Ranking the UMass FBS-Era teams from worst to best

Posted By on November 28, 2025

By Ryan Barry
NEFJ Staff

Another disastrous season has come and gone for the UMass Minutemen.

Since the decision to elevate from the FCS to the FBS in 2010, it’s been nothing but pain, anguish, and frustration for all those associated with the program.

From their first season of actual FBS play in 2012 through present day, the Minutemen’s record stands at a putrid 26-132. The fact that on any given Saturday, whether you turn on your TV or arrive in person to watch the Minutemen, just about 84% of the time you’re going to witness a loss, is actually  incomprehensible by today’s standards.

Despite this poor record, and the fact the Minutemen have never won more than four games in a season, there have been teams within this 14 year run that had some talent and just didn’t have the ball bounce their way.

With that, let’s dive into every team that’s donned the maroon and white since 2012, starting with the No. 1 WORST FBS-era team, we have…

1. 2025

  • Record: 0-12

  • Head Coach: Joe Harasymiak

  • Conference: MAC

    • When you don’t win a single game in a season, that’s bound to cement you at the top of the list. Losing to Bryant, a fledgling FCS program this year, is grounds alone to make this season the worst, but it’s the incredible amount of gaffes both on and off the field that’ve made this so hard to watch.

2. 2020

  • Record: 0-4

  • Head Coach: Walt Bell

  • Conference: Independent

    • This feels somewhat unfair given this team only played in four games that year. The circumstances were challenging, they weren’t allowed to play any home games, and initially announced they weren’t even going to play at all before reversing their decision. However, the team was outscored 161 to 12, scored two points across three games, and had five quarterbacks throw at least one pass. I initially didn’t want to include this team because of these circumstances, and perhaps things would’ve gone differently with a normal season, but this roster was already doomed to fail, and the following Walt Bell quote about the initial season cancellation was so ridiculous I had to include them. “I’ll tell you guys the same way I told my players,” said Bell. “You know, my dad passed away in 2008, my biological mom OD’d in 2012. And to be honest with you, this is probably a tougher day than both of those days.” Crazy.

3. 2013

  • Record: 1-11

  • Head Coach: Charley Molnar

  • Conference: MAC

    • Year two of the Charley Molnar experience was somehow worse than year one. Losing 24-14 to Maine, who in fairness, did win the CAA and make a trip to the FCS playoffs that year, was a disastrous start. They didn’t have a single rusher run for more than 375-yards, their lone win came against a Miami (OH) team that went 0-12, a bonehead two-point conversion decision cost them a game against Western Michigan, and it’d come out that Molnar was using one-on-one wrestling and boxing matches during winter conditioning sessions.

4. 2019

  • Record: 1-11

  • Head Coach: Walt Bell

  • Conference: Independent

    • In fairness again to Bell’s first year in Amherst, the 2019 team he inherited had a lot of work to do. The departures of key players via transfer or graduation left him with plenty of holes to fill, as his skill positions and size up front on both sides of the ball left much to be desired. His constant wheel spinning at quarterback between Randall West, Andrew Brito, and Michael Curtis was maddening, and the 45-20 drubbing via Southern Illinois of the FCS in the second game of the season was a painful watch. We’ll always have that 21-7 first quarter lead over Rutgers though…

5. 2022

  • Record: 1-11

  • Head Coach: Don Brown

  • Conference: Independent

    • I went back and forth between this team and number six, but ultimately this squad took the cake because of their lone 20-3 win coming against a bad 2-9 Stony Brook of the FCS. While they nearly took down Arkansas State late in the year, as well as hung around against a bad Texas A&M team, this was just not a good football team. Gino Campiotti, who ended up being a solid tight end later in his UMass career, couldn’t cut it at quarterback, and neither Garrett Dzuro nor Brady Olson cemented themselves under center. The team did have talent on offense in the likes of of Ellis Merriweather, Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, and Greg Derosiers Jr., though none of them were ever able to take off in that offense.

6. 2021

  • Record: 1-11

  • Head Coach: Walt Bell (first nine games), Alex Miller (interim last three games)

  • Conference: Independent

    • Fans tried to be patient with Bell given the circumstances of his first two years. 2021 had a favorable schedule, a decent recruiting class, and a prized quarterback transfer in Tyler Lytle from Colorado, generating cautious optimism in Amherst. Unfortunately for Bell, Lytle suffered an injury during a blowout season opening loss at Pitt, costing him most of the year. An exciting loss to Boston College and a rainy win at a historically bad UConn team aside, results through the first nine games were dreadful, and a home loss to URI ultimately cost Bell his job. A defeat the following week to Maine, followed by two other bad losses for interim coach Alex Miller, sealed another disaster of a season.

7. 2024

  • Record: 1-11

  • Head Coach: Don Brown (first ten games), Shane Montgomery (interim last two games)

  • Conference: Independent

    • This has to be up there with one of the more disappointing teams in the era of UMass football. A manageable first half schedule, a promising recruiting class, and an improved 2023 gave fans hope that more than four wins were on the table. The last minute transfer of running backs Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams and Greg Derosiers Jr. left Brown scrambling in the backfield, Taisun Phommachanh was never fully healthy and simply wasn’t the product advertised, and a lack of size up front on defense made it easy for teams to walk all over the Minutemen. Three shocking defeats to open the year nearly led to four against Central Connecticut State of the FCS if not for some late game heroics from the offense. Debacles off the field with a proposed rivalry game trophy against UConn, mishandling of the senior day ceremony, and the firing of Brown with two games left in the season made for an incredibly disappointing campaign.

