UMass Minutemen College Football Preview 2026

UMass Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Joe Harasymiak (2nd year, 0-12)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Make a push for the best FBS season ever with more than four wins/Double-digit losses - again
• Key Player: William “Pop” Watson III, QB Jr.
• 2025 Record: 0-12
• Biggest Question: Can the Minutemen find any offensive firepower? 

UMass Key 2025 Stats

• Fourth Quarter Scoring: Opponents 77, UMass 6
• Time of Possession: Opponents 33:13, UMass 26:54
• Sacks: Opponents 34 for 289 yards, UMass 13 for 69 yards

Offense

The idea is to get tougher with more of a ground game, limited mistakes, and better ball control to keep games closer.

Stats aside, UMass was able to accomplish the first two, but it had a nightmare of a time keeping drives going. There’s a total overhaul of talent with the transfer portal bringing in a whole lot of new ideas.

What’s Working

Here come the promising playmakers. William Watson III was a great idea of a quarterback signing from Virginia Tech. He’s good, Florida A&M’s RJ Johnson is an efficient passer, and overall, the position should be upgraded.

The receivers are the stars of the transfer portal, with Joseph Griffin (Wisconsin), Randall King (Campbell) and Devin Matthews (East Texas A&M) adding more pop.

The running backs are solid. Justin Williams-Thomas started out at Tennessee, went to Cal, spent last year at Marshall, and should combine with Jordan Washington out of Murray State to add more of a rushing spark.

What Needs Work

Everything. 

UMass was dead last in the nation in total offense by a relative mile - 247.5 yards per game, with the second-worst offense a Wisconsin attack that averaged 253.1 yards per game - was dead last in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game, and had the nation’s least efficient passing game.

The offensive line still needs to come together. Getting decent skill position players isn’t a breeze, but it’s far easier than putting together a front five that can give everyone time to work. Three new pieces are coming in, but there’s still a ton of work to do.

Scoring. Seriously, just put points on the board in any way possible. Throwing out the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the 133 points were the fewest scored by the program since moving to the FBS level.

UMass failed to score more than ten points in each of the first five games against FBS teams last season, and managed to score more than 14 just twice overall.

Player to Watch

William Watson, QB Jr.
“Pop” gives the UMass offense something a little different than it’s had over the last several years. He’s not the passer fellow transfer RJ Johnson is, but he might just be the spark to get this thing moving.

Defense

The UMass offense was among the worst in the nation, if not at the dead bottom. The defense was every bit as awful, if not worse.

The transfer portal went super heavy to throw more live bodies at the problem, but there has to be more from the pass rush, more third down stops, more … everything.

What’s Working

At least statistically, the pass defense wasn’t all that bad. There weren’t any interceptions, and the Minutemen were among the nation’s worst in pass efficiency defense, but safety Zeraun Daniel is back after finishing third on the team in tackles, and Kendall Bournes is a decent option at one of the other safety spots.

Again, the transfer portal. UMass signed lots and lots and lots of players, including pass rushers Andrew Depaepe from Indiana and Justin Krueger from William and Mary. Throw in tackle Aubrey Melvin, and the line suddenly has hope.

The linebackers have a shot at being okay around their main man. Tyler Martin returns after leading the team with 103 tackles, and Joshua Iseah from North Carolina A&T comes in after making 83 stops last season.

What Needs Work

Find a pass rush. The Minutemen only came up with 13 sacks, and five of them - along with 11 tackles for loss - came from Marques White. He’s now at SMU, and the new guys coming in have to prove they can handle the work.

Stop the midrange passes. Teams didn’t bomb away on the UMass secondary because 1) they were too busy running the ball, and 2) everything was there underneath.

The team got murdered in the seven games when they allowed teams to connect on 67% or more of their throws.

Start taking the ball away. Even with the improvements on both sides of the ball, UMass can’t win without creating more breaks. The defense came up with two turnovers against just two teams, and one of them was Bryant from the FCS level.

Player to Watch

Tyler Martin, LB Sr.
At 6-2 and 235 pounds, the former Arizona Wildcat has the size to hold up against the run, but he’s not going to do much to get into the backfield. As long as he’s leading the team in tackles again, he’ll be doing his job.

Keys to the Season

Find something that works, and stick with it. Be a running team. Be the team with the dangerous pass rush that no one wants to face.

Be the team that makes every game a grind, or a shootout, or something that can define the program’s identity as something other than a speedbump.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Tim Passmore Jr., DT Sr.
If the transfers can shine on the line, all of a sudden, the Minutemen might have a decent enough front four to hold on against most MAC teams.

The 6-2, 295-pound Passmore isn’t exactly an anchor, but he’s a veteran on the nose that things can work around.

Biggest Concern

Just scoring points.
You don’t go an entire season scoring a grand total of six points in the fourth quarter, and 26 in the second half without needing a total overhaul.

It starts with the talent level, but it also comes from taking advantage of opportunities. UMass only scored touchdowns on ten of the 26 times it got inside the 20, and overall, it only came away with points 65% of the time.

Biggest Game

at Sacramento State, September 26
It’s a road trip on the other side of the country, but it could be more than that.

UMass has to prove it’s a real, live FBS program, and that starts with beating Sacred Heart and Stonehill for a 2-1 start - it’ll lose to Rutgers.

Sacramento State is still transitioning from FCS status, and if UMass wins, it’ll be 3-1 with real, live dreams of a decent season.

Transfer Portal

Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddles of formerly highly-ranked recruits yearning for playing time.

UMass will almost never hang on to any of its moderately talented players in the new transfer portal era, and it has to hit talent evaluation home runs to get guys to Amherst who can crank up the production.

Best Signing

Zachary Betts, EDGE (Saint Francis)
The 6-3, 245-pound pass rusher did a nice job at Saint Francis, coming up with seven sacks and 63 tackles in two seasons. He’s part of a new rotation that should start generating more pressure for the Minutemen.

Biggest Loss

Marques White, EDGE (SMU)
He fought the good fight last season as one of the few defensive playmakers who could disrupt games a bit. He’s not TJ Watt, but he’ll be a good part of the SMU rotation right away.

Other Names to Know

• Randall King, WR (Campbell)
• Justin Williams-Thomas, RB (Marshall)
• Joshua Iseah, LB (North Carolina A&T)

CFN Season Prediction

Being competitive isn’t enough, but in this case, it is.

UMass has been suffering long enough. There is a fan base out there, and it’s been patient - it needs and deserves wins.

But the first step is to not get doornailed by 30+ seemingly every time out. Effort wasn’t the issue last season; the team simply didn’t have the talent.

It’s slowly changing, but UMass needs to start generating a few breaks to get there faster.

CFN Prediction: 2-10

FCS games are never a given - the Minutemen lost to Bryant early last year - but beating Sacred Heart and Stonehill at home is a must.

Getting Akron and Ball State at home helps, and missing Central Michigan, Ohio, and Western Michigan is fabulous.

Getting to four wins isn’t out of the question, but UMass is still crawling before it can walk. Getting to three wins for just the second time since 2018 would be wonderful.