By Rob Gullo & Andy Close NEFJ Correspondents With Thanksgiving past us, the 2025 CIAC high school football regular season has concluded. With the first round of the playoffs slated to kick off on Wednesday, December 3rd after being pushed back due to weather, all first round matchups have been finalized. As we look at the Top 25 teams in the state before postseason play officially begins, one new team…
Vedarian Lowe embraces new found opportunity this season
FOXBOROUGH- Patriots offensive tackle Vedarian Lowe is embracing his moment in the spotlight as he prepares for his first start of the season on Monday night against the New York Giants. Getting his new found opportunity has come at the expense of rookie left tackle Will Campbell getting injured but despite that, Lowe expressed gratitude for the opportunity. “I am very grateful for the opportunity and super excited, I feel…
Patriots Four Down Preview: New York Giants (2-10) at New England Patriots (10-2)
Kickoff: The Patriots host the struggling New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The G-Men have been competitive this season but have struggled with consistency and finishing games. Their play ultimately cost Head Coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen their jobs. Despite their struggles, this Giants team has been in a lot of close games this season and I would expect them to play the Patriots tough. Here…
Top 5 matchups to watch in the Giants-Patriots game
The Patriots host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. On paper, the Giants pose a lot of match up problems individually. The Patriots will have their hands full when it comes to one on one match-ups. They have to win as many of these match ups as they can if they want to win this game. Brian Burns vs. Vedarian Lowe: Burns is second in the NFL in…
Patriots Game Plan vs. New York Giants
The Patriots host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The Giants are struggling coming into the game but still pose a formidable challenge because they are strong in certain areas. The Patriots are running on fumes and desperately need their upcoming by week. Before they get to that bye week, they will need to get past the Giants. Here is how the Patriots could attack them offensively and…
Boston College 34, Syracuse 12 – Eagles end rough 2025 on a high note
Image courtesy of Yahoo Sports They needed this. In the grand scheme of things, a 34-12 blowout win for BC over Syracuse to end the season on Saturday in front of a half empty JMA Dome (it should still be the Carrier Dome) doesn’t change much, but it certainly could mean something heading into 2026. The Eagles had lost 10 straight and were in danger of joining the discussion with…
FCS Playoffs: Yale 43, Youngstown State 42 – Improbable comeback sends Bulldogs to 2nd round
Image courtesy of Yale Athletics Improbable. Impossible. Chaotic. Unbelievable. Incredible. Whatever word you want to use to describe what Yale did on the road against No 15 Youngstown State in the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday, it fits. The Bulldogs trailed 35-7 at the half, 42-14 with a little over seven minutes left in the third and 42-22 heading to the fourth quarter. Somehow, Yale ripped off…
FCS Playoffs: Villanova 52, Harvard 7 – Crimson crushed in first ever playoff game
Image courtesy of Harvard Athletics For the second week in a row – which just so happened to be the worst timing possible – Harvard saw things snowball and couldn’t recover. Playing in the first ever FCS playoff game in program history on the road against 12th-seeded Villanova, the Crimson had a tidal wave swarm over them, losing 52-7. Harvard saw the same thing happen against Yale a week ago…
FCS Playoffs: South Dakota State 41, UNH 3 – Wildcats’ season ends in frigid loss
Image courtesy of UNH Athletics Aesthetically, the UNH’s playoff game against 14th-seeded South Dakota State on Saturday was a football fans dream. With a wind chill of zero, snow falling and ice covering the field, it was what playoff football dreams are made of. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that dream was an absolute nightmare with a 41-3 loss. UNH (8-5) was making its 17th playoff appearance in the last 21…
FCS Playoffs: URI 27, Central CCSU 19 – Rams knock out Blue Devils for 2nd straight year
Image courtesy of Dan Heary By Rob Gullo NEFJ Correspondent SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Hosting Central Connecticut in the first round of the FCS Playoff Championship for a second straight year at Meade Stadium on Saturday, No. 9 Rhode Island earned a 27-19 win to punch its ticket to the second round of the playoffs. The Rams were led by a 14-point first quarter. URI built a 14-0 lead in…