The Waterbury Times|The New England Saturday|Sept 12, 2026
Connecticut- The wait is over.
It’s Saturday morning, and across New England, college football is about to take over the day.
Week 2 brings a little bit of everything to the region.
There are undefeated teams trying to stay that way. There are winless teams trying to get their seasons moving. There are conference games that suddenly matter a whole lot more than they did a week ago.
And there are a few teams walking into Saturday with something to prove.
This is The New England Saturday: Gameday.
THE GAME OF THE WEEK
Sacred Heart at UMass
3:30 p.m. | McGuirk Alumni Stadium | Amherst, Massachusetts | ESPN+
This is the one.
UMass comes home after one of the biggest wins the program has had in recent years, a 37-21 victory at Rutgers that snapped a 16-game losing streak and gave the Minutemen their first FBS win since 2023.
Now comes the harder part.
Do it again.
Sacred Heart arrives at 0-1 after a 31-24 loss at Monmouth in its first official game as a CAA Football member. But the Pioneers were competitive from start to finish, outgaining Monmouth 408-350 and putting up 217 rushing yards.
Quarterback Poochie Snyder threw three touchdowns in the opener, while wide receiver Dean Hangey caught eight passes for 110 yards and two scores.
UMass quarterback William “Pop” Watson III was outstanding against Rutgers, completing 19 of 22 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns.
This is the first meeting between the programs.
And that makes today’s game especially interesting.
UMass has the momentum.
Sacred Heart has the opportunity.
The New England Saturday will be watching.
THE 3:30PM WINDOW
Three New England programs kick off at the same time, and each game carries a very different storyline.
Maryland at UConn
3:30 p.m. | Pratt & Whitney Stadium | East Hartford | CBS Sports Network
UConn is 1-0.
Maryland is 1-0.
And neither team had much trouble in Week 1.
The Huskies demolished Lafayette 56-7 while setting a program record with 671 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Kalieb Osborne accounted for 355 yards of total offense, throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 90 yards and two scores.
But Maryland represents a completely different test.
The Terrapins opened their season with a 62-0 shutout of Hampton, and the Terps bring a physical defense and a strong running game into East Hartford.
For UConn, this is the first real test of the new era under head coach Jason Candle.
Last week proved the Huskies can dominate an opponent they’re supposed to beat.
Today asks a different question:
Can UConn compete when the talent across the field is comparable?
Central Connecticut State at Toledo
3:30 p.m. | Glass Bowl | Toledo, Ohio | ESPN+
Two teams looking for their first win.
CCSU opened the season with a 59-20 loss to South Dakota.
Toledo lost to Michigan State 30-20.
For the Blue Devils, this is another road test against an FBS opponent — but unlike Week 1, the opponent is also coming off a loss.
CCSU needs to find a way to slow down the Toledo offense and stay in the game long enough to give itself a chance late.
Sacred Heart at UMass
Yes, we’re putting it here again.
Because at 3:30, this is the game New England football fans should have on.
The Pioneers are trying to spoil the Minutemen’s home opener.
UMass is trying to prove Rutgers wasn’t a fluke.
THE EARLY KICKOFF
Holy Cross at Miami (Ohio)
1 p.m. | Yager Stadium | Oxford, Ohio | ESPN+
Holy Cross needs a win.
The Crusaders enter 0-2 after consecutive 35-10 losses to Lehigh and Colgate.
Quarterback David Lynch has thrown for 577 yards through two games, but five interceptions have hurt the Crusaders.
Miami (Ohio) is also looking for its first victory after losing 59-14 to Pittsburgh.
This is a chance for Holy Cross to change the conversation around its season before it gets away from them.
THE 5 P.M. GAME
Merrimack at Maine
5 p.m. | Orono, Maine
Maine is not 0-1.
The Black Bears are 1-1, having opened the season with a win over Towson before taking a 55-3 loss at Appalachian State.
Merrimack enters 0-2.
That makes this a particularly important home game for Maine.
The Black Bears have already shown they can win.
