NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
Table of Contents
Marist and New Haven open the 2026 season Friday night in West Haven with a market priced essentially at pick’em. The central question is whether Marist’s veteran quarterback continuity can offset New Haven’s home-field edge and AJ Duffy’s more explosive passing profile. Sonny Mannino returns after a low-turnover 2025 season, while Duffy comes back after throwing for 2,399 yards and 22 touchdowns. With the total around 44.5, one turnover or failed red-zone possession could swing the game. ScoresAndStats’ football scores and odds page is the best place to compare the broader board.
Find value before the match starts.
Check our picks.
Game Info: Can Marist handle New Haven’s home field?
- Game: Marist Red Foxes at New Haven Chargers
- Competition: NCAA Division I FCS non-conference
- Date: Friday, August 28, 2026
- Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium, West Haven, Connecticut
- Expected QBs: Sonny Mannino, Marist; AJ Duffy, New Haven
- Weather: Warm and humid with a chance of showers or thunderstorms and light wind
New Haven went 4-0 at home in 2025, so the venue is a legitimate part of the handicap. The trip is manageable for Marist, and the weather concern is more about a possible passing shower than wind. Light wind should keep both passing games viable, but a wet ball would increase the value of ball security and a dependable rushing attack.
Marist Red Foxes vs New Haven Chargers Odds: Is pick’em the right price?
| Team | Moneyline | Point Spread | Game Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marist Red Foxes | -110 | PK (+100) | Over 44.5 (-110) |
| New Haven Chargers | -110 | -0.5 (-110) | Under 44.5 (-110) |
Morning prices on August 28 showed a split market around pick’em. One current board listed Marist PK +100 and New Haven -0.5 -110, while other screens had Marist favored by roughly one point. That disagreement makes price discipline essential. Pick’em is materially better than laying -1.5 in a projected one-score game. The total has been steadier around 44.5, which fits two veteran quarterbacks but also respects the possibility of long drives and red-zone stalls.
Head-to-Head and Series History: Does last year’s Marist win carry forward?
| Date | Venue | Result | Closing Spread / Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 29, 2025 | Poughkeepsie, N.Y. | Marist 31, New Haven 14 | Not used as current pricing evidence |
Marist won the only prior meeting 31-14 last season. The useful detail is the rushing margin: the Red Foxes produced 228 rushing yards, allowing them to stay on schedule and avoid turning the game into a pure passing contest. New Haven still got 377 passing yards from Duffy, so the final score overstated how one-sided the yardage battle was. The rematch moves to West Haven, where New Haven was unbeaten in 2025, making the previous result a matchup clue rather than a prediction by itself.
Marist Red Foxes Recent Form: Can the late-2025 offense carry over?
Marist finished 5-7 in 2025 but closed with a more productive offense. The Red Foxes scored 41 against Stetson and 37 against Davidson before a 29-25 loss at Presbyterian. For the season they averaged 22.7 points and 329.7 yards per game. That is not dominant production, but Mannino gave the offense stability by limiting turnovers and adding value as a runner.
The main weakness was third down, where Marist converted only 29.2 percent. That puts pressure on early-down efficiency. The best version of this offense keeps Mannino out of obvious passing situations, uses his legs selectively and leans on the run game enough to keep New Haven from attacking protection on every key down.
New Haven Chargers Recent Form: Can the home edge hold again?
New Haven went 5-5 in its first Division I season and 4-0 at home. The offense ran through Duffy, who completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2,399 yards, 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while adding 218 rushing yards and four scores. That gives the Chargers more obvious downfield explosiveness than Marist.
The risk is volatility. Ten interceptions matter in a game priced near even because a single short field can decide a low-total matchup. New Haven also has to turn yardage into points more efficiently than it did in last year’s meeting, when Duffy threw for 377 yards but the Chargers scored only 14. Home field raises the floor, but the market is already giving New Haven credit for it.
Quarterback and Offensive Matchup: Which veteran QB controls the game?
| Team | Expected QB | 2025 Passing | INT | Rushing Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marist | Sonny Mannino | 1,818 yards, 11 TD | 3 | 395 yards, 6 TD |
| New Haven | AJ Duffy | 2,399 yards, 22 TD | 10 | 218 yards, 4 TD |
Start with the quarterbacks. Mannino enters 2026 with 18 career starts over the last two seasons and a profile built on avoiding negative plays. Duffy has the higher passing ceiling and already proved he can move the ball against Marist, but his interception rate creates more variance. In a game with a total of 44.5, a punt is survivable; a turnover that creates a short field may not be.
