Dan Curran didn’t have time to dwell on his first loss as head coach of the Crusaders.

There’s someone on the other side this week that knows him very, very well.

Curran is a UNH and alum and will be going against the Wildcats, but more specifically, he’ll be going against Rick Santos. During his weekly Zoom call with the media on Tuesday, Curran talked about the relationship he has with Santos and how it began.

“I’ve known Ricky a long time,” he said. “I’m really close with Sean McDonnell, Chip Kelly and a bunch of the UNH staff and guys that have been there in the past. I did get a chance to meet Rick…I was playing professionally though when he was playing at UNH. But, obviously I followed the program very closely. The two of us kind of hit it off and when he got into the coaching profession we stayed in touch and I got really excited as a proud alum when he got the job. I thought it was the right move. When you’re replacing a legend, you better bring a legend in. The great thing about Rick is he’s able to embrace all the great traditions UNH has and what’s made it special, but also be himself.

“I think the swagger and confidence he’s brought to that program along with keeping the tradition alive, it’s been really key for their success moving forward. I’ve known him a long time and I’m really proud of what he’s doing with the program I know he’s going to do big things for UNH football moving forward.”

Curran also touched on what it’ll be like to be coaching against his alma mater in his first game as head coach of the Crusaders.

“Honestly, it’s a little bit unusual. I was talking to my wife last night…the best analogy is I can make is I have three older brothers and an older sister who got the best of me for a good portion of my life,” Curran said. “As much as you love and care about them, you almost compete harder against them because you respected them so much and you wanted their validation. I’d say it’s probably the same thing for me going against the University of New Hampshire.”

Early on in the call, Curran briefly reflected on the loss to URI, a game in which Holy Cross erased a fourth quarter deficit and took the lead with under two minutes left before giving up a touchdown with just 19 seconds remaining on the clock.

“Obviously, it was a wild one on Saturday night down in Rhode Island,” he said. “Really good back-and-forth affair. I’m sure it’s one the fans really enjoyed. It’s a lot funner when you’re on the other side of the coin, obviously losing the heartbreaker at the end, but I’m really proud with the effort the team had on Saturday night and how they competed. I told the kids on Sunday…until you’re actually in it – especially when you’ve got a large number of those guys playing significant minutes for the very first time – you can feel really good about a group and feel really good throughout minicamp and over the course of preseason, but until they’re in it and their backs are up against it, you never know how a group is really going to respond.

“To be down on the road in a tough environment and be down 10 in the fourth and to really, kind of dominate the fourth quarter and come back, take the lead, go up four with under two minutes to go, you’ve got to feel good about that group…again, would have loved to have finished…I know when those guys get in that situation again – that next two minute – they’re going to deliver. They’re going to learn and grow from this.”

One seemingly big element in Holy Cross’ favor heading into this showdown with UNH is Adam Dresner and his experience against the Wildcats. Dresner is now the OC for Curran, but was previously at Stony Brook and Maine. Santos pointed out Dresner during his call Monday and the success he’s had against them in the past. Curran was asked how much that familiarity could help this weekend.

“I think that’s part of it. I think his experience in the CAA…he’s played against those teams and game planned for those guys and had to make adjustments just like we did the other night,” Curran said. “That’s certainly a beneficial thing, going through it. But, as we know, year-to-year and even week-to-week, things take on a life of their own…there’s always going to be change and there’s always going to be wrinkles, but to have the experience of going against that group for a number of years, there’s no doubt it benefits us.

“I’m sure they feel the same way, to be quite honest…I think that’s important that every week you’re adding some wrinkles to your base stuff to put kids in a spot to be successful.”

The Wildcats may have given up 57 points to UCF, but anyone who saw the game or in Curran’s case after watching the film, it’s pretty clear this is a very talented and tough UNH team coming to town on Saturday. If he’s going to get his first win for a program he grew up watching, his Crusaders will have to go through a Wildcats team playing the role of road warriors for the second straight week.

“If you watch the game – I know Coach Santos mentioned it on his call yesterday – there wren’t a lot of expolosives in the box. A couple of them on the perimeter – and a lot of those were happening later in the game – some were off field position…but like, UNH’s defense played really well, particularly early,” Curran added.

“I thought they did a great job stopping the run. UCF is built to run the football, particularly with KJ Jefferson at quarterback. So, I actually came away super impressed with the film and I think personnel wise they’re better than they were last year.”