Well, that was a hell of a way to start off the Big Ten season. Minny rowed to a 59-7 win over Eastern Illinois, Illinois HaILL Mary'd for an eventually comfortable 42-23 victory over UAB, and
AHHHHHHHHHH KILL IT WITH FIRE GOOD LORD WHAT HAPPENED
Yes, Rutgers did lose to Mass 37-21 in a scoreline that wasn't remotely as close as it appears. It was, in all three phases, an unrequited asskicking. Let's let the folks/Friends of the Republic over at By the Belt break it down for us.
"UMass scored an FBS-low 133 points last year. With 37 points against Rutgers, the Minutemen accounted for 27.8 percent of their entire 2025 scoring output in the 2026 opener.
UMass never scored more than 21 points against FBS competition last year. The Minutemen had 21 points by the 9:43 mark of the second quarter. UMass never scored more than 26 points against any opponent last year. The Minutemen had 27 points by the 8:22 mark of the third quarter."
Happy Friday, all. Let's hit a few links, leading off with above-quoted BtB article.
By the Numbers: UMass completes unthinkable 37-21 upset at Rutgers
The Minutemen snapped a 16-game losing streak and exorcised plenty of demons in the process.
Steve Helwick
Help me ID Penn State’s anonymous JoePa mausoleum donor
Because the state won’t do it for us.
David Covucci
Today in Sports! Bang Bang! Adam Silver’s Hammer 🔨
The Clippers are going to be very bad for a very long time. PLUS, One Weird Trick behind the Brewers’ success, Djokovic’s late-stage struggles, and more!
Rodger Sherman
There’s a New TV in Town
Johnathan stops by the blog for his annual Illini Football preview and takes a look at what this year could mean for Illinois’ growing football profile.
Johnathan Hettinger
Purdue, MSU, and USC tonight. See you there, yeah?
