Dave Portnoy apologizes for his ‘strongest play’ Rutgers bet with ugly loss to UMass
Dave Portnoy’s first college football bet of the season could hardly have gone worse.
The Barstool Sports founder backed Rutgers as a 29.5-point favorite against UMass in their season opener on Thursday, calling it potentially his “strongest play of the year” before the Scarlet Knights delivered a complete Week 1 dud.
“I made my 1st bet of college football season and it may be my strongest play of the year. Rutgers -29.5 to beat UMass by 40 plus,” Portnoy wrote on X before kickoff.
It didn’t take long for Portnoy to declare the wager dead as UMass jumped all over Rutgers, eventually taking a 24-7 lead into halftime.
The Minutemen entered the night riding a 16-game losing streak after going 0-12 last season and had not defeated an FBS opponent since 2023.
Things didn’t get any better from there.
UMass completed the massive upset with a 37-21 victory, winning outright comfortably despite entering as a 29.5-point underdog.
The miracle win is the biggest outright upset in five years, according to Action Network.
“I apologize to everybody who followed me on the Rutgers pick. I’m not gonna point the finger at Greg Schiano or Rutgers for the most pathetic effort Ive ever seen. The buck stops with me. I will work to earn your trust back #rutgerssucks,” Portnoy wrote as it became clear Rutgers wasn’t going to get anywhere near a 40-point win.
His rant on X continued well into the night.
“Not only do I think Rutgers football should be kicked out of the Big 10 I think the football program should be disbanded,” he later wrote on the platform.
Rutgers next plays Boston College on Sept. 11.
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