The football team’s defense of their NESCAC Championship title from last season started poorly, as Wesleyan University crushed them 43–7 in the season opener. The home loss was the Panther’s largest margin of defeat since a 48–0 loss to Trinity College in 2018.
From the first quarter, the team struggled to overcome Wesleyan’s offense and defense. The Cardinals put up an impressive three touchdowns in the opening 15 minutes: a 41-yard rush from running back Tyler Flynn, a 66-yard pass from Niko Candido to Chase Wilson and a 40-yard punt return from Dylan Connors. The Panthers, meanwhile, failed to make any meaningful offensive progress.
Early in the second quarter, Middlebury had a scoring opportunity with the ball at Wesleyan’s 10-yard line, but consecutive stops by Wesleyan on third and fourth down prevented the Panthers from converting in the red zone. Wesleyan added nine more points in the quarter, extending their lead to 30–0 lead by halftime.
The Panthers found the end zone once in the second half when quarterback Brian Moran ’26 completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Brendan Logan ’28, marking the team’s first score of the season. However, the lone touchdown was far too little, too late. Wesleyan tacked on two more touchdowns in the half, adding 13 more points to their score, sealing the blowout over Middlebury.
Despite the lopsided score, Middlebury’s skill players performed admirably in defeat. In his first significant appearance, Moran threw for 205 yards, a touchdown and an interception. His primary target, Patrick Jamin ’25, had a great performance, hauling in seven receptions for 92 receiving yards. Last season, Jamin averaged 91.8 receiving yards per game and recorded four games with over 100 receiving yards.
Overall, the team struggled to convert on third and fourth down, limiting their scoring opportunities. The Panthers converted only four of their 18 third- and fourth-down attempts and only once in their three red zone appearances. This issue continues a weakness from last season. Despite ranking third in the NESCAC for total touchdowns last year, the team struggled with third-down and red-zone conversions, finishing sixth out of 10 in both categories.
This past weekend’s loss against Wesleyan marks the second straight year the Cardinals stifled the Panthers. Last season, Wesleyan’s 6–3 record handed Middlebury their only loss of the season. Their prolific offense led by Candido overwhelmed Middlebury by three points last season. This year they reinforced their dominance.
The Panthers head to Bowdoin (0–1) this weekend to play the Polar Bears and right the ship. Historically, Middlebury has played well against them, winning every head-to-head matchup since 2012.
