UMass Minutemen vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 9/3/2026 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UMass Minutemen vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026

Location: SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Scarlet Knights (-29.5)

Total/Over-Under: 51.5

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-7 last year) will play the UMass Minutemen (0-12 last season) at SHI Stadium on Thursday, September 3, 2026. Rutgers opens as 29.5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under is 51.5.

The UMass Minutemen wrapped up their year having earned a 0-12 mark. In their last contest, the Minutemen played the Bowling Green Falcons and went home with a loss by a final score of 45-14. In all, they had 64 plays which gave them 292 yards. The UMass Minutemen ran the football 29 different times and accounted for 69 yards, which had them averaging 2.4 yds per attempt. When it came to stopping the run, the Minutemen conceded 278 yards on 48 attempts, which calculates to 5.8 yds per rush surrendered. UMass relinquished 7 pass completions on 9 tries for a total of 128 yards, and a completion rate of 77.8%.

The Minutemen earned 2,970 total yards for the prior campaign. UMass amassed 8 touchdowns through the air and 6 touchdowns via the ground. They surrendered the football 12 times. UMass totaled 186 1st downs offensively, and they were flagged for 62 penalties for 497 yards. Offensively they had an average of 82.4 yds on the ground, which ranked them 133rd in the country. When it comes to scoring, the UMass Minutemen averaged 11.1 PPG.

In terms of passing yardage, the Minutemen conceded 2,550 yards which put them in 38th in college football. During their 12 games played, they gave up 212.5 yards per game through the air and allowed a completion percentage of 67.3%. They allowed 433.8 yards/contest which had them ranked 129th in college football. They surrendered 29 passing touchdowns as well as 30 touchdowns on the ground. They allowed teams to run for an average of 5.0 yards per tote and 221.3 rushing yards per game last season. During the season, they conceded 2,656 rushing yards through 12 outings. The Minutemen were ranked 136th in college football when it comes to team defense, allowing 38.6 points per game.

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The Scarlet Knights finished the season with a 5-7 record. When they last stepped on the field, the Scarlet Knights walked away with a loss by a score of 40-36 against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Rutgers ended up running for 4.6 yards per attempt, totaling 195 yds on 42 carries. The Scarlet Knights finished the contest with 533 yards while they ran 64 plays (8.3 yards per play). The Scarlet Knights pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 81.0%, relinquishing 209 yards on 17 out of 21 passing. Rutgers surrendered 33 rush attempts for 300 yards (9.1 yards per carry).

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights averaged 407.1 yards per game, which was good for 44th in college football. The Rutgers offense had 391 penalty yds on 49 violations, which ranked them 132nd in the country in terms of making mistakes. They held an average of 141.0 yards per game on the ground and rushed for 1,692 yards in total. They gave away 7 interceptions while allowing opponents to recover 4 fumbles and they tallied 280 1st downs. In relation to the points being put on the board, the Scarlet Knights ranked 60th in D-1 maintaining an average of 28.7 points per game. Last season, the Scarlet Knights threw for a total of 3,193 passing yards as well as an average of 266.1 passing yards per game, putting them at 26th in D-1.

The Scarlet Knights surrendered 31.8 points per contest, which had them sitting 118th in Division 1. Rutgers allowed a total of 2,519 rushing yards (209.9 yards/game) as well as 25 touchdowns via the rush last season. They conceded 23 touchdowns through the air in addition to 222.9 yards per outing, ranking them 77th in the country. The Scarlet Knights defense took the field for 683 plays, which ranked 1st in Division 1. Their defense totaled 6 fumbles recovered and 5 picks over the course of last season. Last year, they gave up 382 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Minutemen/Scarlet Knights college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Minutemen +29.5

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