Game Notes: No. 24 Football Plays Host To Holy Cross on Sept. 10

Holy Cross (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League) at No. 24 UNH (0-1, 0-0 CAA)
Saturday, Sept. 10 • 7 pm Eastern
Wildcat Stadium • Durham, N.H.
Inaugural game at Wildcat Stadium
Giveaways / Promotions:
  • The first 11,000 fans in attendance will receive a rally towel courtesy of Service Credit Union
  • 2,000 fans will also receive a UNH football/men's hockey magnet courtesy of Dunkin Donuts
  • First ever fireworks show immediately following the game, presented by Atlas
Television: American Sports Network // NESNPlus -Find All Channels Here
Video || Audio || Live Stats

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Homecoming || Family Weekend
Saturday, Oct. 1 • 3:30 pm • College of William & Mary

QUICK HITTERS
New Hampshire is led by 18th-year head coach Sean McDonnell, who has guided the Wildcats to the NCAA FCS tournament each of the last 12 years (longest active streak in the nation).

A new era of New Hampshire football begins this season with the opening of Wildcat Stadium. The inaugural game is Sept. 10 (7 p.m.) against College of the Holy Cross. Season, group and individual-game tickets are on sale now at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.

UNH opened the 2016 season last Saturday with a 31-0 loss to San Diego State, an FBS program. It marked the seventh consecutive year the Wildcats played their season opener on the road.

The 'Cats played in front of their third-largest crowd last week at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the NFL's Chargers – 46,486 fans watched UNH vs. San Diego State. The two largest crowds in program history are 50,120 (9/11/10 at Pitt; Heinz Field) and 47,022 (0/18/12 at Minnesota; TCF Bank Stadium).

Coach Mac has led New Hampshire to a 14-3 record in home openers (since 1999). The Wildcats have won 11 consecutive home openers, including a 39-32 victory against Holy Cross in 2011.

The last time UNH lost a home opener was in 2004 (9-7 to the College of William & Mary).

New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium has transformed to Wildcat Stadium, but The Dungeon lives on. And The Dungeon is a fittingly foreboding nickname for the opposition. In five games last season, UNH went 5-1 at home and outscored the opposition 186-103, including 66-16 in the first quarter and 29-16 in the fourth quarter; that's a scoring average of 31.0 to 17.2.

Since the start of the 2007 season, the Wildcats are 47-6 at Cowell Stadium for a. .887 win percentage

New Hampshire has had tremendous success at home against non-conference teams the past 11 seasons (2005-15) with a 20-3 record (.870 win percentage) that included a stretch of 16 consecutive wins.

UNH vs. HOLY CROSS
UNH vs. Holy Cross all-time series: The New Hampshire and Holy Cross football programs first met more than 100 years ago – the Crusaders were 13-0 victors on Oct. 2, 1909 – but Saturday's inaugural game at Wildcat Stadium will be just the 14th meeting.
UNH leads the all-time series, 7-6, including a 4-2 home record. The Wildcats have won each of the last three meetings, most recently 38-17 on the road in the 2012 season opener. The last time these teams met at Cowell Stadium, UNH prevailed 39-32 (Oct. 1, 2011).
Coach Mac has led UNH to a 2-0 record vs. Holy Cross.

Scouting Holy Cross: Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.) is 1-0 following last Saturday's 51-24 victory at Morgan State. The Crusaders trailed 17-14 in the second quarter before scoring 30 consecutive points. In the Patriot League Preseason Poll, HC was selected in a tie for third (with Lehigh, behind Colgate and Fordham) following last year's 6-5 overall record that inlcuded 3-3 in league play.

Crusaders To Watch: Senior quarterback Peter Pujals was a 2015 All-Patriot League First Team selection; he was a Second Team honoree as a sophomore in '14 and Rookie of the Year in '13. Pujals has career numbers of 74-for-1229 for 8,049 yards and 60 TDs as well as 406 rushes for 1,560 yards and 15 TDs; those numbers rank second all-time at Holy Cross in completions and pass attempts, as well as fourth in passing yards and TD passes.
In last week's season opener at Morgan State, Pujals completed 22 of 38 passes for 240 yards and three TDs; he also carried the ball eight times for 67 yards. Jake Wieczorek (seven catches, 66 yards) and Brendan Flaherty (5-66, TD) were the top targets; Flaherty earned All-America Second Team recognition in 2015. The rushing game was led by Diquan Walker (8-92, 2 TDs) and Gabe Guild (17-85, 2 TDs).
Senior defensive end Dewayne Cameron was an all-league First Team selection last year, when he led the Crusaders in sacks (seven) and tackles for loss (11). Last week at Morgan State, Cameron had four tackles with three tackles for loss, including one sack.
In addition to Pujals, Flaherty and Cameron, both senior safety Luke Ford and junior cornerback Alim Muhammad were named to the 2016 Preseason All-Patriot League Team.

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