For the second straight week, a number of positives turned in by the University of Maine’s football team were overshadowed by a fourth-quarter collapse, this time ending in a 28-27 loss to William and Mary in its Coastal Athletic Association opener.
UMaine was outscored by Football Bowl Subdivision team Liberty University 21-0 in the fourth quarter the previous week after being tied 7-7 entering the final period.
The William and Mary loss is particularly damaging because it was a conference road game and UMaine had all kinds of chances to win it.
But breakdowns in all three areas — offense, defense and special teams — proved costly.
UMaine jumped out to a 14-0 lead and was up 17-7 entering the third period.
And the Black Bears received the second half kickoff with an opportunity to extend the lead.
But the offense failed to move the ball on its first two possessions and two special teams mistakes helped gift Wiliam and Mary a pair of touchdowns.
On UMaine’s first possession of the second half, a blown blocking assignment resulted in a blocked punt which enabled the Pride to take over at the UMaine-17 yard line and they capitalized.
Another unproductive offensive series was followed by Anthony Pecorella’s short 30-yard punt, which gave the Pride good field position at their own 45 yard line and they went on to take their first lead of the game at 21-17.
To their credit, the Black Bears responded with a touchdown to recapture the lead at 24-21 late in the third period.
UMaine’s offense had a chance to all but sew up a win by moving the ball from its own 39 to the William and Mary seven yard line.
With first and goal at the seven, UMaine had a glorious opportunity to build a two-score lead halfway through the final period.
But three plays produced only two yards which resulted in a 22-yard field goal by Samuel Tremblay. That extended the lead to six but left the door open for the Pride to take the lead with a touchdown.
Another special teams mistake, when kicker Joey Bryson drilled the kickoff out of bounds for a penalty, gave the Pride the ball at its 35-yard line instead of starting deeper in its own territory.
Now it was left up to the UMaine defense, which had allowed William and Mary a paltry 39 rushing yards on 25 carries up to that point.
But seven running plays and 65 yards later, William and Mary had a 28-27 lead.
There was still 3:11 remaining and UMaine just needed a field goal to collect a win.
UMaine’s final drive got off to a good start with quarterback Carter Peevy running 10 yards for a first down at the UMaine 35-yard line.
But, on the next play, his pass was tipped and intercepted.
And the UMaine defense couldn’t give the ball back to the offense as the Pride salted the game away by again running the ball successfully to pick up two first downs.
The frustration continued for UMaine fourth-year head coach Jordan Stevens, who is just 2-10 in games decided by one score.
He said he was “still excited” about some of the good things his team did and feels he has a “really talented team on both sides of the ball.”
But he noted that his team needs to “execute and maintain a level of focus” for the entire game.
“We have to be able to focus in certain moments and seize those moments,” said Stevens. “We have to be able to execute. We had our opportunities.”
The defense held William and Mary to 253 total yards but the Pride scored touchdowns on all four of its drives into the red zone. And even though Stevens has been encouraged by the play of his defense, he said it has to come up with some stops in the red zone or at least limit the opponent to a field goal.
“We made too many mistakes during the duration of the game that led to the position we were in during the fourth quarter,” he said.
UMaine has allowed seven touchdowns on eight red zone chances through its first two games.
The positives include a rushing attack that is averaging 5.5 yards per carry compared to last year’s 3.4. Sincere Baines has averaged 7.3 yards per carry and has had games of 118 and 87 rushing yards; Rashawn Marshall is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and Peevy is at 4.2 after carrying the ball 12 times for 98 yards vs. the Pride.
Baines is 18th in total rushing yards among running backs at 118 Football Championship Subdivision teams with 205 yards.
Linebacker Christian Thomas has been an immense presence for the UMaine defense and is fourth in the FCS with his 14 tackles per game average.
The Black Bears will play their home opener against Stonehill on Saturday at 6 p.m. before traveling to play FBS school Georgia Southern the following weekend.
The passing game needs to improve. Peevy has completed just 44.8% of his passes after completing 66.6% a year ago.
Even though the defense has played better than expected considering all the newcomers and the first-year starters, it hasn’t forced a turnover and has only one sack.
And, most importantly, this team has to make plays at critical times to secure wins.
Good teams find ways to win, even if they aren’t at their best, because they believe in themselves.
This team needs to believe in itself.
