how they support me helps my confidence," Vanderbilt commit Alofs said of her teammates. "How I can self-draw, that comes from the circle people, Amelia (Eichman) and Grace (Monahan). I love it. It's a beautiful part of the sport, and it can change so much."

MENDHAM — Lexi Alofs can barely remember when draw controls were not part of her game. She started taking the draw to jump-start play in third grade with Steps Lacrosse, alongside teammates like Cristiana Laracca and Shea Shoulberg.
Not much has changed. Those same girls were at her side as Alofs won nearly every draw control as Mendham defeated Sparta, 17-6, to win the NJSIAA Group 2 North trophy.
The top-seeded Minutemen move on to the overall Group 2 final at 1:30 p.m. on June 13 at The College of New Jersey.
The Minutemen will learn their opponent on Tuesday, after the rest of the sectional finals are played. This game was moved up due to Mendham's prom.
"The faith they have in me, and how they support me helps my confidence," Vanderbilt commit Alofs said of her teammates. "How I can self-draw, that comes from the circle people, Amelia (Eichman) and Grace (Monahan). I love it. It's a beautiful part of the sport, and it can change so much."

NH college hockey: UNHs Chauvette blanks UMass; Stavroff stays hot for Dartmouth

Goffstown's Kyle Chauvette made 29 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, leading UNH past No. 19 UMass 1-0 on Saturday night at the Whittemore Center in Durham.
Chauvette, a senior transfer from Union, made 10 saves in each of the first two periods and nine in the third as the Wildcats flipped the script on Friday night's contest between the teams in Amherst, Mass., where the Minutemen prevailed 4-0.
Ryan MacPherson's first goal of the season, a quick shot from the left wing circle after taking a b