The UMass Minutemen didn’t win a single game in 2025 and hadn’t beaten an FBS team in years… until today.
The Minutemen shocked the world with an upset of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who were favored to win by nearly 30 points.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was supremely confident the Scarlet Knights would win and cover the 29.5-point spread, but his confidence was deflated the second UMass pulled off an upset, leading to Portnoy being relentlessly clowned on social media.
CFB World Clowns Dave Portnoy for Terrible UMass-Rutgers Prediction
Portnoy was certain that Rutgers would win by at least 40 points and placed his first bet of the college football season for Rutgers to cover the 29.5-point spread. Portnoy couldn’t have been more wrong as UMass cruised to a 37-21 win for its first victory over an FBS school, let alone a Big Ten school, since 2023.
“Worst bet of the century,” said one fan.
“Might have to take the year off after this,” added another.
Might have to take the year off after this https://t.co/wog42kcZnD
— Eagle Spill (@EagleSpill) September 4, 2026
It couldn’t have gone worse for Portnoy to start the year, considering one of the biggest upsets in recent years showed up right on time.
“Not off to a hot start,” PFN added on X.
Not off to a hot start pic.twitter.com/yOPsv3wIlS
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 3, 2026
“Jesus, that’s a bad bet,” said one fan.
Not all responded with words, either, as multiple members of the college football world chimed in with reaction images trolling Portnoy.
— The Manhatter (@TheManhatter) September 3, 2026
https://t.co/9yutCxy6Xq pic.twitter.com/rkZ5ag0o6D
— Tony Cordasco (@TonyDasco) September 4, 2026
One fan chimed in with a sarcastic dig at Portnoy’s knowledge of college football.
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“This guy knows ball,” said one fan.
this guy knows ball https://t.co/zZhL2AIxtI
— Connor Meltdowney (@Connormuldowney) September 4, 2026
In Portnoy’s defense, he was certainly not the only person who thought Rutgers would cruise to an easy win.
With UMass being winless last year, a new quarterback in Dylan Lonergan, who spent time under Nick Saban at Alabama, and two preseason All-American offensive weapons, KJ Duff Jr. and Antwan Raymond, all signs pointed to Rutgers dominating. Well, Duff dominated with three touchdowns, but no one else did for Rutgers.
Rutgers will now get back to the drawing board before they head to Boston College on September 11 for the Red Bandana game. It’s going to be a wild atmosphere, considering Lonergan is returning to his previous school.
Lonergan, though, may have lost his starting job due to poor performance and, with it, the chance to exact revenge on his former school.
All eyes will be on Greg Schiano as he needs to figure out how to right the ship. Portnoy will be looking to do the same for much different reasons.
