Monmouth University (0-0, 0-0 CAA) at University of New Hampshire (0-0, 0-0 CAA)
Thursday, September 1, 2022; 7:00 p.m.
Wildcat Stadium (11,015), Durham, NH

Television/Streaming Video: FloFootball.com
                                    Bob Lipman (play by play), Justin McIsaac (analyst)

Monmouth Radio Coverage: Monmouth Digital Network (MonmouthHawks.com)
                               Matt Harmon (Play by Play); Gary Kowal (Color Analyst)

Ticket Info:
For tickets visit HERE for more information.

Directions to Wildcat Stadium:
For directions visit HERE
                            
OPENING NIGHT
• Tonight is opening night for both the Hawks and the Wildcats. The game also ushers in a new era of Monmouth football as the Hawks join the Colonial Athletic Association. It is the first time the two teams have played each other and the third time in the 30-year history of the program that the Hawks will open the season against a conference opponent.
 
PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
• Monmouth, coming off a 7-4 season in 2021 as a member of the Big South Conference, was selected to finish 10th in the CAA Preseason Poll. The Wildcats were selected ninth by the league's coaches and media members after finishing with a 3-8 (2-6) CAA record in 2021.
 
A WIN WOULD
• A win would give Monmouth it's fourth win in an opening game since the 2016 season. The Hawks haven't lost to a FCS team since the 2015 season, with week 1 wins over Lehigh, Lafayette and Charleston Southern. A win would also mark the first time since 2016 (Lehigh, 23-21) that Monmouth won their first game of the season on the road. That has only happened four other times.
 
THE COACHING MATCHUP:
Kevin Callahan
30^th Season/173-129
 
Rick Santos
2^nd Season/6-5
 
INSIDE THE MU-UNH SERIES
First Overall Meeting
Overall Record: 0-0
                  West Long Branch: 0-0
                  Durham, NH: 0-0
First Meeting: Sept. 1, 2022
Last Meeting: ---
Longest MU Win Streak: ---
Longest UNH Win Streak: ---
Largest MU W Margin: ---
Largest UNH W Margin: ---
Smallest MU W Margin: ---
Smallest UNH W Margin: ---
Shutouts: ---
Overtime Games: ---
 
MONMOUTH AGAINST THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Monmouth is one of 13 current members of the CAA in football, with the addition of Campbell and North Carolina A&T set for 2023. The Hawks are 16-28 all-time against current CAA opponents. Monmouth has never played four teams in the conference; Elon, New Hampshire, Richmond and William & Mary. The Hawks' wins over Hampton (3-0) came as a member of the Big South Conference, while UAlbany (5-12) and Stony Brook (5-4) were foes at times during Monmouth's time as a member of the Northeast Conference. Prior meetings with Delaware (0-1), Maine (0-3), Rhode Island (1-1), Towson (1-7) and Villanova (1-0) were non-conference contests.
 
FIRST AND GOAL
Monmouth's football program has seen a number of firsts throughout its 30-year history and Thursday night will bring another starting test when the Hawks kickoff against New Hampshire. Monmouth's first game as a member of the CAA features a first-time opponent in the Wildcats. The Hawks dropped their first game as a member of the Big South Conference in 2014 when they fell 18-12 at Presbyterian. MU won its Northeast Conference opener by a 46-17 margin on Sept. 14, 1996. Monmouth lost its first game in program history, 13-8, at Stonehill on Sept. 11, 1993.
 
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Monmouth has played on Thursday night twice before, in the middle of the 2016 season and the start of the 2013 campaign. The Hawks fell at Presbyterian on Oct. 13, 2016 by a 17-13 final score. The game was played following a traditional Saturday matchup on Oct. 8 at Howard and was the quickest turnaround in program history. In 2013, Monmouth opened at Montana State on Thursday night and dropped a 42-24 decision in front of 21,000-plus fans. The Hawks have scored 10 first-half points combined during their pair of Thursday night matchups.
 
FROM THE JUMP
Only two players in the country have started at quarterback in every game of their careers and thrown at least 30 touchdowns. Monmouth's junior QB Tony Muskett has thrown 34 career touchdown passes in 15 starts over the last two seasons. Jackson St. sophomore Shedeur Sanders started all 13 games as a freshman in 2021 and tossed 30 touchdown passes en route to winning the Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award as the nation's top freshman.
 
RETURNING RUSHERS
Monmouth brings back its top three running backs from 2021 in Juwon Farri (705 yards – 8 TD), Jaden Shirden (497 yards – 3 TD) and Owen Wright (370 yards – 2 TD). As a team, Monmouth ran for 1,602 yards and 19 touchdowns a season ago. A total of 1,494 yards (93.2 percent) and 18 touchdowns (94.7 percent) return to the backfield for the Hawks in 2022.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Four Monmouth University football student-athletes were recognized with Colonial Athletic Association Football Preseason accolades. Eddie Morales III earned Preseason All-Conference Team recognition on special teams at punt returner, while Tony Muskett claimed the lone quarterback spot on offense. In addition, running back Juwon Farri and punter Ryan Kost were Honorable Mention choices. As a team, Monmouth was picked to finish 10th in the 13-team preseason poll.
 
