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

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

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Merrill, E. (2026, September 4). Schiano says Rutgers will 'be a good football team' after stunning opening loss to underdog UMass. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/schiano-says-rutgers-will-be-a-good-football-team-after-stunning-opening-loss-to-underdog-umass/article_6e618ac9-1171-5966-b34b-9fa90874fd9e.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was defeated by his own team in a stunning season-opening loss to underdog UMass, ending a 16-game losing streak. The Minutemen, led by quarterback Pop Watson III, accumulated 397 yards and forced five turnovers en route to a 37-21 victory. Rutgers' star player KJ Duff had a career-high nine receptions and three touchdowns, but the team's overall performance was disappointing. Schiano took responsibility for the loss, stating "I didn't have them ready to play" and that he was outcoached by his former defensive coordinator Joe Harasmyiak.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-05, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Greg Schiano, the coach of Rutgers' football team, is facing scrutiny after his team's surprising opening loss to UMass. The Minutemen, who were a 29 1/2-point underdog, beat the Scarlet Knights 37-21 on Thursday night, ending their 16-game losing streak and securing a win over an FBS program for the first time since 2022. This victory was also significant as it marked UMass' first win over a Power Four opponent. Rutgers had started strongly with a touchdown on its opening drive, but UMass then scored 30 straight points, taking control of the game. The Minutemen's offense averaged 11.1 points per game last season, the lowest among FBS schools, making their performance against Rutgers all the more impressive. Coach Schiano admitted that he was "outcoached" and "we were outplayed", and expressed surprise at the loss, saying "I didn't have them ready to play".

Written for “Rutgers Football Loss” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 33 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

63/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-05 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 8824 article(s) · 23 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 23 correction(s)

2026-10-19

Driver’s License Suspensions for Court Debt Draw Scrutiny

2026-10-16

Amputations and cancer treatment delays: Lawmakers hear testimony on Mississippi prison healthcare

2026-10-16

UPDATE: Golconda Gold Releases Q3 2026 Production Update at Galaxy

2026-10-08

News Clarification for Oct. 8

2026-10-07

Correction

2026-10-05

Entertainment Correction for Oct. 5

2026-10-03

Tennessee's prisons chief is resigning after failed execution of Christa Pike

2026-09-28

Organizations call for Action to End the Deaths of Indigenous People in Custody

2026-09-27

Police memorial recognizes six officers killed in the line of duty in 2026

2026-09-27

UPDATE: WSP to host Power & Energy-focused investor event virtually only

2026-09-26

News Clarification for Sept. 27

2026-09-26

Former federal public servant seeks better pensions for injured workers

2026-09-25

News Corrections for Sept. 25

2026-09-25

She has not been charged. But the Project South allegations have branded her with a 'scarlet letter'

2026-09-24

Correction

2026-09-23

MULTIMEDIA UPDATE: Smith+Nephew launches the new EVOS™ PELVIC Plating System at the 2026 Orthopedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting, expanding the EVOS Plating Platform for pelvic and acetabular fracture management

2026-09-22

Costa Rican man complained of lack of care for diabetes before his death in ICE custody, family says

2026-09-22

Judges' grilling of accused men leads to sex assault and dangerous driving cases being overturned

2026-09-20

Jura Energy Corporation Provides Clarification Regarding Media Reports Concerning Its Petroleum Rights in Pakistan

2026-09-19

New details emerge about Toronto's guns-for-hire and the 'crash-out mission" that sparked the Project South investigation

2026-09-17

UPDATE: Osisko Critical Minerals Corporation Announces C$100 Million Private Placement of Special Warrants

2026-09-17

Alabama set to execute man for pawn shop killings months after his nitrogen gas execution blocked

2026-09-04

Orca Corrects Q3 Quarterly Dividend Announcement

Who wrote this

Everett Merrill

8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Richard, who Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said is expected to play Saturday after getting injured during last week’s closer-than-expected 29-23 victory over Northwestern, has run for 383 yards and four touchdowns.

2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Old teammates, new roles: Turbo Richard and No. 6 Indiana visit Dylan Lonergan and Rutgers

🔮 “If I didn’t believe in the people downstairs, I wouldn’t say that.

2026-09-04 · assertive framing · Schiano says Rutgers will 'be a good football team' after stunning opening loss to underdog UMass

🔮 When it came to deciding if he would stay at Rutgers after another disappointing season, he was up in the air.

