Can you believe that training camp is now just a few weeks away?

UMass and UConn will get started a week earlier than most teams and Boston College is set to start on August 4. The FCS schools will be ramping up too and Ivy’s start a bit later, but football season is basically here.

Most people look at you funny when you tell them there’s 16 Division 1 programs in New England because of the lack of attention, and as we enter our fourth year as a site, we hope to continue changing that. Each of these programs have unique stories to tell and expectations ranging from championships to just being competitive and remaining relevant until at least Thanksgiving. Now that the Fourth of July has passed, it’s time to start honing in on the biggest storylines locally in 2023.

Here are the 10 biggest questions that we’ll be eagerly waiting answers on…

1. Is Hafley the guy at BC?

Year four. Two bowl games (didn’t play because of Covid) and a 3-9 season. While most would say it’s crazy to say he isn’t, there are plenty of doubters within some important circles. The fan base totally forgets that this team was bowl eligible in arguably the two most difficult seasons to coach in college football history. Add to that Hafley was just getting his family settled in and laying ground work as a recruiter. Last year was ugly, there’s no way around it, but completely dismissing the first two seasons is wild. Unfortunately it’s a “what have you done for me lately?” business, and if BC doesn’t win at least seven or eight games that question could become louder. It’s hard to believe the “higher ups” genuinely care just based on restrictions with admissions and real money being poured into the program, but even they will hear the hard-to-ignore noise if BC isn’t bowl eligible at least.

2. Will UMass finally turn the corner?

It’s year two of another Don Brown regime and it feels like if not now, when? It’s hard to expect any coach to completely flip the script in just their second season, but the Minuteman fan base is restless (putting it lightly) and six wins is now a reasonable expectation. Brown has already done a crap ton of work in the portal and the guys that were already here seem to have a new mindset and attitude when it comes to what they are and what they can be. There were signs of life last year and there’s little reason to believe that a Brown-led team would take a step backwards. If UMass is still just a one, two or three-win team, questions will start to surround Brown too.

3. Can UConn repeat its shocking season from a year ago?

If you told us at this time last summer UConn would make a bowl game, we’d tell you you’re nuts. Well, they did and Jim Mora is hell bent on making sure 2022 was just a stepping stone. UConn stunned the entire country last year by getting to a bowl game in Mora’s second year, and that was ultimately with a not-as-talented roster due to so many injuries. Recruiting has been strong again and while beating BC and Liberty were the highlights last season, the Huskies have their eyes set on so much more. It wouldn’t be surprising if UConn took a slight step back just because last year was so out-of-nowhere, but an eventual consistent spot in the Top 25 and another bowl game certainly is a realistic expectation. Mora is thinking national championship. And he’s dead serious too. Realistic? No, but you can put $1 down right now on DraftKings and win $5,000 if the Huskies win it all, I couldn’t hit ‘submit’ fast enough.

4. Is Holy Cross in the national championship conversation again?

How can they not be? After another historic season a year ago that ended in the FCS quarterfinals, the return of Matt Sluka, Jalen Coker, Jacob Dobbs and other key pieces means there’s absolutely no reason to doubt the Crusaders this season. Can they go unbeaten again? Probably not, considering Merrimack, BC and Yale are on the slate to open the year. Would it be completely shocking if they beat all three? Nope, they’re that talented. Obviously, a win over BC would be unbelievable and cause an uproar in Chestnut Hill, but in terms of a fifth straight Patriot League championship, something went terribly wrong if it doesn’t happen. Ranked in the Top 10 and eventually the Top 5 regularly last season, the Crusaders should be again throughout 2023.

5. Can UNH win the CAA again?

If not for some horrendous weather and a few mistakes, the Wildcats could have made things a lot more interesting against Holy Cross in the second round of the FCS playoffs a year ago. With Max Brosmer and Dylan Laube back, the UNH offense should be able to hang with anyone again this year. Defensively there’s a lot of young talent that got valuable playoff experience last year too. The CAA is arguably the toughest conference in all of FCS and just the rivalry games alone against Maine and URI won’t be easy, but the team carried itself with the same swagger head coach Rick Santos did in 2022 and that should be the case again this season. We’d be surprised if UNH didn’t make another playoff run.

