The idea behind a Division I Bowl Championship Series school inviting a Football Championship Subdivision school to be part of the former’s football schedule is to pick up an easy win and polish their game up for the big boys.
For their trouble the visitor gets a big, fat check, a pat on the back and a brush with big-time football with which to regale future recruits and the grandkids.
As James Madison reminded Virginia Tech last week, it doesn’t always work out that way. The University of Maine would like to reiterate that point when it makes its second visit to Syracuse in as many years (7:15 p.m., Saturday, Time Warner Channel 9).
The Black Bears (1-1) got their first taste of the Carrier Dome last year and held up quite well. They led by four points at the half before running back Delone Carter went off for three second-half touchdown runs and led the Orange to a 41-24 victory.
Maine has never played an FBS opponent in back-to-back years, so while Cosgrove expects the Carrier Dome crowd to be more “amped up” because Saturday is the Orange’s home-opener, he thinks the Bears should be less intimidated by their surroundings this time.
“Going into this environment won’t be new,” Cosgrove said. “We only had 10 seniors last year, so a lot of this group will be the same that went last year.”
The Orange (1-1) who lost to Washington last week, 41-20, will look familiar to Maine at one key spot, too. Carter, a 215-pound senior running back, is back and coming off back-to-back 91-yard rushing efforts against Akron and Washington.
Junior Ryan Nassib has replaced Greg Paulus at quarterback and has completed 54 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior Van Chew is his leading receiver, averaging 18 yards per catch with a touchdown.
Syracuse’s defense, led by senior linebacker Derrell Smith, held Akron to three points in the season-opener, then couldn’t stop the run or the pass against Washington.
“I really like their defense. They play fast,” Cosgrove said. “They’ve got a couple of great linebackers, and the safety, (Max) Suter, as we know from last year, flies around.”
Maine’s offense bounced back from an anemic effort in its 3-0 season-opening loss to Albany with a more balanced attack in last Saturday’s 31-23 victory at Monmouth. Junior RB Jared Turcotte of Lewiston battered Monmouth for 144 yards on 29 carries, including touchdown runs of three, seven and 51 yards.
“It was another jump forward for him in terms of carries and the work that he had for us,” Cosgrove said. “We’re excited to have him with us and healthy.”
Junior QB Warren Smith, reinserted into the starting lineup after being lifted in favor of Chris Treister during halftime of the Albany game, showed more accuracy against Monmouth (17-for-26, 194 yards), and Cosgrove expects the passing game to have some momentum heading to Syracuse.
“He did a much better job of locating the ball, throwing the football with more confidence, throwing the ball on time,” Cosgrove said. “There were a couple of throws he can still do a better job with, but there’s an elevation in his play which is going to help his confidence.”
Maine’s defense followed a strong performance against Albany with a more uneven effort against Albany. The Bears gave up 247 yards passing and had some defensive breakdowns, according to Cosgrove. But the key was their ability to get off the field, holding Monmouth to just 1-of-15 on third-down conversions.
“That was the best part of our day,” Cosgrove said. “It was kind of a combination of things. We did put some pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t come up with a lot of sacks (two), but that was part of it, getting them to throw on the run. We covered well. Our breakdowns were individual breakdowns in discipline. We bent. We didn’t break.”
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