Observing the big picture has helped the University of Maine Black Bears put the disappointment of last week’s 40-30 loss to Towson is behind them.
“If I had stood in front of them in August in preseason and said we would have this opportunity in front of us come the 10th game of the year, we all would have thrown our hands up and said ‘Yeah, that sounds great coach,'” Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove said. “It’s really nice to be able to present that and kind of rejuvenate yourself on what’s in front of us here.”
What’s in front of the 13th-ranked Black Bears (7-2) is a two-week battle for the Colonial Athletic Association title. Tied with Towson and New Hampshire at 5-1 and atop the league standings (with 5-2 Old Dominion close behind), they currently have only partial control over their own destiny but a clear understanding that they must win out to have a shot at the title. Towson and UNH play each other this week.
Maine travels to UNH next week.
First things first, though. Maine hosts Massachusetts Saturday on Senior Day (12:30 p.m., WPME-TV). UMass (5-4, 3-3 CAA), which is moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision next year and, thus, ineligible for the postseason this year, has dominated Maine throughout the 102-year history of the rivalry (41-15-1, including a 39-24 victory last year in Amherst).
“We’ve never had a lot of success against them,” Cosgrove said.
The Minutemen are led by senior tailback Jonathan Hernandez, the CAA’s third-leading rusher with 954 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“They’ve got some great skill players,” Cosgrove said. “The tailback, Hernandez, is one of the premiere guys in the league. That receiving group they have of (Tom) Gilson and (Julian) Talley and (Jesse) Julmiste is very, very explosive.”
Maine’s explosiveness was compromised last week because senior tailback Pushaun Brown has been dogged by a thigh injury which forced him to sit it out and because leading receiver Maurice McDonald suffered a foot injury five plays into the third quarter.
Redshirt freshman running back David Hood rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown but also had a fumble in Brown’s place. Redshirt freshman Damarr Aultman helped pick up the slack for McDonald with a career day (eight catches, 117 yards, TD).
Brown was a game-time decision last week and Cosgrove said X-rays on McDonald were negative, so they may be available Saturday.Regardless of their status, Cosgrove is confident the Black Bears are ready for the challenge they face over the next two weeks.
“There’s substance to this group,” he said. “They have the essential qualities that I think are necessary to be a winner: Their attitude, their effort, their discipline; their willingness to sacrifice and work for each other. Those things haven’t changed because we’ve lost. Those things will be the foundation of who we are.”
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