UMass Minutemen visit UConn Huskies in New England rivalry game
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
UMass (4-3) visits UConn (3-3) Friday night in East Hartford, with UConn favored by 14.5 points.
UMass is chasing its first-ever bowl bid and needs two more wins.
Background
UMass and UConn are the flagship public universities of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and their football rivalry dates back to when both played in Division I-AA (now FCS), meeting every year from 1987-1999 before renewing the series in 2012. UMass hired head coach Joe Harasymiak in 2025; he went 0-12 last season but has the Minutemen at 4-3 this year, while UConn is coached by Jason Candle. The game matters most to UMass, which has never made a bowl game and is two wins away, and to UConn, which needs a win to keep its own bowl hopes and November home attendance alive.
How it unfolded
- 2026 seasonUMass started 4-0, then lost three straight MAC games, including a 25-18 overtime loss to Buffalo last week.
- Week 6, 2026UConn beat Temple 34-20, rushing for 248 yards and four touchdowns, and entered this game off a bye week.
- Oct 23, 2026UMass (4-3) plays UConn (3-3) at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Action Network says UMass's defense "just doesn't hold up" against any decent or better offense, citing the 16th-worst Success Rate allowed on the season.
- Caution
- College Sports Wire predicts UConn 27, UMass 23, but lists UMass +9.5 as its best bet.
- Official
- UConn head coach Jason Candle called UMass "a really good football team who got off to a really great start" that has "been in every football game."
Still unverified
UMass quarterback William "Pop" Watson III has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, and his status for Friday's game is unknown; CBS Sports lists him as questionable. One outlet described UMass's 4-0 start as earning national attention "no matter how fraudulent."