UMass football went viral not even a year ago for setting off a season’s worth of fireworks to celebrate a fourth-quarter field goal.
The kick helped the 0-9 Minutemen cut their deficit against Northern Illinois to 42 points, 45-3, and a small group of male students who made up most of the crowd went “tarps off” to join in the irony. UMass would go winless, 0-12, in its first year as a member of the Mid-American Conference and take over the mantle as one of the lowliest programs in FBS college football.
Less than a year later, adding a handful of local stars, the Minutemen are bringing a national spotlight to East Hartford for the Battle for the Southwick Jug on Friday night against UConn. They were 4-0 with a Big Ten win over Rutgers when Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy decided the matchup was worth sending the Barstool College Football Show to amp up the game day atmosphere and promote one of New England’s biggest rivalries, which is tied at 38-38-2 all-time.
But UConn comes in as a two-touchdown favorite (-14.5 on DraftKings) as UMass faces injury questions with standout quarterback William “Pop” Watson III, a Springfield, Mass., native who came home after spending the first three years of his career at Virginia Tech. Watson, a dual threat running and passing, injured his ankle in UMass’ first loss to Eastern Michigan and didn’t play in the one-score losses to Miami, Ohio, and Buffalo that followed.
UMass coach Joe Harasymiak said Watson will be a game-time decision on Friday. UConn coach Jason Candle has said he’s preparing for Watson to return.
“I’m sure he’s going to play,” Candle said Sunday, with the Huskies coming off of a bye week after starting 3-3 in his first year at the helm. “We have to think that way. I don’t know that, but you have to prepare like that. And, from there, everything else kind of falls into place. It’s no different than the Syracuse game where (Steve) Angeli could’ve played or some of the other guys could’ve played.
“You don’t have all the answers to the test prior to. You’ve got to be able to prepare your guys to play good, sound eye discipline and then from there, when it gets to the course of the game if the trends start to change, you’ve got to adapt and fix it during the game. And sometimes that’s not the most comfortable feeling for coaches, but it’s what you get paid to do.”
Eye discipline was a major focus for the Huskies during the bye as they boast a pass defense that ranks No. 135 of 136 FBS teams, allowing more than 290 passing yards per game. UMass didn’t have the most potent passing offense with Logan Inagawa and Aedan McCarthy stepping in at QB the last two weeks, but Watson – much like UConn QB Kalieb Osborne – is more than capable of extending plays and creating opportunities down the field.
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The key for the Huskies’ offense is to establish the running game, which got into a rhythm the last time out at Temple as Trey Cornist and Cyncir Bowers carried the bulk of a 248-yard, four-touchdown performance. UMass enters the game ranked No. 46 nationally in defending the run, allowing only 124.7 yards per game on the ground.
“It hasn’t hit its stride yet, I think there’s much more in the tank,” Candle said of his three-man running back rotation. “We’re young on the offensive line at a lot of positions, there’s constant growth that needs to continue to be had there. I wouldn’t say pleased with any of it, really, honestly, I would say that there’s just so much more for us to go do and so much more work to be done. We’ve had our flashes, we had consistent play when it comes to picking up four and five (yards), and then we’ve had some explosive runs, but those guys are capable of making those plays.”
UConn’s passing offense continues to get better as Osborne grows more comfortable with his pre- and post-snap reads. Timing has been a focus across the board, as has cutting down penalties that have caused constant setbacks.
It will be the first night game at The Rent since Jim Mora’s Huskies took down ACC Champion Duke last November.
“Night games do provide a little bit of an energy there that maybe sometimes day games don’t,” Candle said.
“Seeing the lights and the fan base just come out and support us, it’s gonna be definitely different playing a night game,” Osborne said. “People haven’t been playing in night games since like high school. ,.. It’s gonna definitely be a great experience.”
Key to the game: Limit the run
Maybe the key to the season, UConn has to do whatever it can to make the Minutemen one-dimensional.
Given their struggles against the pass, the Huskies are No. 39 nationally against the run, allowing 116.7 yards per game on the ground. UMass has the 64th rushing offense in the FBS (160.1 yards per game) behind 361 yards and a touchdown for Elijah Faulkner and 301 yards and four touchdowns from Curtis Kimmons IV. Watson had 167 rushing yards and four touchdowns in five games.
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Southwick Jug to resurface
Corey Schneider, the former director of UMass’ NIL collective, created the Southwick Jug trophy ahead of the rivalry game in 2024. UConn won the game in Amherst, Mass., 47-42, but never received the trophy.
Facing backlash on social media, the schools later released a joint statement claiming that the trophy wasn’t presented because there wasn’t “a lot of time to properly consider an official name, secure a mutually beneficial sponsor or execute a marketing plan.”
Of course, that wasn’t received well and the trophy hasn’t seen the light of day.
But that is set to change on Friday. Barstool demanded the jug be present on the set of their show, and Portnoy posted on X: “We are gonna force feed this jug down the winning team’s throat.”
What to know
Site: Rentschler Field, East Hartford
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network – Jack Gordon, Taylor McHargue, Hailey Sutton
Friday morning line: UConn by 14.5
Radio: UConn Sports Network, Fox Sports 97.9 – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
Record (2025): UConn: 3-3 (9-4), UMass: 4-3 (0-12)
Series: Tied, 38-38-2.
Last meeting: Nov. 30, 2024 – UConn 47, UMass 42 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, Mass.
