William “Pop” Watson III tossed three touchdown passes to help visiting UMass end the program’s 16-game losing streak by beating Rutgers 37-21 Thursday night in the season opener for both teams at Piscataway, N.J.
Watson, a transfer from Virginia Tech, completed 19 of 22 passes for 197 yards. Running back Elijah Faulkner had two TD catches for the Minutemen, who scored 30 consecutive points after Rutgers took a 7-0 lead.
UMass also received three field goals from Derek Morris (30, 52, and 31 yards).
Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff caught nine passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Rutgers moved the ball 75 yards in 12 plays on its opening drive, which was capped by Dylan Lonergan’s 4-yard pass to Duff. Dane Pizzaro’s extra point put Rutgers up 7-0 with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
UMass answered with a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Faulkner scored on a 21-yard pass from Watson with 5:26 remaining in the opening quarter.
Faulkner’s second TD came on a 2-yard pass from Watson and helped the Minutemen take a 14-7 lead with 11:46 left in the first half, and UMass extended its lead to 21-7 after Joseph Griffin Jr. caught a 31-yard TD pass from Watson with 9:43 left in the half.
UMass pushed its advantage to 24-7 when Morris made a 30-yard field goal with 3:42 left in the half, and Morris connected on a 52-yard kick to make it 27-7 with 8:22 to play in the third quarter.
Morris’ third field goal was a 31-yarder that increased the UMass lead to 30-7 with 7:54 to play.
A 78-yard pass from Lonergan to Duff with 7:09 left helped Rutgers cut the UMass lead to 30-14, but UMass received a 17-yard TD run from Curtis Kimmons IV to go up 37-14 with 4:27 left.
Duff’s third TD came on a 6-yard pass from backup quarterback AJ Surace with 1:57 to play.
