Four weeks into the season, the University of Maine’s football team was winless and en route to what was seemingly going to be a forgettable campaign.
A 13-10 home loss to Stonehill in game three was the low point.
It was Stonehill’s first ever victory over a Coastal Athletic Association team.
But the Black Bears have bounced back in dramatic fashion, winning five straight entering a Saturday CAA game at Hampton in Virginia.
They are 4-1 in the CAA and they are in contention for the conference regular season title.
UMaine fourth-year Jordan Stevens credited the players and assistant coaches for the turnaround.
“We knew there was a lot more football to play and the players and coaches continued to trust the process,” Stevens said. “They believed in how we were going to win and put it into action. They have executed.”
UMaine quarterback Carter Peevy has been instrumental in the turnaround.
In the four losses, two of which came at the hands of Football Bowl Championship teams, he completed 54 of 106 passes for just 412 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
In the five victories, he has completed 93 of 147 passes for 1,247 yards and nine touchdowns with three interceptions.
The running game has been impressive from day one with University of North Carolina Pembroke transfer Sincere Baines averaging 6.6 yards per carry (91-for-597) and Rashawn Marshall averaging 5.5 on 101 carries for 554 yards. Peevy has also had some important runs.
Having that balance between the running game and passing attack has been valuable. It’s much harder to defend a team that can throw and run.
Five players have caught at least 11 passes led by Harard transfer Scott Woods (43 catches, 484 yards) and Mo Irefin (28-for-321).
And the interior offensive line has remained intact and continued to improve with Andrew Kocan and Anthony Iliano at the tackle spots, Noah Stanley and Jack Boutaugh at the guard slots and Nicolas Cruji at center.
They have allowed only 14 sacks.
Maine has racked up 2105 yards of offense in its five wins and had 1153 in its four losses.
The defense has also been outstanding and Stevens has been most pleased by the team’s tackling.
Linebackers Christian Thomas and Latrell Couchman have been the catalysts; the totally rebuilt defensive line has exceeded expectations and the secondary has been strong.
Thomas has made a team-high 84 tackles including four sacks. Couchman has three sacks and 38 tackles. Safety Devin Vaught is second in tackles with 45 and leads the team with three interceptions and five pass breakups. Cornerback Vincent Nwachi has four pass breakups.
Defensive linemen Elias Sherman, Nicholas Kalume and Ta’kai Chisom and have combined for 10 of UMaine’s 19 sacks.
And kicker Sam Tremblay has been perfect, nine-for-nine on field goals and 26-for-26 in extra points so far.
Stevens has been using more players and said it is keeping players fresh.
Maine controls its own destiny.
Wins over Hampton, Rhode Island and New Hampshire would probably earn the Black Bears a FCS playoff berth and could land them the CAA title.
