Iowa Hawkeyes 2025 Opponent Preview: UMass Minutemen

Iowa will wrap up its non-conference schedule against UMass, a squad that has struggled mightily since moving up to the FBS ranks.

The Minutemen have played at the FBS level since 2012 and have yet to reach bowl eligibility. They have a combined record of 26-122 since moving up, and their winningest seasons came in 2017 and 2018, when they went 4-8 in each campaign.

The Hawkeyes’ contest against UMass will be played on Saturday, Sept. 13, after they battle Albany and Iowa State.

Here’s what to know about the Minutemen:

2024 recap

The Minutemen went 2-10 overall in 2024, and both of their wins came against FCS opponents.

UMass played against five Mid-American Conference opponents and three SEC foes (Georgia, Missouri and Mississippi State). The Minutemen competed as an FBS independent for the final time in 2024 and joined the MAC in July 2025.

The Minutemen lost each of their first three games by multiple scores before beating Central Connecticut State in Week 4. They seemed to be making progress the next week, sending Miami (Ohio) to overtime in a heartbreaking loss. UMass then kept within reach of Northern Illinois before the Huskies won 34-20.

As expected, Missouri crushed UMass 45-3 when those teams met. The Minutemen picked up win No. 2 a week later, beating Wagner 35-7.

UMass ended the season on a four-game losing streak, falling to Mississippi State, Liberty, Georgia and UConn consecutively. The Minutemen lost by only a score to UConn and sent Liberty to overtime but couldn’t snag a close win in either matchup.

UMass fired coach Don Brown after the Liberty game. Offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery coached the Minutemen for the final two games.

Key returners

QB AJ Hairston (So.), WR T.Y. Harding (Jr.), OL Benjamin Roy Jr. (Sr.).

Notable transfer additions

QB Brandon Rose (Utah), QB Grant Jordan (Yale), RB Brandon Hood (Colorado), TE Reece Adkins (UCF), DL Malachi Madison (Virginia Tech), DE Joshua Nobles (Jackson State).

Strengths

Well, there isn’t much to write here from last season. The Minutemen couldn’t find consistency on either side of the ball, as they lost seven games by double digits.

That said, so much is new for UMass this year — maybe that means there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

UMass will be members of a conference for the first time since 2013, when the Minutemen left the MAC. If not this year, in the longer term, the move will help them establish footing on the recruiting trail and earn more revenue.

They also have a new coach: Joe Harasymiak.

Harasymiak served as Maine’s head coach from 2016 to 2018, leading the Black Bears to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in 2018. After that season, he climbed to the FBS ranks as Minnesota’s safeties coach and later became the co-defensive coordinator. Harasymiak became Rutgers’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and held that role until becoming UMass’ head coach after the 2024 season.

Weaknesses

UMass ranked No. 124 out of 134 teams at the FBS level in scoring defense, allowing 35.5 points per game. The Minutemen were also worse than 100th in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense.

The Minutemen were sacked 30 times and threw 14 interceptions.

There’s not much to say about these stats except for the fact that they signify the program’s struggles since becoming an FBS member.

How do the Minutemen match up with the Hawkeyes?

The silver lining for the Minutemen? They get almost a complete fresh start in 2025.

Between the Minutemen’s woes and the home-field advantage at Kinnick Stadium, this one shouldn’t be particularly interesting.

Iowa’s offense has higher hopes than usual with transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski coming to Iowa City after an illustrious career at South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes’ defense is No. 20 in ESPN’s Football Power Index.

It’s possible that the Minutemen take a step forward in 2025. They bring in 35 transfers and will have the routine of a conference schedule, maybe bringing more continuity to the program.

But it’s hard to imagine that UMass figures it out immediately. Even if the Minutemen can flirt with bowl eligibility for the first time, they likely won’t put up much of a fight in Iowa’s final non-conference game.