Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff at No. 2-ranked Delaware marks the mid-point of the University of Maine’s football season.
It also marks the Black Bears’ first road conference game and the start of the season’s second half, where they will play four of their final six games on the road.
Beyond Saturday, Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove isn’t concerned with what lies ahead on his team’s daunting schedule, which also includes Colonial Athletic Association powers Villanova, Massachusetts and James Madison.
“We just live week to week here. That’s the only way we’ve ever known to do business,” Cosgrove said. “I think it’s safer that way. With young people, projecting and speculating is not a good thing to get in their heads in my opinion. All we know is Delaware is on the horizon.”
It’s not a bad approach considering Delaware is undefeated and sits atop the CAA standings.
Both Maine (2-3, 1-1 CAA) and Delaware (5-0, 2-0) had unlikely heroes last week — their kickers.
Maine’s Brian Harvey kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give the Black Bears a 16-13 win over the University of New Hampshire, their first win over their rivals since 2002.
Harvey shared CAA Special Teams Co-Player of the Week honors with his Delaware counterpart Mike Perry, who kicked a 28-yard game-winning field goal in the Blue Hens’ 13-10 victory over then No. 3 James Madison.
The win over James Madison was the first time the Blue Hens hadn’t beaten an opponent by at least three touchdowns, including convincing victories over top 10 teams South Dakota State and Richmond.
“They are an outstanding football team,” Cosgrove said. “Offensively and defensively, they’re in the top three in almost every category that you would evaluate as a football team.”
Senior quarterback Pat Devlin leads Delaware’s offense. Devlin transferred to Delaware last year after three years at Penn State and was widely regarded as the best quarterback in the Football Championship Subdivision heading into this season. He missed one game with a fractured left (non-throwing) wrist, however, and he took just two snaps against James Madison before suffering a concussion. Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said Devlin has been cleared to face the Black Bears.
Maine’s biggest challenge, though, may be stopping freshman running back Andrew Pierce, who leads the CAA in rushing with 676 yards and seven touchdowns.
Cosgrove expects Maine’s defense, which ranks sixth in the CAA (20.2 ppg) to be ready for the challenge.
“They have been the best part of what we are at this point of the season, and the most consistent part of our team,” Cosgrove said. “The front has played better than we expected with the youth that’s there. We played a lot of guys. We played eight guys at least 25 reps each on Saturday.”
The defensive line of Doug Alston, Raibonne Charles, Kevin Phanor and Ryan Nani limited UNH to 91 yards rushing last Saturday. Vinson Givens (12 tackles, interception) and Donte Dennis led the linebacking corps, which was without middle linebacker Mark Masterson for the second straight week. Redshirt freshman Shawn Bodtman had an interception and forced fumble, and junior defensive back Jerron McMillian had what Cosgrove called the play of the game with his interception in overtime.
Maine’s offense had one of its more balanced games against UNH, piling up 408 total yards (155 rushing, 253 passing), but turnovers, penalties and inefficiency on third down (2-for-14) helped keep the Bears from scoring more points. Junior running back Jared Turcotte returned after missing a game to attend the birth of his daughter and rushed for a team-high 71 yards. The Lewiston native is now just 14 yards shy of 1,000 for his career.
The Blue Hens returned all of their defensive starters from last year, and they boast the stingiest defense in the FCS (6.4 ppg). Senior defensive backs Tyrone Grant and Anthony Walters lead the conference with three interceptions apiece.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
