UMass may never get a chance to be invited to the Big Ten, so the program will have to settle with playing non-conference games against them instead. The Minutemen have announced future games against Big Ten members Rutgers and Northwestern for the 2019 season, respectively.
UMass will play both games on the road in one-game deals. The Minutemen will travel to Rutgers on August 31, 2019. Later in the year, on November 16, UMass will travel to Northwestern. UMass and Northwestern have never met on the field in football, but the Minutemen and Scarlet Knights have a brief history. The two schools played four times between 1967 and 1978, with each school winning two games.
In other scheduling news, UMass also announced a 2018 game against FCS opponent Duquesne. UMass will host Duquesne on August 25, 2018 in college football’s Week 0, because the Dukes have a road trip to Hawaii scheduled in 2018.
UMass is entering its second season as a football independent since being removed from the MAC. UMass went just 2-10 last season but hope the experience gained by a young roster can grow in 2017. UMass was probably better than their record would indicate, although they still have a long shot to getting to bowl eligibility for the first time in program history. UMass has not had a season with more than three wins since moving up to the FBS from the FCS in 2012, and the 2017 schedule throws UMass no favors. The Minutemen play road games as defending AAC champion Temple, potential AAC favorite USF, BYU and two SEC schools (Tennessee and Mississippi State).