8. 2012

  • Record: 1-11

  • Head Coach: Charley Molnar

  • Conference: MAC

    • As poor as year one of the FBS experience went, this team did have some solid players. With Mike Cox at running back, Deion Walker at wide receiver, Rob Blanchflower at tight end, Perry McIntyre at linebacker, and Darren Thellen at defensive back, there certainly was a core the team could rally around. Sure, Mike Wegzyn wasn’t the quarterback Molnar hoped he’d be, but at least he had a big arm and wasn’t afraid to sling it, which is better than a lot of quarterbacks above him on this list could say. A lone win over Akron, a close loss to a 9-4 Ohio team, along with a competitive loss to a Khalil Mack led Buffalo team, gave some room for optimism in year one.

9. 2016

  • Record: 2-10

  • Head Coach: Mark Whipple

  • Conference: Independent

    • The Minutemen’s first year of independent football yielded only two wins and produced one of the worst defenses of the FBS era. With the transfer and graduation of some key players, UMass gave up 30 or more points in their final eight games against FBS opponents, surrendering 50 or more on three of those occasions. Offensively, Virginia Tech transfer Andrew Ford was serviceable at quarterback, Marquis Young ran hard in the backfield, and the emergence of Penn State transfer Adam Breneman and Andy Isabella made for some exciting plays on offense. A six point loss to South Carolina, along with interesting games against Florida and Mississippi State had fans teasing UMass as “SEC North.”.

10. 2023

  • Record: 3-9

  • Head Coach: Don Brown

  • Conference: Independent

    • With his second recruiting class in tow, along with a handpicked transfer quarterback that had a pedigree in the ACC in Phommachanh, Brown and co. were ready to dust off the Bell cobwebs and show what they could do. An exciting Week Zero win on national TV over New Mexico State gave reason for optimism, but in true UMass fashion, all hope came crashing down a week later. Phommachanh suffered a late game injury against Auburn that he never really recovered from, the team blew two huge opportunities against Eastern Michigan and New Mexico, their only other two victories came against FCS opponents, and the defense got torched in their final five games against FBS opponents.

11. 2018

  • Record: 4-8

  • Head Coach: Mark Whipple

  • Conference: Independent

    • It’s too funny how ironic it is that Whipple’s last season in charge is fondly looked back on. Unfortunately for Ford, much of his season was riddled with injuries, and while Ross Comis filled in well, the team couldn’t get past the four win mark again. The true breaking out of Isabella to the tune of 1,698-yards was insanely fun to watch, with his 219-yards against Georgia at the end of the season being a major reason for his draft bump. Marquis Young having his worst statistical season during his senior year wasn’t helpful, nor was the entire defense who gave up 50 or more points in six games, including three with 60 or more. An exciting late season win over UConn, as well as a legendary three overtime win over Liberty, were certainly highlights of the season. Ultimately, Whipple’s poor defensive performances did not just his season in, but his career at UMass.

12. 2015

  • Record: 3-9

  • Head Coach: Mark Whipple

  • Conference: MAC

    • How does a three win season surpass a four win season? Four losses by a touchdown or less, including the infamous blocked extra point against Temple that lives rent free in the heads of any UMass die hard. With this being the last season the Minutemen would be in the MAC for football only, along with the last year of eligibility for offensive stars Blake Fronaphel and Tajae Sharpe, it felt very now or never in Amherst. The Minutemen just never found their footing that year, clearly missing the talents of tight end Jean Sifrin who had graduated a year before. One week they’d lose in a shootout, the next week the defense would play like the ‘86 Bears and the offense couldn’t move the ball to save their lives.

13. 2014

  • Record: 3-9

  • Head Coach: Mark Whipple

  • Conference: MAC

    • The first year of “Whip” back at UMass included the return of football to campus. With only half their games played at Gillette, the vibes were high for this former national championship winning coach. The arrival of Marshall transfer Fronaphel, a larger than life target in Sifrin, and the expected breakout of sophomore running back Lorenzo Woodley, a highly touted recruit with P4 offers, had fans excited about what the offense could do. And to Molnar’s credit, while he wasn’t a great coach, the guy could recruit, as the likes of defensive players Jovan Santos-Knox, Kassan Messiah, and Khary Bailey-Smith were poised to breakout. Three point losses to Colorado and Vanderbilt had fans encouraged despite the outcomes, and a 589-yard day from Fronaphel in a five point loss the next week to Bowling Green had at the very least assured skeptics of the program that they could compete. The Minutemen won three of their next four games, but an injury to Fronaphel ended his season. Compared to the first two years in the FBS, things finally looked like they were coming together.

14. 2017

  • Record: 4-8

  • Head Coach: Mark Whipple

  • Conference: Independent

    • Had you reversed this list “from best to worst,” the 2017 Minutemen would take the mantle as the superior team of the FBS era. Whipple replaced a graduated Fronaphel with Ford, Isabella posted his first 1,000-yard season, Young ran a career high 982-yards, and on special teams Logan Laurent was an excellent kicker. On defense, the oft-transferred Bryton Barr found a home and 105 tackles, veteran Steve Casali was all over the field, and a sophomore Isaiah Rodgers combined for seven interceptions with cornerback Lee Moses. The Minutemen picked up program defining wins against Appalachian State, co-winners of the Sun Belt that year, as well as a road win at BYU, captained by future NFLer Fred Warner. They also came within four points of beating Tennessee on the road, along with an 11 point loss at Mississippi State. Their biggest loss was only by 18 in the final game of the season at FIU. With several other closer losses, this team could’ve easily been bowling.