Marist should again use the run game and Mannino’s mobility as part of the protection plan. New Haven’s best answer is to create explosive throws and force Marist’s secondary to defend the full field. The quarterback ceiling may belong to New Haven, while the steadier possession-to-possession profile belongs to Marist.
Injuries, Projected Starters and Availability: Which core roles matter most?
This FCS opener does not have the same standardized public injury-report structure used in the NFL, so the safest approach is to center the handicap on current official rosters and roles confirmed by team communications. Marist has publicly identified Mannino, linebacker Kade Werner and running back Lincoln Cardillo as captains. New Haven’s current roster lists Duffy as the returning graduate starter.
Marist Red Foxes Key Projected Starters
- Sonny Mannino, QB — expected veteran starter with 18 career starts entering 2026
- Lincoln Cardillo, RB — senior captain returning after a 2025 season-ending injury limited him to two games
- Lance Martinez, WR — experienced receiving option
- Kade Werner, LB — senior captain and returning defensive leader
- Chase Hatton, DB — returning impact defensive back
New Haven Chargers Key Projected Starters
- AJ Duffy, QB — returning starter after 2,399 passing yards and 22 touchdowns in 2025
- Caleb Williams, RB — senior back on the current roster
- Matt Chandler, WR — senior receiver
- LaSalle Rose Jr., WR — senior receiving option
- Ricky Encarnacion, LB — senior linebacker
Cardillo is the notable Marist variable because his 2025 season ended after two games. His return adds experience, but the wager does not require assuming a full pre-injury workload. For New Haven, Duffy’s return is the foundation of the offensive projection. Any late quarterback change would materially alter both the side and total.
Key Matchup Factors: Can Marist win the line of scrimmage again?
The first matchup factor is Marist’s ability to avoid third-and-long. The second is New Haven’s explosive passing against a Marist defense that intercepted 13 passes last season. The third is finishing drives: New Haven moved the ball in the 2025 meeting but did not convert that yardage into points, while Marist was not an elite red-zone offense over the full season either.
Special teams and weather can also matter more than usual in a near-pick’em opener. Light wind reduces concern about field-goal range, but a passing shower could increase ball-security risk. That favors the team that can run efficiently, win field position and avoid giving away short fields.
Alternative Bets: Is there another way to back Marist?
Marist Moneyline -110
If pick’em disappears but Marist remains available on the moneyline around -110, the same handicap is still playable. At -110 the break-even rate rises to 52.4 percent, so the cushion is smaller. I would not chase beyond roughly -115 on the moneyline or Marist -1 at standard juice. If the market reaches -1.5, passing is preferable to paying for a number the matchup does not justify.
Best Bet: Is Marist pick’em worth playing?
Best Bet: Marist PK at +100
At pick’em +100, the implied probability is 50.0 percent. My estimate puts Marist around 54 percent, enough for a modest edge but not enough to ignore price. The playable range is Marist pick’em down to about -115 on the moneyline, or -1 at no worse than -110. This is a price play, not a claim that Marist has a large talent advantage.
Three football reasons support it. First, Mannino threw only three interceptions on 277 attempts last season and also scored six rushing touchdowns, a valuable profile in a low-total game. Second, Marist already demonstrated a workable line-of-scrimmage plan against this opponent by rushing for 228 yards in last year’s 31-14 win. Third, Duffy’s 22 passing touchdowns come with 10 interceptions, creating the kind of short-field risk that can flip an even matchup.
The counterargument is real: New Haven went 4-0 at home, Duffy is the more explosive passer and the Chargers moved the ball better in last year’s game than the final score suggests. That is exactly why the bet stops at pick’em or a small Marist price. At +100, the edge survives the home-field concern. At Marist -2, it would not.
Final Prediction: Does Marist repeat the 2025 result?
Final Score Prediction: Marist Red Foxes 24, New Haven Chargers 21
The expected script is a one-score game in which both veteran quarterbacks produce efficient stretches without either offense controlling every possession. Marist’s best path is to keep Mannino out of third-and-long, use the run game to shorten the game and force New Haven to sustain drives rather than live on explosive passes. New Haven’s home field and Duffy’s arm talent are the primary risks.
The best bet remains Marist pick’em at +100, with the playable range ending around -115 on the moneyline or -1 at standard juice. If the market moves beyond that range before kickoff, the value is gone even if the football case remains intact.