6. Is Yale still the best team in the Ivy League?

After getting hammered by Holy Cross on the road in its opener, Yale head coach Tony Reno recently told us on The New England Football Show that his team doesn’t make a run to the Ivy League title if not for that game. It was a learning lesson and a very early gut check that the Bulldogs responded to in emphatic fashion. It’s always hard to predict the Ivy League because it truly could be someone different every year. Princeton will still be a problem, Penn was right there, Dartmouth will be playing with emotion all year for Buddy and Harvard is usually always in the mix. Hard to forget about Columbia and Cornell and Brown are all capable of sudden bounce-backs. ‘The Game’ at the Yale Bowl could also determine the champion like it did last year and the Crimson have that memory of the Bulldogs and their fans storming the field at Harvard Stadium to close 2022 fresh in their minds.

7. Now eligible for the NCAA playoffs, will Merrimack get in?

What a strange end to the year for Merrimack in 2022. The Warriors had a chance to win the NEC title at home on the final day of the regular season, but that was it, no matter what. Merrimack still wasn’t eligible to compete in the FCS playoffs due to the dumb “move up” rule after going D1. Merrimack ultimately lost to St. Francis, but just playing in that scenario created an odd atmosphere. That’s all out of the way now and Merrimack is officially playoff eligible this year. It’s been a slow build for Dan Curran, but after going 8-3 last year (6-1 NEC) and hosting a game of that magnitude, it feels like Merrimack is right on the precipice of kicking the door in. There’s talent across the board and a staff that’s recruited its tail off the last few years. Everything is in place for this to be that special season for the Warriors.

8. In its second year as an FCS program, is Stonehill ready to take a jump?

The Skyhawks were arguably the best local story that no one really talked about enough last season. Stonehill moved up to D1 FCS for the first time last year and weren’t just competitive, but they embarrassed some teams too. The Skyhawks finished 4-5 last year (2-5 in the NEC), but started 2-0 and only lost to St. Francis 17-13. A first-year team hanging with the eventual conference champ (who was also 7-0) is nothing to sneeze at. Merrimack put up 33, 76, 24 and 50 in their wins a year ago and should be able to score with the best of them again this season. Eli Gardner’s team made a statement that they weren’t going to be a pushover in year one, can they make another statement as legitimate contenders in year two?

9. Will Maine be back in the CAA race?

In his first year as head coach, Jordan Stevens went just 2-9, but if you watched any of the games closely, the Black Bears were in just about every single one of them. Maine played extremely hard for its new head coach a year ago and nearly beat UNH in a wild affair at the end of the regular season. This is one of the more historic programs in the area enveloped in tradition. The BC game a year ago was the true “okay, they’re really not THAT bad” game and the team built on it going forward. It’s hard to see Maine being down for a long period of time and even though the CAA is a bear (pun intended), we wouldn’t be shocked to see the Black Bears hovering in the pack and making life difficult for everyone else around mid October.

10. Is Bryant ready to compete in the Big South?

Bryant was finding its footing last season in a new conference. Gardner Webb won th Big South with a 5-0 conference record (7-6 overall) and the Bulldogs finished fifth out of six teams at 4-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference. Like Maine, Bryant was in every single game last year and made life hell for most teams, even if the end results weren’t there. The school has made a legitimate effort to pour resources into the athletic programs and it’s been showing. Bryant should be in a fantastic position for year two in the new conference and very capable of making noise. The staff has been all in recruiting wise and kids they’ve brought in have a high buy-in factor for what Chris Merritt and his staff are building. Games against URI and Brown are always the highlights and fans will always show up for those, but this team has a fully engaged fan and alumni base and the school behind it. The sky’s the limit for Bryant right now.