New Hampshire Travels To Monmouth For Key CAA Showdown

WEST LONG BRANCH – This Saturday, sixth-ranked Monmouth University (8-1, 5-0) gets another crack at beating the University of New Hampshire, having lost to them all three times they’ve played. Its most recent loss to the Wildcats was last season’s disastrous 33-20 defeat, which ultimately knocked the Hawks out of playoff contention.

Last season was already on the brink of collapse, but the loss to New Hampshire put the finishing touches on a season that started out with such great expectations before descending into a heap of would-haves, could-haves, and should-haves.

Monmouth was thoroughly outplayed in the game when they desperately needed a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But give Monmouth credit for shaking off the loss to the Wildcats and closing out the season by beating eighth-ranked Villanova and eighteenth-ranked Stony Brook.

Unfortunately, though, the damage had already been done.

Not that Monmouth needs any more motivation than they already have leading up to Saturday's matchup with New Hampshire, but a little revenge factor in the back of their mind certainly wouldn’t hurt.

This is a game that has been discussed for weeks due to its massive implications for Monmouth’s playoff seeding and the chance for them to go undefeated in conference play, contingent on them winning their final two games, in which they will be heavy favorites in both. If they can pull that off, the CAA championship is a distinct possibility.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. All the Hawks have to do is win Saturday against the Wildcats; that’s all that matters right now, just beat New Hampshire at home Saturday, and they’ll be in the driver's seat.

New Hampshire is coming off a bye week and rolls into West Long Branch with a 5-4 overall record and a 3-2 conference record. They’ve won two straight, having beaten William and Mary 34-24 two weeks ago and Campbell 24-10 the week before that. They were drilled by Villanova 37-7 on October 4, then lost to Rhode Island 38-27 the following week. For comparison purposes, Monmouth beat Villanova 51-33 earlier this season when they were ranked eleventh in the country.

The Wildcats' offense is ranked 10th in the CAA in points scored per game (23.4) and ninth in total yards per game (339.1). They average 126.8 yards per game on the ground – ninth in the CAA - and 212.3 passing yards per game – sixth in the CAA.

“If you look at their offensive side, they’ve got all the pieces,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan on Monday’s CAA Coaches Zoom call. “They have a quarterback who’s a dual threat and is effective both running and throwing the ball. He’s the number one rusher on the team in terms of yards, average and touchdowns. They have a talented running back who’s a veteran player, and they’ve got a core of receivers, numbers eight, six, and one, who are all talented and all have double-digit yards per catch. That’s a group we’re not only going to have to be aware of, but we’re going to have to do a great job on the defensive side. And you add to that the fact that they have tremendous size on their offensive line.”

Sophomore dual-threat quarterback Matt Vezza is in his first year as a starter after seeing mop-up duty last season in four games. The 6-foot-0, 205-pound Vezza has completed 157-of-259 passes for 1858 yards and 11 touchdowns and has thrown five interceptions. He’s added 466 yards on the ground on 114 attempts and leads the team in rushing average per game (4.1) and rushing touchdowns (6).

Senior running back Miles Thompson is in his first season as a starter and leads the team in rushing yards (513) and has three touchdowns on the ground. He’s added 23 receptions for 191 yards and one touchdown.

New Hampshire’s trio of wide receivers, senior Caleb Burke (39-556-2) – a 2025 All-CAA Preseason selection, graduate student Chase Wilson (39-550-3), and senior Casey McKinney (19-228-0), are all veteran players who have a ton of experience behind them. Burke and Wilson both average over 14 yards per catch.

Grad student Tolu Olajide (6-foot-5, 300) anchors the line at left tackle after starting every game a year ago. He’s surrounded by a group of very large humans that can dominate the line of scrimmage, including junior right tackle Beau Riley (6-foot-7, 310), right guard Brendan Graham (6-foot-6, 300), junior center Luke Swaine (6-foot-4, 310) and sophomore left guard Luke Rogers (6-foot-4, 337).

“We’re not a very big group on defense in terms of physical size, so we’re going to have to play really well on that side,” said Callahan, referencing New Hampshire’s imposing offensive line.

The Wildcats' defense is ranked 10th in rushing yardage allowed per game (173.0) and third in passing yards allowed per game (172.3). They're ranked second in points allowed per game (22.4) and third in total yards allowed per game (345.3).

