Another week, another big win for a MAC school.

A week after Northern Illinois beat No. 5 Notre Dame on the road 16-14 in a game it was paid $1.4 million to play, Toledo went down to Starkville, took the Bulldogs’ $1.2 million check and beat Mississippi State 41-17.

UMass lost 38-23 to Toledo on Sept. 7 and travels to Northern Illinois on Oct. 5. For the Minutemen, the Rockets’ blowout win over the weekend didn’t just validate their feeling that they hung with a good team for three quarters, it showed how difficult their 2024 schedule has been – and will be. 

In its last year playing an independent schedule before moving to the MAC full-time in 2025-26, 0-3 UMass plays five MAC schools, three SEC schools, two FCS opponents, Liberty (who finished the regular season 12-0 last year) and UConn. 

“It feels like we’re in a mix between the MAC and the SEC this year,” UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said.

Of the five MAC schools UMass plays in 2024, Buffalo is the only one not considered a serious contender for the conference championship, though the Bulls beat UMass 34-3 on Saturday. Buffalo was picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches poll, while defending champion Miami (OH) was picked to win, 2023 finalist Toledo was picked second, Northern Illinois was picked tied for third and Eastern Michigan was picked to finish sixth. Add on the three SEC matchups, and UMass’ strength of schedule is tied with No. 2 Georgia as the 20th-hardest in the nation, more difficult than scores of Power 4 teams.

“I’ve set up a schedule that, unfortunately in the way you want to build competitive equity, it’s just a darn hard schedule,” Bamford said.

Football schedules are generally planned out almost a decade in advance. Though Bamford contended that the 2024 UMass football team is one of the school’s most talented teams of its FBS era, he admitted that this year’s slate is the hardest they’ve ever played.

“I couldn’t have forceasted that we were going to play probably four of the top five or six teams in the MAC,” Bamford said. “There are a mix of four or five other MAC schools that we could have played that might not be at the top of the league that we might have had a better chance to win those games. That’s where scheduling is a little more art than it is science. Especially as an independent, when you’re trying to build 12 games, you’ve got to hope that just sometimes it shakes out in a way that allows you to win.”

Upon its entrance into the MAC next year, UMass anticipates not just more balance on their schedule with eight guaranteed conference games, but familiarity with its opponents and a goal to chase for the end of the season, a conference championship.

“It’s nice when you have some continuity and you’re playing eight, nine opponents a year where you’re playing them virtually every year,” UMass head coach Don Brown said at the MAC entrance press conference in March. “Your preparation can take hold and it’s not like you’re starting from scratch.”

In addition to its eight conference games every year, UMass’ “perfect scenario,” according to Bamford, is to schedule one power-four “buy game,” one FCS matchup, the rivalry game against UConn and another game against a Group of Five school. UMass already has “buy-games” on the schedule in 2025 (Iowa, Missouri), 2026 (Rutgers and UCF), 2027 (Indiana) and 2028 (Colorado and Penn State). 

With more balance on the schedule thanks to eight MAC games, Bamford said UMass can be more “strategic” about how it schedules its non-conference games. Because of its entrance into the MAC and reduction in non-conference games from 12 to four, UMass has already moved around its future schedule quite a bit. 

UMass-Army games in West Point, N.Y. in 2025 and 2027, as well as games in Amherst in 2026 and 2028, have been canceled. Several series against future MAC opponents have also been canceled, because they’ll play those teams in conference play.

UMass also canceled a three-game series with Troy – home in 2025 and 2027, away in 2030 – and a three-game series with Liberty – home in 2026, away in 2025 and 2027. 

In 2025, UMass plays at home against Temple on Aug. 30, at Boston College on Sept. 6, at Iowa on Sept. 13, at Missouri on Oct. 18 and at UConn on Nov. 29. Because the Minutemen are allowed four non-conference games, they still need to reschedule one of those matchups. The date against Iowa was recently moved from Nov. 15 to Sept. 13, and Bamford said he’s also had discussions with Missouri about moving that game to a future year.

“There’s just not a lot of schedule flexibility when you’re this close to the season,” Bamford said. “So we’re still working through that.”

In future seasons, when the non-conference schedule has some openings, Bamford mentioned Temple, Army, Appalachian State and Delaware as schools UMass would like to schedule games with. 

UMass has a home-and-home series against Temple set for 2027 and 2029 and home games against Army in 2032 and 2036. They also have a home-and-home series with Hawai’i in 2026 and 2027. Delaware kicks off its first FBS season next year.

“Those types of schools that maybe we’ve had a history with, that we could play again in a non-conference setup, would be awesome,” Bamford said.

Bamford also mentioned old Yankee Conference rivals like Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and northeast foes Central Connecticut State, Wagner, Stony Brook and Bryant as options for the yearly FCS game.

But for 2024, UMass faces its most difficult test. The Minutemen look for their first win of the season on Saturday when they host FCS opponent Central Connecticut State in their homecoming game. 

But the schedule doesn’t get easier from there. UMass travels to Miami (OH) and Northern Illinois, in addition to road games against Mississippi State and Georgia with home matchups against Liberty and Missouri sandwiched in between. Home games against FCS Wagner and UConn look to be the Minutemen’s best chances for wins.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, sometimes you just can’t say no to certain matchups,” Bamford said. “And when they come to you five, six years later, you’re just like ‘shoot, this is going to be trickier and harder than I could have anticipated a while ago.’”