Can UMass football avoid dreaded winless season in 2020?

Walt Bell and UMass football look to continue building the program this season. Can the Minutemen surprise some people in 2020?

As the old cliche goes, “When you’re at the bottom, there’s only one way to go.”

The Massachusetts Minutemen are certainly at the bottom. In their defense, the Minutemen have only been playing football at the FBS level since 2012. They’ve been playing football in Amherst since 1879 but did not make the transition to FBS until 2011.

UMass started in the MAC — playing football only — in 2012, but left the conference in 2015. They’ve been a football independent since. It’s not easy building a football program at the highest level of college football in one of the worst recruiting footprints in the country. That is exactly what Walt Bell and his staff are doing.

The smartest thing the UMass administration did was scale back the schedule. It’s one of the easiest schedules in the nation. However, they are one of the worst programs in the nation. They may not win many games this season, but they should be competitive in many of them.

Also, the Minutemen added JUCO transfers to their roster without sacrificing scholarships to high school seniors. Not having spring practice due to COVID-19 hindered the growth and development of the program, however.

Can UMass win more than one game next season?