2026-08-25 · assertive framing · KJ Duff turns down big-money suitors, stays at Rutgers as potential 1st-round NFL prospect

🔮 Whoever gets the nod will benefit from the return of the Scarlet Knights’ leading rusher and wide receiver, Antwan Raymond and KJ Duff, respectively.

2026-08-18 · assertive framing · Top playmakers KJ Duff, Antwan Raymond return for Rutgers amid QB race

Also by Everett Merrill

Nico Hischier has 2 goals and an assist to help the Devils roll to a 4-1 win over the Canucks

2026-10-10 · Toronto Star

Turbo Richard runs for 204 yards and a TD in No. 6 Indiana's 47-15 romp over Rutgers

2026-10-04 · Toronto Star

Olympic hero Jack Hughes scores in OT to lift the Devils over the Flyers 3-2

2026-10-02 · Toronto Star

Old teammates, new roles: Turbo Richard and No. 6 Indiana visit Dylan Lonergan and Rutgers

2026-10-01 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 8 articles by Everett Merrill →

Topics

FBS Minutemen Rutgers UMass the Scarlet Knights

Subjects

Schiano PERSON · 8× UMass ORG · 7× Rutgers ORG · 6× FBS ORG · 2× Minutemen ORG · 2× the Scarlet Knights ORG · 2× Greg Schiano PERSON · 1× N.J. GPE · 1× PISCATAWAY GPE · 1× Power Four ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-05

🔮 “If I didn’t believe in the people downstairs, I wouldn’t say that.

2026-09-05 · Toronto Star

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

Claims (33 extracted, 0 hedged)

Yet after a stunning season-opening home loss to underdog UMass he is under the microscope. asserted

he → open → 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. asserted

UMass → beat → games

Rutgers wasn’t just beaten on the scoreboard. asserted

Rutgers → beat → scoreboard

It took a statistical beating, too. asserted

It → take → beating

UMass piled up 397 yards and forced five turnovers in defeating an FBS program for the first time since 2022. asserted

UMass → pile → 2022

Rutgers started quickly, scoring on its opening drive. asserted

Rutgers → start → drive

Then, UMass took control by scoring 30 straight points. asserted

UMass → take → points

The Minutemen averaged 11.1 points per game last season, the lowest among the 134 FBS schools. asserted

Minutemen → average → schools

“I didn’t have them (Rutgers) ready to play,” Schiano admitted. asserted

Schiano → have → ?

“I’m in charge of all the coaches. asserted

I → ’m → coaches

I’m in charge of all the players. asserted

I → ’m → players

So, when we come out and lay an egg like we did opening night — I thought we had a great training camp. asserted

we → come → camp

“Never saw it coming, and I’ve been doing this a long time. asserted

I → see → this

I didn’t expect that at all. asserted

I → expect → that

I was outcoached and we were outplayed.” asserted

we → outcoache → ?

Schiano was outcoached by his former defensive coordinator from 2022-24, Joe Harasmyiak. asserted

Schiano → outcoache → 2022

Schiano’s team was outplayed by a UMass roster filled with 56 new players, including 30 transfers and 26 freshmen. asserted

team → outplay → transfers

Schiano, considered a defensive-minded coach, rebuilt the defense for the second straight season. asserted

Schiano → consider → season

There were 10 new starters against UMass and the Scarlet Knights’ secondary was vulnerable. asserted

secondary → be → UMass

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

III → harass → yards

The junior playmaker and potential first-round NFL pick finished with a career-high nine receptions and three touchdowns, totaling 196 receiving yards. asserted

playmaker → finish → yards

Seventy-eight of those yards came after the catch. asserted

eight → come → catch

“This is the first game of a long year,” Duff said. asserted

Duff → say → year

“We know that’s not us.” asserted

that → know → ?

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. asserted

Schiano → pay → million

In spite of his moderate success, Schiano has mostly enjoyed the support of Scarlet Knights fans. asserted

Schiano → enjoy → fans

That changed late in the game Thursday night when “Fire Schiano!” chants rang out among the sparse crowd that remained at SHI Stadium. asserted

that → change → Stadium

“We’re going to chop our way out of this, and we’re going to be a good football team,” Schiano said. asserted

Schiano → go → this

“If I didn’t believe in the people downstairs, I wouldn’t say that. asserted

I → believe → that

I’d say, ‘Hey things have gone awry.’ asserted

things → say → ?

But that’s not how I feel. asserted

I → ’ → ?

That’s not what I believe.” asserted

I → ’ → what

who → honor → bandana