“When you look at their defense up front, number five and number seven are very active guys with good quickness and good speed that cause a lot of disruption. At linebacker, you have number 42, who jumps out at you and is their leading tackler. And then number four, who I know has missed a game or so, but from his outside linebacker, viper position, he’s very effective at defending both pass and run. We’re going to have to up our level of play and our players understand that.”

Defensive ends Jordan Mcallister (22 T, 12 solo, 5.5 TFL, one sack, 1QBH) and D.J. Johnson (35 T, 21 solo, 4 TFL, two sacks, 2 BU, FF) and defensive tackles Tim Bonagura (22 T, eight solo, 3 TFL, 2 BU), and sack leader Justice Akinmoladun (19 T, 10 solo, 6 TFL, four sacks, 1 QBH) anchor the defensive line. Linebacker Trevor Barry leads the team in tackles with 62, including 30 solo tackles, while linebacker Isaiah Jones has chipped in with 28 tackles, 15 solo tackles, and a TFL. In the secondary, safety Cohen Cook is second on the team in tackles with 46, including 22 solo tackles, along with 2.5 TFL and two BU. Viper back Darren Burton has recorded 23 tackles, including 13 solo tackles, with five TFL, two sacks, one BU, one FF, and one FR. Safety Duncan Moorland is third on the team with 45 tackles, including 27 solo tackles, with one interception and one BU. Safety Raleigh Collins and cornerback Kelby Hampton lead the team with two interceptions.

Injured Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson, who’s been out for the last two and a half games and still leads the CAA in passing yardage (2467), yards per game average (352.4) and passing touchdowns (27), is out again Saturday, so it will again be up to redshirt freshman Frankie Weaver, making his third career start, to guide the team to victory. Weaver had his best game of his young career last Saturday, shaking off two early interceptions and completing 15-of-20 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Weaver, who is super athletic with a rocket launcher for an arm and an elevated football IQ, doesn’t seem to be phased by the position he’s been put in and has shown the poise and composure under duress you’re used to seeing in a seasoned veteran. The team has rallied around him with genuine faith and trust in his ability to lead the team.

You can expect the Hawks to lean on their running game again Saturday. Why wouldn’t they, when you feature the nation's rushing leader, who keeps blowing your mind with one jaw-dropping run after another. Astonishingly, Nelson has close to a 600-yard lead in rushing yardage and is on track to eclipse the 2000-yard rushing mark. With three games remaining in the regular season, Nelson has rushed for 1,485 yards while averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. His 15 rushing touchdowns also lead the country. And don’t forget about redshirt freshman running back Elijah Jennings, who has rushed for 276 yards on 59 carries and six touchdowns while averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Opponents are learning the hard way that they can’t take a play off when Jennings enters the game.

Monmouth’s rising defense played its best game of the season last week against Bryant, but as Callahan said, they’ll have to raise the bar this week against New Hampshire's offense, which is playing its best ball of the season. In last week's 34-24 win against William and Mary, Vezza completed 17-of-23 passes and had career highs in yardage (280) and touchdown passes (3). He also ran for a career-high 99 yards. Burke had six catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns while Thompson rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown to record his first career 100-yard rushing game.

The Hawks' defense has struggled against athletic quarterbacks who like to tuck the ball in and take off and run on broken plays, and Vezza fits that bill. He’s super athletic and can beat you with his legs as well as his arm. Containment will be key this Saturday, with the goal of keeping him in the pocket so Monmouth can unleash its reinvented pass rush that’s ranked second in the CAA in sacks with 25. That pass rush featuring defensive end Josiah Graham and Lamont Lester Jr., who are No.1 and No.2 in sacks in the CAA with 9.5 and 7.5, respectively, was shut out for the first time this season last week. That can’t happen against New Hampshire, or they’ll be in for a long afternoon. Gap assignments must be a priority to stop the run, with each player taking responsibility for their area of containment to avoid the broken play that results in chunk yardage. They must be aware of their surroundings. It is hoped that the defense will continue to progress as it has in each of the recent games and avoid taking a step backward. They can’t afford to do that against a team as talented as New Hampshire.