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Football Schedule Released

Red Hawks 91st Season Begins at RPI on September 4

Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State football team returns with a full 10-game schedule for the 2021 season. MSU's 91st campaign on the gridiron kicks off on Saturday, September 4 as the Red Hawks look to build on their abbreviated season in the spring that culminated in an NJAC North Division championship.  
 
Head coach Rick Giancola's Red Hawks open the season on the road with a trip to Upstate New York as Montclair takes on Rensselaer. It is the first meeting between MSU and the Engineers. The two squads were set to meet in the 2020 opener, but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled that contest. The next week (September 11), Montclair State renews its series with perennial NCAA Playoff contender Delaware Valley when the Aggies and Red Hawks meet for the first time since 2015. Delaware Valley was 11-2 in 2019 and lost to eventual national champion North Central in the quarterfinals.
 
After back-to-back road contests, the Red Hawks return home to Sprague Field for a lengthy homestand starting on September 18 versus Salve Regina. Montclair knocked off the Seahawks 28-11 two years ago in Rhode Island and has won five of the seven all-time meetings. The Red Hawks close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on September 25 with another first-time opponent in Worcester Polytechnic Institute. WPI posted a 10-1 record in 2019 finishing off the season with a 36-6 win against Western Connecticut in the New England Bowl Series.
 
The Red Hawks NJAC schedule gets going on the first Saturday in October as Salisbury comes to campus on the 2nd. The Sea Gulls claimed the NJAC South Division title in March and won the overall league crown in 2019. The Homecoming Game on October 9 marks the return of New Jersey's oldest active collegiate football rivalry when MSU and The College of New Jersey battle in the 88th meeting. Last year marked the first time since 1945 that the two did not face each other and just the fifth since the series began in 1928 with the other four coming during the World War II seasons of 1942-45.
 
The lengthy stay at home leads to Montclair's longest road trip of the season on October 16 at Christopher Newport – a 397-mile journey to Newport News, VA. Like TCNJ, the Red Hawks did not face the Captains in 2020 due to the pandemic. MSU won the last meeting two years ago with a 24-0 triumph on Homecoming.
 
With Wesley College closing its doors and disbanding its football program in March, Montclair will have a late-season bye week on October 23 before finishing out the month with its final home game of the season on October 30 against Rowan University. The Red Hawks and Profs did not meet in 2020, the first time since 1963 the "North-South" matchup between the Profs and Red Hawks did not materialize.
 
Montclair State ends its schedule the same way it will have begun, with consecutive road contests although the distances for those will be considerably less than the first two games. MSU makes the nine-mile sojourn to William Paterson on November 6 followed by the season finale in Union, NJ on November 13 at Kean University. The Pioneers and Cougars accounted for two of Montclair's three contests in the spring. MSU opened its pandemic-shortened season with a 41-12 win at Kean on March 13 and blanked William Paterson 28-0 on April 2 to claim the conference's North championship.


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