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Five Hawks, three on defense and two on offense, will lead the Monmouth program this year as team captains. LB Da'Quan Grimes, DB/PR Eddie Morales III, QB Tony Muskett, OL Justin Szuba and DB Tyrese Wright will serve in leadership roles. Grimes and Szuba both return after missing the 2021 season with injuries. Muskett is Monmouth's returning two-year starter at quarterback who finished the 2021 season with 2,651 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. Morales III is a dual-threat defensive back and special teams' standout who was a First Team All-Big South honoree at both corner and punt returner. Wright has played in every game of his three-year career, including 20 starts in the secondary. He is coming off a 2021 Second Team All-Big South honor after leading the Hawks in tackles (71) and solo stops (49).
 
ALL-AMERICA STATUS
The Monmouth University football program had a pair of student-athletes named to the STATS Perform Preseason All-America Team. Senior running back Juwon Farri was a second team choice, while graduate student punter Ryan Kost earned a spot on the third team. Kost also earned a spot on the 2022 HERO Sports FCS Preseason All-America Third Team. Farri was a First Team All-Big South selection last season after he totaled 705 yards on the ground and eight rushing touchdowns despite missing three games due to injury. Kost was a First Team All-Big South choice as a senior in 2021 and claimed his second straight all-league award. He averaged 44.3 yards per punt which led the conference and ranked eighth in the NCAA.
 
SWEETNESS
Juwon Farri was named to the STATS Perform Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List. The award is given annually to the top offensive player in the FCS following the regular season. Farri's inclusion is the second of his career and he is the fifth Hawk in program history to be named to the watch list, joining Monmouth greats David Sinisi (2008), Reggie White Jr. (2018), Pete Guerriero (2019) and Kenji Bahar (2019). Farri finished eighth in the voting during the Spring 2021 campaign.
 
FARRI AND THE CENTURY MARK
Juwon Farri's success in reaching the 100-yard rushing mark is tied to Monmouth's success as a team. The Hawks' standout back had three 100-yard games in 2021, all in Monmouth victories. During Farri's career, Monmouth is 11-1 when he eclipses the 100-yard mark and the Hawks have won eleven straight games when he accomplishes the feat. His collegiate debut was the lone Monmouth loss, when he ran for 111 yards on 13 carries at Eastern Michigan in 2018.
 
GOOD WORKS TEAM
Monmouth graduate student Justin Szuba was one of 114 nominees announced as nominees for the 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team by Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Szuba, an offensive lineman, was one of just 13 players from the FCS on the list of nominees and the only player from a CAA team. The former sophomore All-American missed last season with an injury but was a Preseason All-Big South selection prior to the year. The right tackle has a 4.0 grade point average in history and is a two-time Chi Alpha Sigma honor society member. Szuba is a two-time all-conference selection that has started in 18 out of 26 career games played.
 
MUSKETT'S WIDEOUT WEAPONS
Monmouth's top three wideouts from 2021 have departed the program as Lonnie Moore IV (graduation), Terrance Greene Jr. (JMU graduate transfer) and Zach Tredway (graduation) leave a void on the outside for Tony Muskett. Moore IV and Greene Jr. both occupy spots on the program's all-time top ten lists for receptions, yardage and touchdowns. The Hawks will look to fill that productivity with some familiar and new faces. Junior Dymere Miller had 20 catches for 267 yards and a TD last year, while graduate student Joey Aldarelli had five touchdown receptions and senior Assanti Kearney had one TD catch in 2021. A pair of transfers, Darrion Carrington from Yale, and Ugo Obasi from Virginia will bolster Monmouth's pass-catching corps.
 
COACHING ADDITIONS
Head Coach Kevin Callahan welcomed the addition of two new assistant coaches prior to the spring 2022 season, Jimmy Robertson (Quarterbacks/Pass Game Coordinator) and Bishop Neal (Defensive Backs).
Robertson came to Monmouth after five seasons at FDU Madison, including the final year when he served as Head Coach of the Devils. Robertson, the 2021 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Football Coach of the Year, guided the Devils to a record of 7-4 in his first year as the head coach in Madison. The Devils won their first ECAC Bowl game in program history in 2021, with FDU counting an All-American, two all-region and six all-conference honorees among its ranks.
 
Neal arrived at Monmouth from Duquesne where he served as defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator for the 2021 season. Neal spent 2016 through 2020 at his alma mater, Saint Francis first as Defensive Backs Coach before earning the role of Defensive Coordinator prior to the 2019 season. As a player and a coach, Neal was involved in the most successful run in SFPA history, one which saw the Red Flash make its first appearance in the NCAA playoffs in 2016.

WATCH THE GAME WITH MONMOUTH ALUMNI AT BRADLEY BREW PROJECT
Are you ready for some football? The Hawks take on the University of New Hampshire in their first CAA game on Thursday, September 1! You're invited to watch with us at Bradley Brew Project. Doors at 6pm, and all ages are welcome. Sandwiches and non-alcoholic drinks on us! Beer available for purchase. Will we see you there?

TICKETS FOR MONMOUTH HOME GAMES ON SALE NOW!
Season tickets, group tickets and individual tickets are on sale now for Monmouth's five home contests in 2021 Visit www.MonmouthHawks.com/Tickets for more information

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