Schiano says Rutgers will 'be a good football team' after stunning opening loss to underdog UMass

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Greg Schiano is the most successful coach in Rutgers' football history. Yet after a stunning season-opening home loss to underdog UMass he is under the microscope.

UMass, a 29 1/2-point underdog, beat the Scarlet Knights 37-21 on Thursday night, ending the nation's longest losing streak at 16 games.

Rutgers wasn't just beaten on the scoreboard. It took a statistical beating, too.

UMass piled up 397 yards and forced five turnovers in defeating an FBS program for the first time since 2022. It was the Minutemen's the first victory over a Power Four opponent.

Rutgers started quickly, scoring on its opening drive. Then, UMass took control by scoring 30 straight points. The Minutemen averaged 11.1 points per game last season, the lowest among the 134 FBS schools.

“I didn’t have them (Rutgers) ready to play,” Schiano admitted. “I’m in charge of all the coaches. I’m in charge of all the players. So, when we come out and lay an egg like we did opening night — I thought we had a great training camp.

“Never saw it coming, and I’ve been doing this a long time. I didn’t expect that at all. I was outcoached and we were outplayed.”

Schiano was outcoached by his former defensive coordinator from 2022-24, Joe Harasmyiak. Schiano's team was outplayed by a UMass roster filled with 56 new players, including 30 transfers and 26 freshmen.

Schiano, considered a defensive-minded coach, rebuilt the defense for the second straight season. There were 10 new starters against UMass and the Scarlet Knights' secondary was vulnerable.

UMass quarterback Pop Watson III was hardly harassed in passing for 197 yards and three touchdowns.

One of the only bright spots for the Scarlet Knights was the play of AP All-America second team wide receiver KJ Duff. The junior playmaker and potential first-round NFL pick finished with a career-high nine receptions and three touchdowns, totaling 196 receiving yards. Seventy-eight of those yards came after the catch.

“This is the first game of a long year,” Duff said. "We know that’s not us.”

Schiano is 99-109 in his 17 years — over two stints — at Rutgers and is the highest-paid public employee in New Jersey, earning $6.75 million this season.

In spite of his moderate success, Schiano has mostly enjoyed the support of Scarlet Knights fans. That changed late in the game Thursday night when “Fire Schiano!” chants rang out among the sparse crowd that remained at SHI Stadium.

“We’re going to chop our way out of this, and we’re going to be a good football team,” Schiano said. “If I didn’t believe in the people downstairs, I wouldn’t say that. I’d say, ‘Hey things have gone awry.’ But that’s not how I feel. That’s not what I believe.”

Rutgers is at Boston College on Sept. 11th for the Eagles' annual "Red Bandana'' game honoring Welles Crowther, a former lacrosse player at the school and volunteer firefighter who is credited for saving lives on 9/11 while wearing a red bandana.

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