Our third D1 New England poll of the year is here. The Ivy League teams finally got started this past weekend, UMass continued to make program history and CCSU nearly shocked the country. Here’s how things shake out in New England through three weeks of the 2026 college season: 1. UMass (3-0) – Sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 2007, UMass needs to take the Pop Watson Show……
Image courtesy of CIAC Sports By Rob Gullo & Andy Close NEFJ Correspondents Week 2 of the high school football season in the CIAC brought with it a few surprises. As such, there’s some movement in this week’s Top 25… 1. New Canaan (2-0) New Canaan hasn’t allowed a point through two weeks after beating No. 6 Fairfield Prep last week, 27-0. They hit the road on Friday for a…
FOXBOROUGH – About a month ago now, the depth of the New England Patriots was the biggest question coming out of training camp. Now, that already thin, inexperienced roster has been ravaged by injuries. A.J. Brown obviously went down in Seattle and on Sunday in a ‘meh’ 20-3 win over Pittsburgh, Michael Onwenu, Dre’Mont Jones, Eli Raridon, Craig Woodson and Marcus Jones were all injured, with Onwenu and Jones obviously…
By Tyler Amaral NEFJ Correspondent Another week of Massachusetts high school football is in the books. The top five remains unchanged from last week, despite Central Catholic losing. Methuen and Norwell are out of the top 25 after starting the season inside. Hingham’s one-week appearance was short-lived after suffering a loss to Abington. For the first time in the history of the New England Football Journal top 25, King Philip…
Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images FOXBOROUGH – At the end of the season when playoff seeding is determined, they won’t ask how the Patriots won games, just how many. In its home opener on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots saw injuries mount and the offense struggle again, but the defense smothered Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh offense enough to earn a 20-3 victory. The Steelers had just 235…
By Mukala Kabongo NEFJ Correspondent EXETER, NH – Choate Rosemary Hall’s defense leads the way in 14-7 season opening road victory over Phillips Exeter Saturday afternoon. “Gutsy, ugly game, they showed some heart there, finding a way to win it,” said Choate head coach Lawrence Spinnato. We’ve got some observations from the opener for both teams: Defense: Choate’s defensive unit played incredible throughout the day, creating pressure on Exeter quarterback…
Week 3 is in the books. We were able to cover eight of the 17 D1 New England teams in action on Saturday (check out the home page), but here’s what else you may have missed around the region during the first full slate of the year for NEFJ: No. 19 Yale 38, Holy Cross 28 Behind a ridiculous 454-yard, five-touchdown performance by Dante Reno, the Bulldogs opened their season…
CHESTNUT HILL – BC and Maine fans had mostly the same thought entering the meeting between the two schools on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles were 38-point favorites for a reason and that this one wouldn’t be all that close. Wrong. Miscues and a 2-5 red zone performance with two field goals by the Eagles ultimately allowed the Black Bears to hang around until the very final moments. BC…
By Ryan Barry NEFJ Correspondent AMHERST – It doesn’t need to be perfect, you just need to win. For the UMass Minutemen, in front of 12,233 fans at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon, that’s exactly what they did with a 36-14 victory against the Stonehill Skyhawks. After a sluggish 13-point first half performance, the UMass offense exploded for 23 points in the second. Despite the win, UMass head coach…
Image courtesy of Harvard Athletics By Allen Lessels NEFJ Contributor DURHAM, N.H. – Harvard football coach Andrew Aurich swears by the importance of a football game’s “middle eight” – the last four minutes of the first half and first four of the second half. The Crimson confirmed Aurich’s assessment on Saturday, particularly on the front end. Harvard got a pair of quick-strike touchdowns from freshman wide receiver Nate Bailey in the…