He’s got vivid recollections of playing against James Madison, though those battles came more than two decades ago.

“The first actual college game I played in was against JMU in that ’96 game,” Merrimack coach Dan Curran said. “We were two top 10 teams and that was before they did the newest renovation with the stadium, but still you go in there on game day, you see the water spouting out from the lake and you’re like, ‘This campus sells itself.’”

He was a standout running back with New Hampshire, starring for Wildcats coach Sean McDonnell and then-offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Curran earned All-Atlantic 10 honors as a senior, rushed for more than 1,000 yards and tallied 16 touchdowns in 1999 and also played in an epic back-and-forth with ex-Dukes running back Curtis Keaton that season.

Curran rushed for 121 yards and two scores and had three catches for 54 yards, but it wasn’t enough as JMU prevailed 35-28 in Durham, N.H., behind Keaton’s 181 rushing yards, two rushing scores and 20-yard catch for a touchdown.

“Keaton was unbelievable that day,” Curran said. “But it was just a competitive game, and you know when you go against JMU that you’re not just going to be going against really good players, but that they’re also going to be really well coached and fly around. Both of those experiences were eye opening and you realize why they’ve been able to build such a powerhouse program with great tradition.”

And this fall, Curran is scheduled to face the Dukes again – for the first time as a coach – when he brings his Merrimack squad to Bridgeforth Stadium on Nov. 21.

Last season the Warriors finished 6-5, their first campaign in a transition from Division II to FCS. Against foes in the subdivision, they earned wins over Delaware State, Presbyterian and Long Island University.

“It’s probably a little bit above what most schools that are going through the transitional period would do,” Curran said of agreeing to play against JMU. “But for us it was a guaranteed game and a chance to give the kids in our program the opportunity to play on a big stage with the very best FCS has to offer. We’ll go in with our eyes wide open, and we’re not delusional about where we’re at or where we need to be to go into that environment to at least be competitive, but our kids are excited about the opportunity, knowing they’ll get to see the best the level has to offer.

“We’re new to the FCS level and we kind of exceeded everybody’s expectations last year, but we know this is a different level of football.”

Curran, who enters his eighth season leading Merrimack, said the jump has been positive so far and that the Warriors have similar resources to that of their fellow Northeast Conference members, which is something they couldn’t say when they were in Division II.

Merrimack was 12-19 in its last three years as a Division II team.

“You’d think a D-II school going D-I would be like on the top of the heap from a resource standpoint,” Curran said. “But when you look at the staffing and facilities here that really wasn’t the case. We were at about 18-20 scholarships in a league in D-II where we were playing programs that had as many as 40 to 50 scholarships in a sport that really recruits a demographic in high need. That was challenging for us and even with staffing, we weren’t really on par with the teams in our league and facility wise we were getting better, but we were probably toward the bottom of the league.

“But now that we’ve made the move to Division I, we’re actually going to be closer to the teams in FCS from a resource standpoint than some of the teams we played against in the Division II level. So we built at the Division II level with culture and a tremendous campus, but without the bells and whistles. Now we’re starting to get some of those things.”

On the field, Curran said he expects this year’s Merrimack team to be more advanced on defense than offense.

Junior defensive end Cory Hagerman leads the unit after racking up 48 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks last year.

“Blue collar. He’d fit right in with the UNH mode,” Curran said of Hagerman. “He’s a freak in the weight room, loves to get after it and is one of the strongest in the program as well. He’s someone we can move inside in some of the sub-packages. He’s not the most athletic guy with like the crazy spin move, but he just is workmanlike. He’s probably gifted and more explosive than he looks, but he’s just a really productive, consistent football player.”

Along the front Hagerman is joined by sophomore Nicholas Lenon, who had four sacks as a freshman and is the son of Paris Lenon, a former Richmond standout that went onto an NFL career. Senior defensive backs Jovan Grant and Caleb Holden are back, too. In 2019, Grant was second on the team with 47 tackles and Holden had a team-high four interceptions.

On offense, Curran’s bunch will break in a new starting quarterback. He said it’ll be a five-man competition that includes redshirt freshmen Prince Dru-Bey and Jack Esquivel.

Merrimack is slated to open on Sept. 3 with Holy Cross and will also play Curran’s alma mater, New Hampshire, along with the Dukes in non-conference action.

“I think we probably have the most aggressive schedule in our own conference,” Curran said. “It’s probably a little ambitious, but going back to the type of kids we recruit, our kids want that opportunity and want to play against that competition. They know what they’re up against and they’re excited for the challenge.”