UMASS FOOTBALL TEAM STARTS SEASON 4-0 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2007

UMass has started the season 4-0, its first unbeaten start since 2007 and the first in the programme's FBS era. The team sits 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference and is the only unbeaten side in the league. UMass has outscored opponents 145-51 across the four games. The run follows a 0-12 season in 2025, when UMass was the only winless team in the FBS. UMass hosts Eastern Michigan on 3 October at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, which is set for its first sellout in 12 years.

Head coach Joe Harasymiak urged supporters to "sell the thing out" for the game, describing it as Family Weekend against "a really good opponent." Senior associate athletic director Mike Minyard said only a limited number of tickets remained before kick-off and confirmed reserved parking had already sold out. UMass had been projected to finish 13th in the Mid-American Conference before the season began. Eastern Michigan has won the last four meetings between the two sides. McGuirk Alumni Stadium holds 17,000, compared with crowds of 14,895 and 12,233 for UMass's two earlier home games this season.

The last sellout at the stadium came on 27 September 2014, when Bowling Green beat UMass 47-42 in front of an official crowd of 17,000. That match marked UMass's first home game on campus since 2011, after two seasons at Gillette Stadium while McGuirk Alumni Stadium was upgraded to FBS standards. UMass's turnaround follows a winless 2025 season, in which Harasymiak was in his first year in charge. The team continues Mid-American Conference play against Eastern Michigan still unbeaten.