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On Oct. 20, the University of Maine Black Bears were in Stony Brook, New York, taking on the Seawolves, an FCS mid-major team (formerly 1-AA). On that day, the Black Bears suffered their second overtime loss of the season and sixth loss in a row. They hadn’t won since Sept. 1 and still had four conference games left on the schedule.
While they could have held their heads down and packed it in for the season as they had been eliminated from playoff contention, they fought through.
On Saturday, the Black Bears look to close out the season with four straight wins as they travel to Cowell Stadium to take on archrival New Hampshire in the Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket.
“We had some awful difficult losses, losing two in overtime, but we managed to pull ourselves up and [look] to end the season on a high note,” head coach Jack Cosgrove said in Monday’s CAA teleconference.
UMaine (4-6, 3-4 CAA) is coming off its most impressive win of the season-a 35-0 thrashing of Rhode Island on Senior Day. With the win, Cosgrove tied Harold Westerman for first place in program history with 80 wins.
Led by sophomore quarterback Michael Brusko, who started in place of injured redshirt first-year Adam Farkes, the Black Bears set the tempo early against the Rams. On the first possession of the game, they drove 94 yards on 19 plays and took 8:47 off the clock. The drive culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Brusko.
“We were ready to play and that was very important,” Cosgrove said. “We felt like we had to come out of the gate strongly to establish the importance of the game.”
Brusko was the top performer offensively in the game, rushing for two more touchdowns and adding two more through the air for a total of five in the game. He racked up over 300 yards of total offense for the game.
Also on offense, junior running back Jhamal Fluellen, who played with an injury, passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. He became the eighth back in school history to accomplish that feat.
For the third straight week, the vaunted Black Bear defense continued their dominance. Playing without senior tri-captain and linebacker John Wormuth, UMaine limited the option attack of Rhode Island to just 91 total yards and forced four fumbles.
Junior defensive end Jovan Belcher led the Black Bears with five tackles and a forced fumble. He was later named the CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week.
“Our front was very physical,” Cosgrove said of his veteran-laden defensive line, which has three seniors and a junior. “Our group of seniors and Belcher did a great job Saturday.”
While the Black Bears are coming off three straight wins, the Wildcats (6-4, 3-4) are limping to the finish.
Just two weeks ago, New Hampshire was a near guarantee to make the FCS playoffs. However, after consecutive losses to Northeastern and UMass, their playoff chances are slim.
Led by senior quarterback Ricky Santos, the Wildcats present a much different look than that of Rhode Island. They boast one of the most prolific scoring offenses in the conference at 35.5 points per game. Predominantly a passing offense led by Santos, the Wildcats average 272.1 yards per game through the air and over 400 yards of total offense.
“I don’t know of another name that is more recognizable [in the Northeast],” Cosgrove said of Santos, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner and preseason CAA Offensive Player of the Year. “The only name that comes to mind is Doug Flutie.”
While Santos is one of the best players in the FCS, and in college football, his team’s Achilles heel is their defense. New Hampshire had their struggles this season defending opponents. Giving up 30 points per game and almost 450 yards of total offense, they relied on their offense throughout the year to bail them out. Over the past two weeks, the offense has sputtered and scored just 20 points while the defense gave up a total of 58 points.
“We have nothing to lose,” Cosgrove said. “This is a huge football game for our program, for our young men and [for] our seniors going out because it gives us a chance to finish on such an up-note.”
