Looking for its first six-game winning streak since 2008, the University of Maine hits the road again Saturday to face a national power that has fallen on hard times.
Villanova, the 2009 FCS national champion and a national semifinalist last year, is winless in five Colonial Athletic Association contests and 1-7 overall this year. The Black Bears, meanwhile, sit atop the CAA with a 4-0 record, 6-1 overall, and are ranked No. 8 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25.
A win at Villanova Saturday (3:30 p.m., no TV) would give Maine its first 5-0 start in conference play since 1989. It would also give the Black Bears a measure of revenge against the Wildcats, who stomped them, 48-14, last year during homecoming in Orono.
“(Villanova) is a team that’s not the same team that it was last year, but all I know is, we got taken to the woodshed last year,” Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said. “We were embarrassed by Villanova last year up here.”
Maine is 3-1 on the road this season, its only loss coming against Pittsburgh in its annual excursion to a BCS opponent.
The Black Bears have come from behind to win their last two road games by one point, 25-24 in overtime at James Madison three weeks ago, and 23-22 last week at Richmond. The wins may not have been easy, but Cosgrove is happy to put any road game in the “W” column.
“If there’s one thing that I personally have targeted as something that we needed to do better, and this goes back years, was travel,” he said.
Since 1998, Maine has chartered flights for road games to avoid the hassles of commercial travel. Charter travel isn’t cheap, but it takes away the distractions associated with the alternative.
“It’s a very, very expensive endeavor. It takes a lot of work to raise the money and such, but it is a necessary part of our travel. We try to make it as easy as we can and as business-like a trip as we possibly can,” Cosgrove said. “I, quite frankly, really get a charge out of going to the different places in this league, the outstanding environments in stadiums, and our players do, too.
“In a lot of ways, it’s sometimes easier to go on the road,” he added. “We were very distracted, I thought, two weekends ago at homecoming (when Maine beat Rhode Island, 27-21).”
Trailing 16-0 heading into the fourth quarter at Richmond, the Black Bears scored all 23 of their points in the final period. The special teams played a key role in the comeback, recovering a fumbled punt and blocking two extra point attempts.
“Obviously it was great to get the win. I can’t be prouder of the guys for finishing the way we did,” Cosgrove said.
“I felt an air of confidence from our defense that we would be able to go out and get a stop and from our offense that we would finish the drives finally,” he said.
Senior free safety Trevor Coston led the defense with 11 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble. Sophomore defensive end Michael Cole was credited with two sacks and now leads the team with six sacks on the season. He also blocked a PAT that Jerron McMillian returned for two points.
“I thought Mike Cole was our best player on the field Saturday,” Cosgrove said. “He was just relentless throughout the course of the game, two blocked extra points, just doing things that have become so typical of him. He really energizes our football team with his play up front.”
Maine lost starting tailback Pushaun Brown after seven carries when he aggravated a thigh injury and backup Terrel Walker had to leave with an ankle sprain. In stepped redshirt freshman David Hood, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
“He just was very instrumental,” Cosgrove said. “His protection in the backfield was solid. David did an outstanding job. As a redshirt freshman, we couldn’t be more pleased with what he did coming into that football game.”
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