Now they need to show they can respond.
For Merrimack, the mission is simpler:
Get the first win.
THE EVENING SLATE
Bryant at Hampton
6:02 p.m. | Hampton, Virginia
Bryant and Hampton both enter at 1-1.
Bryant opened the season by beating Stonehill before losing 59-3 at Army.
Hampton beat Virginia-Lynchburg 45-0 before losing 62-0 to Maryland.
One of these teams leaves Saturday with a winning record.
Stonehill at New Hampshire
6 p.m. | Wildcat Stadium | Durham, New Hampshire
Stonehill is coming off one of the biggest wins by a New England team in Week 1.
The Skyhawks defeated New Haven 21-3 and opened NEC play 1-0.
Now they face a New Hampshire team that is 0-2.
Stonehill quarterback Jack O’Connell has already thrown four touchdown passes this season.
New Hampshire needs an answer.
This could be a very different game from the one the Wildcats played against Syracuse last week.
THE LATE-NIGHT TEST
New Haven at No. 2 South Dakota State
7 p.m. ET | Brookings, South Dakota
This is the long-distance challenge of the weekend.
New Haven is 1-1 after splitting its first two games.
Now the Chargers travel to face South Dakota State, one of the premier programs in the FCS.
The Chargers cannot qualify for the 2026 FCS playoffs because of their reclassification status, but this is still exactly the type of game that can tell us something about where the program is going.
After falling to Stonehill last week, New Haven gets another opportunity to make a statement.
And this one will require a big one.
RHODE ISLAND’S TEST
Elon at Rhode Island
Noon | Centreville Bank Stadium | Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Rhode Island enters at 1-1 after beating Merrimack before losing to Temple.
The Rams return home looking for another win.
Their opponent enters undefeated, but the story here is Rhode Island.
Can the Rams take advantage of playing at home and get back to 2-1?
That’s the question.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Can UConn make the jump?
The Huskies scored 56 points last week.
Nobody expects Maryland to make things that easy.
Can UMass handle success?
The Minutemen finally have a win to celebrate.
Now they have to prove they can build on it.
Can Sacred Heart pull the upset?
The Pioneers played a strong first game in their new conference.
Now comes their first FBS challenge of the season.
Can Stonehill move to 2-1?
The Skyhawks already have a conference win.
A victory over New Hampshire would make that Week 1 win over New Haven look even bigger.
Can Maine respond?
The Black Bears went from beating Towson to getting blown out by Appalachian State.
Saturday is about the response.
Who gets off the winless list?
Holy Cross, Merrimack, New Hampshire and CCSU all enter Saturday without a victory.
At least one of those programs will have another chance to change its record this weekend.
TODAY’S NEW ENGLAND SCOREBOARD
12:00 p.m. — Elon at Rhode Island
1:00 p.m. — Holy Cross at Miami (Ohio)
3:30 p.m. — Maryland at UConn
3:30 p.m. — Central Connecticut State at Toledo
3:30 p.m. — Sacred Heart at UMass
GAME OF THE WEEK
5:00 p.m. — Merrimack at Maine
6:00 p.m. — Stonehill at New Hampshire
6:02 p.m. — Bryant at Hampton
7:00 p.m. — New Haven at South Dakota State
THE New England SATURDAY STARTS NOW
Nine games.
Nine different stories.
And by the end of the night, we’ll know a lot more about where the region’s teams are headed.
UConn gets its first major test.
UMass gets its first home game after a statement win.
Sacred Heart gets its first shot at an FBS opponent in its new CAA era.
Stonehill gets a chance to build on its conference-opening victory.
Maine gets a chance to respond.
And New Haven gets one of the biggest challenges on its schedule.
The scoreboard starts at noon.
The biggest game kicks off at 3:30.
And we’ll be here for all of it.
The New England Saturday.
From the first kickoff to the final whistle.
The New England Saturday: Week 2 Game of the Week: Sacred Heart at UMass
The New England Saturday: Week 2 College Football Kickoff Preview
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