Notes and Thoughts on College Football Every Day: College Football Teams in New England

/

November 21st:

  • In just over 30 minutes, the United States Merchant Marine Academy will take on Montie Quinn and Curry in the Fusion Bowl. USMMA comes into the weekend with a 7-2 overall record, and 5-2 mark in the NEWMAC. Coming off a dramatic 39-38 victory over Coast Guard in the 45th Annual Secretaries' Cup this past Saturday, they are led by dual-threat quarterback Bubba Mustain. The sophomore has thrown for nine touchdowns while leading the team in both rushing yards (124.4 rpg) and rushing touchdowns (12). Meanwhile, Curry enters the game with an 8-2 overall record after putting up a 6-1 overall record in CNE play this season. They faced Endicott for the league championship in the final regular season game of the season after putting up six straight victories throughout the season, which included a 47-30 triumph over the University of New England on Nov. 8.

  • Monte Quinn currently leads NCAA Division III in rushing yards with 2,436 for the season. If he gains 129 yards this evening, he will have gained over 7,000 yards in his career - only three others have done it in Division III. Quinn should end the season with the record for the most Yards Per Game for a Season in the division - and he has an outside chance to have the most Yards in a season (355 yards needed tonight).

  • After losing to Ohio on Tuesday night, the Minutemen have only one more chance to win a game this year - as they will host Bowling Green on Tuesday night. Not including the shortened season of 2020, UMass has never had a winless season.

November 7th:

  • Going to be heavy on NESCAC today since their season is ending tomorrow, but I do have to mention the University of New England at Curry game. The Nor’easters currently have the last “Pool C” bid for the playoffs while the Colonels have a chance at the CNE title. And of course, Montie Quinn will surpass 2,000 yards tomorrow barring an injury.

  • After eight weeks, it all comes down to Saturday as the winner of the Week 9 matchup pitting Wesleyan against Trinity as to who will be crowned the 2025 NESCAC Champion. The Bantams have a chance at the outright title, while a Cardinal win will mean a shared title between the two teams. These two storied rivals are meeting for the 124th time, with Trinity holding the all-time lead in the series with a 67-55-1 record. The dominance from the Bantams has elevated since 2001, with Trinity holding a 20-3 record against the Cardinals in the last 23 meetings, though Wesleyan did win last year’s game in Hartford to take the outright title for 2024.

  • Last week, Colby dominated Tufts on the road to secure their first winning season in 19 seasons, and now they can cap off their successful season by beating Bowdoin tomorrow evening and claiming the CBB championship. At 134 meetings, the Bowdoin-Colby game dates back to 1892 and is the third-longest rivalry in Division III football, standing behind only Williams-Amherst (139 after tomorrow) and Kalamazoo-Albion (139). The Polar Bears won eight straight to open the series history from 1892-1896 and hold a 72-54-9 overall edge.

  • Amherst faces off against Williams on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the Biggest Little Game in America, one of the oldest football rivalries in the country. The Mammoths and Ephs first faced off in 1884, playing annually thereafter, except during the Covid season. Williams leads the rivalry overall 76-57-5 after last year’s 21-0 at home.

  • In a competitive series (Hamilton leads 24-22), Bates hosts Hamilton in their 2025 season finale. The Bobcats have won three of their past five against the Continentals, but Hamilton has won each of the last two matchups. Both teams are trying to break losing skids, with Hamilton having lost five straight games and Bates having dropped three in a row.

  • Lastly, both Tufts and Middlebury sit at 4-4 with just this game remaining on their schedules, so someone will end their season with a winning record. The Jumbos and the Panthers have met in the final game of the season every year since 1993, as Middlebury holds a 25-18 edge in the series dating back to the 1976 season. Tufts has won three of the last four meetings and six of nine between the two teams, but prior to 2015, Middlebury had won 13 straight games

November 5th:

  • Can’t remember the last time I saw Akron dominate another team like they did to UMass last night - which is not a good sign for the Minutemen.

