Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
The sixth-ranked University of Maine Black Bear football team heads to Pennsylvania to square off against fellow unbeaten Atlantic 10 Conference rival No. 11 Villanova Saturday.
Both teams enter the contest with 2-0 records. TheWildcats opened their 2002 campaign with a 37-19 win over 1-A Rutgers and shut out Colgate last week 20-0. UMaine downed Central Connecticut State 52-3 and William & Mary 27-14.
Last week’s win over W&M vaulted the team up to sixth place in the Sports Network and USA Today/ ESPN polls giving the team its highest ranking since the ninth week of the 1989 season when the then 8-0 Black Bears were ranked fourth.
The Black Bears have now been nationally ranked for ten consecutive weeks, going back to last season.
“We do a great job of worrying about ourselves,” senior quarterback Jake Eaton said. “We worry about what Maine does, not the other team. We know that if we work hard with our preparation so that we can come out and play at our highest level, we can beat anybody.”
Last season’s matchup with Villanova was a turning point in UMaine’s season and maybe in the history of the program. Down by 19 points in the third quarter, the Black Bears buckled down, especially on defense and special teams and rallied for a 44-40 victory.
This season’s matchup doesn’t have the Black Bears playing the role of underdog. Gone from last year’s Villanova squad is ultra-back Brian Westbrook, a draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles.
In his absence the Wildcat rushing attack has fallen off, dropping to 10th in the conference. The featured Villanova back Saturday will be sophomore Terry Butler. Much like Westbrook, Butler is a quality receiver coming out of the backfield. Last week against Colgate he caught six balls for 103 yards, but only managed 54 rushing yards on 19 carries.
“It’s going to be a challenge and a half [going to Villanova],” Black Bear head coach Jack Cosgrove said, “but we’re going to be ready because this team knows how to prepare.”
The heart of the Villanova offense is senior quarterback Brett Gordon. Gordon torched division I-A Rutgers for 321 yards passing and turned it up another notch last week against Colgate going off for another 377. With those two performances Gordon now has eight career 300-yard passing games to his credit.
The Atlantic 10 second-ranked Black Bear defense will have to slow the Wildcats’ potent aerial attack by getting pressure from their front four. Expect to see Dennis Dottin-Carter and preseason second team all A-10ers Brendan Curry and Marcus Walton in the backfield often if the Black Bears are to be successful.
Preseason previews called the running back position a question mark for the Black Bears. Surely, replacing the output of the back ranked third all-time in rushing yards would be a tall order, wouldn’t it?
Enter sophomore Marcus Williams, the third player in school history to open the season with two straight 100-yard games, going for 104 against CCSU and 135 against W&M last week.
Bangor Daily News