This was the last weekend before the Ivy League teams make it a full season for New England CFB in 2025, but the other 13 teams have been providing plenty of entertainment so far.

That was the case again this Saturday with thrilling games, big performances and some important wins along with some ugly losses. Here’s what you may have missed around the region:

Stonehill 13, Maine 10

With just 1:45 remaining in the game, Jack O’Connell hit Brigham Dunphy for a 34-yard touchdown on 4th-&-21 for a wild, stunning victory over the Black Bears on Saturday night.

Offense was hard to come by for the Skyhawks, totaling just 197 yards for the night. But, the defense held Maine (0-3) to 266 total yards, despite giving up 171 on the ground.

O’Connell finished 14-26 with 132 yards through the air. Cole Clarke led the receivers with four catches (only 26 yards), but it was Dunphy’s second grab of the night (he finished with 43 yards) that was the difference. Zavion Woodward (8/30) and Jarel Washington (13/28) led the backs for Stonehill (1-2).

Maine got 06 yards on 12 carries from Sincere Baines, but quarterback Carter Peevy mustered only 95 yards on 15-26 passing. Scott Woods had six catches for 27 yards.

Stonehill’s Domenic Scalese was 2-2 on his FG attempts, while Maine’s Sam Tremblay was 1-1. Richard Mosley recovered a fumble for Stonehill and Chris Bacon recovered one for Maine.

CCSU 31, ST. Francis (PA) 7

The defending NEC champs opened conference play with an emphatic home win over a down SFU (PA) team.

Brady Olson had 193 yards through the air and two touchdowns. As a team, CCSU ran the ball 38 times for 107 yards. Donny Marcus (12/46) led the way with two touchdowns. Elijah Howard added 12 carries for 29 yards. The CCSU defense was dominant too, holding SFU to just 210 total yards of offense while forcing five turnovers. Eric Jackson and Chris Jean each had interceptions.

New Haven 24, Albany 17

It was a historic night for the Chargers and interim head coach Mark Powell, winning the program’s first ever game as a Division 1 program.

New Haven (1-2) built a 10-0 lead after one and 24-7 at the half before having to hold on late. Quarterback AJ Duffy was impressive, going 25-35 for 180 yards and three touchdowns. As a team, the Chargers ran for 114 yards on 29 carries read out amongst six guys. Brian Thomas had 11 of those carries for 43 yards. Joshua Tracey (5/65) and Nikkem Reynolds (7/63) led the receivers.

Liam Quigley hit a 38-yard field goal and both Liam Goodwin and Dre Kirton had interceptions for the defense. The Chargers were out-gained 449-294, but still found a way to get that historic first win.

Bryant 42, Bentley 6

The Bulldogs did exactly what good teams do in the home opener on Saturday. Bryant hammered Division 2 Bentley, leaving no doubt and maintaining the momentum created with the historic win a week ago (albeit against UMass).

Brennan Myer was 24-33 for 255 yards and two touchdowns with an interruption. Elijah Elliott (9/71), Dylan Kedzior (5/54) and Grant Robinson (11/30) all had rushing touchdowns. Myer also had three carries for 15 yards as the Bulldogs racked up 140 yards on the ground. Zyheem Collick (6/87/1) and Tristen Riley (5/51/1) led the receivers.

The Bulldogs’ defense held Bentley to 194 total yards (only 24 rushing). Bryant did have three turnovers, but Sam Hunt had an interception.

Bentley got three catches for 73 yards and a touchdown from Nayvon Reid. Isaiah Osgood was 3-3 for 76 yards and the score. Pat Damon had seven catches for 49 yards. Mike DiPlacido had an interception for the Falcons.

Sacred Heart 24, LIU 21

The Pioneers trailed 21-7 on the road, but stormed back for a key early season comeback win, spoiling the Sharks’ home opener.

With under a minute left and the game tied 21-21, Jack Snyder (14/18, 193, 2 INT) threw a deep dime down the right side to Payton Rhoades to the Sharks’ 10-yard line. A few runs later (and LIU choosing not to call timeout) allowed the clock to wind down before Matt Kling booted the game-winning chip shot field goal in the final three seconds.

