The University of Rhode Island kicked off the most important season in its 131-year football history on Aug. 28 with a 34-7 triumph at Merrimack College.
The most important? Really? Yes, and here’s why. The Rams have produced consecutive 11-3 seasons, won two consecutive Coastal Athletic Association championships and are favored to win their third in 2026. Doing so would be a program first and establish URI as a legitimate annual championship contender, just as former favorites Delaware, Villanova, James Madison, Richmond and William & Mary were in the good old days of the Yankee Conference and Atlantic 10. The Rams were already ranked No. 7/8 nationally based on their performance the last two seasons and their returning players.
Coach Jim Fleming and his staff have produced competitive teams since their woeful 2-10 finish in 2019. The Rams played in the Football Championship Subdivision tournament in 2024 and 2025. In the last five seasons, they were 42-19 overall, 29-11 in the CAA. They have won 17 of their last 18 home games. They have won with All-America talent. They have won with Made-in-Rhode-Island talent.
But winning a championship, never easy, will be a challenge this season because URI will not play a home game in Kingston. Meade Stadium is being renovated and should reopen in 2027. Until then, the Rams will take their home show on the road to Pawtucket and the 12,000-seat Centreville Bank Stadium, home of the Rhode Island FC soccer club.
Here is the big unanswered question: Will Ram fans follow their team from South County all the way north on Route 1, Route 4 and I-95 to Pawtucket? We Rhode Islanders have a reputation for being reluctant travelers within the friendly confines of our Ocean State. Driving more than 15 miles requires a lunch stop, right? And traveling from Woonsocket to Westerly or from West Greenwich to Little Compton is an overnighter, correct?
I say they will, and here is why:
· Marquis Buchanan. The fifth-year senior from Providence via Classical High School is one of the best wide receivers in college football. In 2025, he led the nation in receiving and earned three first-team and one second-team All-America selections. He was first-team All-CAA and All-New England. He was second-team All-America and first-team All-CAA in 2024 and a freshman All-America and third-team All-CAA in 2023. He has 208 career receptions for 3,171 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is a deep threat but can also catch and run. His 16-yard reception was Rhody’s first touchdown of 2026.
· Devin Farrell. The fifth-year quarterback from Stockbridge, Ga., by way of Virginia Tech, started 23 games for URI the last two seasons but was on the sideline in street clothes Friday night while still recovering from off-season surgery for an undisclosed injury. He missed the last four games in 2024 because of an injury. In 2025, he was first-team All-CAA and third-team All-America and had one of the best seasons of any quarterback in URI history: fourth all-time in completions (267), third in passing yards (3,746), second in completion percentage (.651), and second in total offense (3,824 yards). He completed 19 of 20 passes at Albany, his 95% a program record.
· Moses Meus. A fourth-year junior from Pawtucket, Meus, a linebacker, has become a significant contributor to the URI defense. With 45 seconds to play at Merrimack, he returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown. He also made four tackles. He started all 14 games last season and led the team with 110 tackles. He had five sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception. He was third-team All-CAA. He was the CAA defensive player of the week for his 7 stops against Holy Cross. Two weeks later, he made 19 tackles at Western Michigan, tied for fifth in program history. Meus played for St. Raphael Academy and, as a senior in 2022, was the Gatorade player of the year.
· Andre DePina-Gray. The fifth-year senior, also from Pawtucket and Saint Raphael, is as smart in the classroom as he is between the lines. He was the 2025 CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year. A defensive back, he made 55 tackles last season and had an interception at Western Michigan. He played in 11 games in 2023, started 11 of 12 in 2024 and started all 14 in 2025. At Merrimack, he made four tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Also worth noting, backup quarterback Alex McClelland from Barrington rushed for two touchdowns against Merrimack on direct snaps.
“When you get guys of that caliber who’ve chosen to stay and contribute to something that’s never been done here at the University of Rhode Island, I think it’s just really cool,” Fleming said last week during the CAA coaches conference call. “It’s thrilling to have those kinds of guys. We’re very pleased we’ve gotten a good blend of experience, and we’ve got some guys coming in who will play their first game for the Rams that we think will have a significant impact as well.”
URI players are prominent in pre-season All-America and All-CAA selections, big reasons why the Rams are a Top 10 choice. Legendary college football preview magazine Phil Steele picked Buchanan on offense and Meus on defense as the CAA players of the year. CAUTION: As with any contender in any sport, depth is a factor. URI’s top players must stay healthy. Farrell’s status is a concern.
Fleming has 24 Rhode Islanders on his roster this season.
“We’ve been very successful opening the doors to Rhode Island kids where they come in as full scholarship guys or partial scholarship guys that earn their way. . . and there’s a tremendous amount of pride from these kids from the state of Rhode Island to play for the state institution,” Fleming said. “We got a lot of kids who are eager to get up to Pawtucket and play at Centreville Bank Stadium because it’s right in their backyard. It’s a great facility. I hope everybody will come out and watch us play and fill that place.”
Family and friends will have five chances to watch them at their home away from home: Sept. 12 against Elon; Oct. 3 against Brown for the Governor’s Cup; Oct. 24 against Albany; Oct. 31 against Maine and Nov. 14 against Towson. All are Saturday 12 p.m. kickoffs.
Noteworthy road games include this Saturday at Temple, Oct. 17 at Yale, and Nov. 21 at Bryant.
While URI chases a third consecutive title, Bryant will chase improvement from their 3-9, 1-7 CAA finish in 2025. The Bulldogs opened with a convincing 24-6 victory at Stonehill Aug. 29. They scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to seal their ninth consecutive win over the Skyhawks.
Bryant will travel to historic West Point this Saturday for a noon kickoff against Army.
After a Sept. 12 date at Hampton, they will play their home opener Sept. 19 at Beirne Stadium against Princeton. Other notable home games include Brown on Oct. 10 and URI on Nov. 21.
As always, Brown will be the last of the state’s Division I programs to kick off. They will open Sept. 19 at New Haven. Harvard will come to town on Friday night, Sept. 25. The Bears finished 5-5 last season, 2-5 in the Ivy League.
Division III Salve Regina, 6-4 a year ago, will open this Saturday at UMass Dartmouth, also 6-4 in 2025. MASCAC coaches picked the Corsairs as co-favorites to win the 2026 title.