  • Jim Mora has UConn back in a bowl game for the third time in four years and the Huskies have Duke visiting this weekend.

  • This weekend, Maine takes on 2-7 Hampton with a chance to really make things interesting in the CAA. If the Black Bears win, it sets up a massive showdown against first-place URI in Orono next weekend ahead of the always-intense rivalry game with UNH in the season finale, where not just the Brice-Cowell Musket could be on the line, but a potential playoff berth.

  • It’s the biggest game of the year (so far) for UNH as the Wildcats head out on the road to face No. 6 Monmouth, who is also in first place in the CAA, two games ahead of the Wildcats. Monmouth benefitted from the losses across the top 10 last week

  • New Haven’s game against Merrimack is the last of the year to for the Chargers to cap off their inaugural D1 campaign. The last matchup between the two teams was September of 2018 (UNH wins 18-44), because Merrimack moved up to Division I the following year. Overall, New Haven has won 7 of the 10 matchups.

November 1st:

  • Sad that the NESCAC is already down to their last two weekends! Haven’t seen anything regarding the addition of non-conference games next year when they join the playoff scene for the first time, but that would add to the conference’s season!

  • Bowdoin College football will host Senior Day at Whittier Field on Saturday as they play Bates in their CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) opener. Colby earned a 13-6 overtime win at Bates early in October to claim the first leg of the CBB race. Back to the Bowdoin-Bates game - it’s the tenth-longest rivalry in Division III football history, as the teams have played 126 times dating back to 1889 (a 62-0 Bowdoin win). The Polar Bears hold a 69-50-7 edge in the all-time series and have won back-to-back games for the first time since claiming five straight between 2004-2008.

  • Colby will be looking to secure their first winning season since 2005! It will be a challenge as they head to Tufts - a team that has beaten the Mules ten straight times. The series between the Jumbos and Mules goes all the way back to 1909, a 10-0 win for Colby, but Tufts have gone 44-18-1 all-time in the series.

  • Perhaps the most important NESCAC game today - Wesleyan at Williams. This will be the 130th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and the Ephs, who both are currently tied for second place in the NESCAC. This win could make the Wesleyan-Trinity game at the end of the year a title game. Williams leads the series 77-47-5.

October 30th:

  • This weekend, Notre Dame will be making its closest visit to me here in Portland when they visit Boston College in Chestnut Hill. It’s the Holy War, and it has had its share of unexpected results, but it will take a miracle for the Eagles to pull off the win this year.

  • There might not be a hotter team in New England than Maine right now. With QB Carter Peevy leading the way and the defense playing as well as it has in a long time, Maine has won four straight after an 0-4 start and most importantly, they’re 3-1 in the CAA, very much in the hunt still with a head-to-head matchup against Rhode Island coming up in a couple of weeks.

  • Bryant would like nothing more than their first-ever CAA win - but it won’t come against Monmouth this weekend.

  • Could the New Haven at Sacred Heart game be the start of a new in-state rivalry? Or is it a one shot deal as the Pioneers leave the independent scene for the CAA in 2026?

  • I mentioned this game in my FCS notes, but don’t forget about the New England game of the week: Dartmouth at Harvard

October 26th:

  • Harvard impressively beat Princeton yesterday for their 50th win all-time in this series that began in 1877, but they still trail in the overall series results 60-50-7.

  • UMaine quietly won their fourth game in a row after easily beating Elon 35-17 in Orono. The Black Bears now find themselves in fourth place in the CAA standings, with two very winnable games before they face Rhode Island and UNH.

  • Yale has bounced back nicely after their last second loss to Dartmouth two weeks ago with an easy win over Penn. If they continue down this track, their home game with Harvard on 11/22 will be for all the marbles - conference title and playoff berth.

  • Holy Cross had their hopes taken away for a seventh straight Patriot League title after losing to Colgate 29-28. The Crusaders have had a tough season, as they are 1-5 in one possession games this fall.

