Technically, Saturday’s University of Maine-University of Rhode Island football game at Morse Field inside Alfond Stadium is a regular season contest.
But, for all intents and purposes, it’s a playoff game.
And if the Black Bears win, which would be their seventh in a row, the following Saturday’s regular season finale at the University of New Hampshire would also have to be considered a playoff contest.
Entering this weekend, URI is the only CAA team that is unbeaten in conference play at 6-0. Villanova (6-1), UMaine (5-1) and Monmouth (5-1) each have one loss and William and Mary (5-2) and New Hampshire (4-2) have two losses.
UMaine has to win both games to keep alive its hopes of earning a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth. It would ensure that UMaine would at least share the CAA regular season championship, record-wise.
The Black Bears haven’t played Villanova or Monmouth.
The beauty of the situation is that the Black Bears essentially control their own fate, although there are still scenarios which could prevent them from going to the FCS playoffs even if they beat URI and New Hampshire. But you still have to like their chances if they win out.
The fact they are even in the playoff and conference championship picture is remarkable.
After losing their first four games including one to heavy underdog Stonehill at home which represented Stonehill’s first ever victory over a CAA school, the season was seemingly lost.
It would just be a matter of could the Black Bears still salvage a respectable record.
The word “postseason” was never mentioned.
But after six consecutive wins, here they are.
UMaine fourth-year head coach Jordan Stevens didn’t dwell on the importance of this week’s game during Monday’s weekly coaches’ press conference, but acknowledged that everyone is aware of the situation.
“Anything around the game is external,” Stevens said. “We know where we are in the season and what we’ve done and what game we’re in. We’re aware of all of those things.”
His primary focus was having a great week of practice.
“We have so many examples of how we practice showing up in games, good or bad,” Stevens said.
That has gone both ways, Stevens said, with the things the Blacks Bears have done well in practice helping them during games and the things left uncorrected coming back to hurt them.
“We’re just really looking to go 1-0 this week and know that’s all we can really control,” Stevens added.
The dramatic turnaround has resulted from a number of things. Those include a totally revamped defensive line, which has been instrumental in the Black Bears registering five sacks in each of the last three games and limiting opponents to a league-low 300.8 total yards and 119.9 rushing yards per game over the 10 games.
The 300.8 yards per game allowed is 11th best in the FCS.
The 21.3 points allowed per game is second best in the CAA and 25th in the FCS.
Defensive linemen Elias Sherman, Ta’kai Chisolm and Nicolas Kalume have 5.5, 4.5 and 3.5 sacks, respectively.
Linebackers Christian Thomas (92 tackles, 5 sacks) and Latrell Couchman (42 tackles, 3 sacks) and safety Devin Vaught (49 tackles, 3 interceptions) are having terrific seasons.
Stevens said his defense has done a much better job “caging the quarterback” by keeping opponents in the pocket; limiting explosive plays and stopping teams on third down.
As Stevens has mentioned before, his team takes “immense pride” it its ability to tackle, and that has been pivotal in the turnaround.
Offensively, the Black Bears are a throwback to the old UMaine teams that pounded the football down your throat with their running attack. But this team also has running backs capable of breaking off long runs at any time.
The Black Bears’ 173.1 rushing yards per game is third best in the CAA. Running backs Sincere Baines and Rashawn Marshall are sixth and seventh in the CAA in rushing yards per game at 64.4 and 61.9, respectively.
Graduate student quarterback Carter Peevy’s resurgence following a slow start, including eight touchdown passes in his last three games and 13 during the six-game winning streak have been supplemented by his impactful runs. The addition of Harvard transfer Scott Woods (team-high 46 catches, 506 yards; 25.9 yards per punt return) has also been vital as has the play of the offensive line.
The line has allowed just 15 sacks and has been opening holes for the running backs.
As a team, UMaine’s 19.57 yards per punt return leads all of FCS.
Stevens knows his team will be facing a stiff challenge on Saturday at 1 p.m., calling URI a “terrific team.” And he is looking to have a “great crowd” on hand to support his team.
UMaine and URI have had some epic battles with the most memorable occurring in 2018, the year the Black Bears reached the FCS playoff semifinals for the first time in program history.
URI took a 36-35 lead with 51 seconds left but UMaine strung together a nine-play, 54-yard drive to win it on Kenny Doak’s 39-yard field goal as time expired.
URI has won the last three meetings after UMaine had won 11 in a row.
Eight of the last 16 games have been decided by one score.