The Pioneers’ got rushing touchdowns from Mitchell Summers (24/105), Curtis Whiting (7/23) and John Michalski (7/6). Kevin McGuire led the SH receivers with five catches for 88 yards.

Delaware 44, UConn 41 (OT)

The Blue Hens got their first win as an FBS program with a wild one over the Huskies.

UConn (1-2) had a chance to out the game away with a 4th-&-9 stop and 1:24 on the clock leading 38-35, but the Huskies were called for pass interference. Moments later, a field goal for Delaware sent things into OT. UConn started with the ball, but got shut out of the end zone after 1st-&-goal at the five. Delaware quickly took advantage after UConn kicked a field goal, scoring on a QB draw up the middle to hand UConn one of its worst losses in recent memory.

Jim Mora’s team actually trailed 14-10 after one and 28-24 at the half in an absolute shootout. Both teams finished with over 500 yards of total offense as defense was completely optional.

Joe Fagnano was 28-38 for 346 yards and two touchdowns. Skyler Bell reeled in seven catches for 92 yards to pace the receivers. Reymello Murphy had one of Fagnano’s TDs and tight end Alex Honig had the other. On the ground, Cam Edwards had a big day with 116 yards and two scores on 23 carries. Victor Rosa also added a TD and 40 yards on just three carries.

Jo Silver gashed the UConn defense on the ground for 179 yards and as a team, the Blue Hens rushed for 247 yards on 45 carries.

Iowa 47, UMass 7

This one went pretty much how everyone expected it would go.

Down 23-7 in the final two minutes of the half, UMass was moving and had a chance to build a little momentum before halftime. Then, on a 4th-&-4 at the Minutemen 49, Grant Jordan missed a wide open receiver on a slant for a turnover on downs and that was basically all she wrote.

The Hawkeyes made it a 30-7 game heading to the locker room and never looked back.

Jordan finished 9-14 for 37 yards while AJ Hairston played in blowout duty and was 4-8 for 56 yards. Rocko Griffin had 10 carries for 28 yards and Jacquon Gibson had five catches for 37 yards.

Iowa out-gained UMass 435-119 as the Minutemen fell to 0-3 heading into a bye.

Ball State 34, UNH 29

The Wildcats had a chance to pull off the program’s seventh FCS-over-FBS upset on the road on Saturday, but couldn’t get a go-ahead score on the final drive of the game, falling to 2-1 on the season.

UNH struggled with Ball State’s running game all day as the Cardinals racked up a whopping 308 rushing yards, including rushing touchdowns of 40, 43 and 72-yards in the first half.

Offensively, UNH did get a strong performance from Matt Vezza, going 25-44 for 259 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Vezza also had 78 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Caleb Burke (7/89) and Chase Wilson (7/84/1 TD) led the receivers.

The Wildcats’ special teams unit came up big a couple different times as well. Adam Saul blocked a punt that was scooped up by D. J. Johnson and returned for a touchdown less than three minutes into the game. Justice Akinmoldan also came up with a late safety in the fourth quarter to keep them in the game. Surprisingly, Unfortunately, Nick Reed missed two of his four field goal attempts on the day and it turned out to be the difference.

Kennesaw State 27, Merrimack 13

It was an odd, frustrating night for Mike Gennetti’s Warriors against FBS opponent Kennesaw State.

The Warriors held the ball for 36:48, but only mustered 294 yards of offense and one offensive touchdown in the loss. Ayden Pereira was 11-22 for 148 yards and ran the ball 22 times for 59 yards and a score. The next closest ball carrier to Pereira was Brendon Wyatt’s 11 carries for 42 yards. Jalen McDonald had a great performance catching the ball, hauling in five passes for 116 yards.

Merrimack didn’t turn the ball over and got an 85-yard pick-six from RJ Chapman. It was an extremely undisciplined game for both teams too. The Warriors had 12 penalties for 83 yards while the Owls had 12 for 102.

It was a 17-point third quarter for Kennesaw State that ultimately put the game away after the teams went into halftime with the hosts up just 7-0.