October 25th:

  • One of the great traditions in NCAA Division III football continues on Saturday at noon in New London, Connecticut with 1-5 Norwich facing 5-1 Coast Guard in the Little Army-Navy game. It has been a tough year for the Cadets who are coming off a 42-0 loss to SUNY Maritime and beating Coast Guard would be perhaps the greatest upset in the history of this storied series. Meanwhile, the Bears have been on fire. They have reeled off five straight victories after losing the opener, a 56-49 shootout to the University of New England.

October 24th:

  • After last week’s win over Richmond, Holy Cross has kept alive their slim hope of getting at least a share of their seventh straight Patriot League title. With a 1-6 record on the season, the Crusaders obviously need to win their last five games.

  • UConn has a chance this weekend to clinch their third bowl bid in four seasons with a win over Rice. Last week’s win over Boston College was their second victory over the Eagles in the last four years after having been winless since the series began in 1908.

  • The transition to D1 has gone okay for New Haven, as they are coming off a bye week with a 4-3 record. Now they play an opponent that they are familiar with from their Division II days - LIU. The former Pioneers did get the best of the Chargers in their NE-10 days, winning 8 of their 10 matchups between 1983 and 2018.

  • Brown has beaten both Rhode Island and Bryant this season, so the Bulldog and Ram game is a battle for second place in Rhode Island. I’m thinking that the Rams are more concerned with getting a CAA win to go 5-0 in conference play.

October 23rd:

  • Last week, for the first time in 50 years, Maine Maritime played a team from Maine. Unfortunately for the Mariners, UNE came to Castine and laid a licking on the home team - beating them 77-14!

  • The last team from Maine that MMA played: Colby. On October 20, 1975 the Mules beat the Mariners in Waterville, 17-0.

  • With the NESCAC participating in the Division III Football Championship next year, maybe the league will add a non-conference game or two. The most appealing one that I can think of: Middlebury vs. Norwich. Their next meeting would be the 100th time they get together on the gridiron.

  • This week’s New England pillow fight: Maine Maritime at New England College. The Mariners and Pilgrims are meeting for the first time since 1972. MMA leads the all-time series 4-0.

  • What will Curry’s Montie Quinn do for an encore this weekend against Western New England? Quinn only rushed for 522 yards last week against Nichols - on only 20 carries! With four games left, he has a chance to hit 2,000 yards rushing for the season in just ten games, as he currently sits at 1,450 yards (on 123 rushes).

September 20th:

  • After Assumption’s surprisingly easy win over St. Anselm last night at home, I’m wondering if the NE10 title will come down to the Assumption/Bentley winner when they meet on November 8th.

September 4th:

  • The Pilgrims of New England College will restart their varsity football team after 52 years when they host Plymouth State. How exciting for them that it is a home game!

  • I will be up in Castine this weekend, but unfortunately Maine Maritime opens their first full season since 2019 on the road against Hartwick College. The Mariners are looking to end a 22-game losing streak.

  • The Engineers of WPI will be hosting the Engineers of RPI in Worcester this weekend. These rivals have played 117 times (RPI leads 64-48-5) since 1894, and they have played for the Transit Trophy since 1980 - RPI leads the trophy series 30-13-1.

  • New England’s pillow fight of the week: Dean at Fitchburg State. These two MASCAC conference opponents are predicted to finish at the bottom of the conference according the the Preseason Coaches Poll.

September 2nd:

  • Rhode Island won their conference opener over Campbell, but had to score the last 17 points in the game to secure the victory. The Rams will have to play better to beat their next two opponents, Stony Brook and Holy Cross, both of which are on the road.

  • UConn and Central Connecticut State had a great turnout at Rentschler Stadium as the crowd was close to 38k strong. Funny thing - it was a home game for the Huskies, but the Blue Devils had to travel only half the distance to Hartford.

  • I was feeling pretty good about seeing a new and improved UMass team under Joe Harasymiak, but Temple came to Amherst and crushed the Minutemen, 42-10. They should bounce back against Bryant though…I hope.