Sports

UMaine treks to Iowa for playoff opener

Football advances to the postseason for the first time since 2002

By Adam Clark

Posted on Nov. 24, 2008, at 12:00 a.m.

After last Saturday’s crushing loss to the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maine football was granted a second chance when they were selected as an at-large team to the NCAA Football Championship Series (FCS) playoffs.

The 20th-ranked Black Bears (8-4, 5-3 Colonial Athletic Association) head to the Midwest where they will take on the No. 4 Panthers of the University of Northern Iowa (10-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley Conference) at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI is the No. 3 seed in the national playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. (ET)/4:05 p.m. (CT). This will be the second time the two teams meet in history as UNI defeated UMaine in the 2001 NCAA quarterfinals 56-28.

Live coverage of the game can be heard on 91.9 WMEB-FM.

Team Statistics

UMaine _____________Category ___________UNI

25.3 ________________ Points ________________28.5

331.6 _____________ Total Offense _____________ 358.5

196.1 _____________Rushing Yards _____________ 199.8

135.5 _____________ Passing Yards _____________ 158.8

23 / 16 ________ Rushing TDs / Passing TDs ________ 26 / 14

32:37 ________ Offensive Time of Possession _________ 31:31

21.3 _____________ Points Allowed ______________16.2

315.4 _____________Total Defense _____________ 302.2

132.9 __________ Rushing Yards Allowed __________ 107.1

182.5 __________ Passing Yards Allowed __________ 195.1

15 / 15 ______ Rushing / Passing TDs Allowed _______ 12 / 11

27:22 ________ Defensive Time of Possession ________ 28:15

+13 _____________ Turnover Margin _____________+15

Individual Leaders

UMaine ____________Category ____________UNI

Adam Farkes (870) ____ Passing Yards _______ Pat Grace (1,333)

Adam Farkes (9) ______ Passing TDs __________ Pat Grace (10)

Jared Turcotte (602) ___Rushing Yards _____ Corey Lewis (1,122)

Jared Turcotte (7) _____ Rushing TDs ________Lewis, Grace (9)

Jared Turcotte (23) ____ Receptions ________ Josh Collins (23)

Tyrell Jones (348) ____ Receiving Yards ______Josh Collins (406)

Landis Williams (5) ____Receiving TDs ______ Schuylar Oordt (3)

Jovan Belcher (93) ______Tackles _______ Josh Mahoney (106)

Jovan Belcher (7.5) ______ Sacks ________ James Ruffin (8.0)

Jovan Belcher (15.5) __ Tackles For Loss ____ James Ruffin (15.0)

Lamir Whetstone (5) ___ Interceptions __ Thompson, McMoore (4)

Landis Williams (12.3) _Punt Return Avg. ____ Jordan Smith (19.0)

Lamir Whetstone (38.0) _ Kick Return Avg. ____Jarred Herring (26.3)

Below are interviews conducted with players and the head coach on Tuesday afternoon:

Junior wide receiver Landis Williams

On the feeling after the UNH loss.It was tough, especially for me seeing a lot of the seniors as hurt as they were. And I know they put their all into the game just like all the others put their all into the game. It was tough to take that one on the chin and knowing that we possibly hurt our playoff berth and also that we didn’t get the [Brice-Cowell] Musket back.

On dealing with the close loss.Coach [Cosgrove] immediately came to us in the locker room and said ‘I don’t want to see any heads down. I want everyone to be positive because we still have hope. There are 8-4 teams that get into the playoffs.’ So we tried to stay as positive as we could and come in on Sunday and hopefully see our name pop up on the screen.

On being one of the 16 teams selected to the FCS Playoffs.It was amazing to me. People from the past have told us in the past when they were here when they were selected into the playoffs, but to experience it there’s nothing like it. Your whole team is sitting in the front of one room watching the TV just waiting to see your name pop up. And you’re not sure if you’re going to make it. You feel the joy of everyone on the team come together and then you know that you have the opportunity to keep playing football in November.

On UNI’s defense.They’re a good run defense, but our gameplan is not going to change. We’re a run offense so we’re going to run the ball. No matter what they do, they’re not going to dictate what we do. We’re going to run the ball, but there will probably be times where we have to pass the ball as well. As receivers we just have to step up in the pass game and make plays. You got to get them to respect our pass game so we can run the ball the whole game because that’s what we do.

On being the underdog.We’ve been underdogs the whole year so we pretty much have adapted to that role and me, myself, I like it because we get to come out and prove ourselves. Even when we beat good teams, we’re still the underdogs.

Senior safety Lamir Whetstone

On the feeling after the UNH loss.Me being a senior, I was very disappointed in the way things ended up. A lot of the seniors were pretty down, and there were a lot of tears, but we still knew we had a shot–a slim shot–to get into the playoffs. That’s what we kind of hung our hat on.

On the emotions after being selected to the playoffs.Once we saw it, man, the place erupted. People were calling their parents and their family telling them that we got in. Things just got crazy for a little bit.

On how to stop UNI’s running attack.We’ve got to tackle better, certainly much better than we tackled against UNH. We’ve got to trust eachother to be where we’re supposed to be and not do too much. We’ve just got to be physical and keep doing what we’ve been doing and I think we’ll be okay.

On the UNI passing game.Their quarterback is also very good. He’s a good runner and passer. He has a strong arm. When they do throw they like to throw deep. They like to run routes and get behind the secondary so our secondary needs to keep the ball in front of us.

On being the underdog.I feel like we’ve been underdogs all year. Basically all four years I’ve been here we’ve been underdogs. It’s something we’re accustomed to so it doesn’t bother us. It doesn’t affect us; it just motivates us more to try to prove people wrong.

On playing games on the road.It feels great. To be honest with you I love playing on the road with hostile crowds. I’ve been hearing some stories about how loud it gets there. There fans rattle their keys or something so it’s going to be a fun environment.

Senior defensive end Jovan Belcher

On the emotions of being selected to the playoffs.Seeing our name go across the ESPNU ticker, it was like having seven birthdays in one day. We got a second chance. We have to capitalize on our opportunities.

On UNI’s senior running back and Walter Payton Award finalist Corey Lewis.He’s a pretty agile player. He’s a hard runner. They pride themselves on running the ball. We pride our defense on stopping the run. So it’s just another challenge.

On being the underdog.If people want to look down on us, that’s their choice. It’s our time to show them what we can do.

Head Coach Jack Cosgrove

On the mood of the team after the UNH loss.I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. It’s one of the toughest walks I’ve ever had off the football field into the locker room to address a football team. The quiet, the profound quiet of a locker room that is full of young people with red eyes, tears. They just looked like they had their hearts ripped out.

On the UNI running attack.They want to run the football. I think all good teams that are successful on a consistent basis like they’ve been have a foundation of how they do business. And there’s is they want to run the ball and stop the run.

On defending UNI and the prospect of being in the playoffs.They’re a team that hasn’t turned it over in four games. We’re a team that lives off the turnover. Can we make that happen, can we run against them? They’re a team that has practiced stopping the run because they have to stop their own offense. When all is said and done and all the pretty things, it comes down to playing football. We’re in a tournament with the 16 best teams in the country.

Comparing UNI to a CAA team.They remind me of the athleticism and the fast teams like James Madison and New Hampshire. I saw that similarity.

On playing games on the road.No, we wouldn’t rather be on the road, but we aren’t fearful of it. We are 4-2 on the road.

Note: A trip diary, game recap and photos will all be posted online later this week as The Maine Campus will be making the trip Iowa this weekend.