The University of Maine’s woes on the defensive side of the ball continued on Saturday in a 51-22 loss to Monmouth University in the Black Bears’ Coastal Athletic Association opener.
Monmouth, quarterbacked impressively by last year’s UMaine signal-caller Derek Robertson, racked up 632 total yards of offense.
That, coupled with Montana State’s 528 yards in its 41-24 victory the previous week, means UMaine has given up 1,160 total yards and 92 points in its last two games.
A team isn’t going to win many football games doing that.
If any.
Now, for UMaine optimists, it should be pointed out that Monmouth has the second-best passing attack among the 115 Football Championship Subdivision teams, averaging 378.3 yards per game through the air.
And no opposing quarterback is going to know the UMaine defense better than Robertson, who is now playing for his older brother, Jimmy, who is Monmouth’s pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Meanwhile, Montana State is the nation’s third-ranked team and has the second best rushing game, averaging 355.7 yards per game.
So how does UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens and his staff repair the defense?
“We have to find a way to be more multiple. We’re working through that now,” said Stevens in the weekly CAA coaches conference call with the media. “We aren’t going to sit here and just match up across the board. That has never been Maine (football). We have to continue to play to our identity in terms of who we are. We have to tackle better. We have to get off the field. We have to be better on third down.”
Third down defense was a big issue against Monmouth as the Hawks converted 11 of 15 third downs. They were also 2-for-2 on fourth down.
It has been an issue all season long as opponents are converting on 56.8 percent of their third downs which leaves UMaine in a tie for 109th among 115 FCS schools.
Opponents are rushing for 245.7 yards per game, which is 107th, and throwing for 242, which is 81st.
UMaine is 108th in total defense, allowing 487.7 yards per game.
UMaine’s defense was also again victimized by big plays, which are demoralizing.
None more so than the 94-yard touchdown pass thrown by Robertson to Josh Derry 23 seconds after UMaine had scored a touchdown on a two-yard Joe Gillette run to give itself a lifeline at 41-22 with 14:18 left in the game.
That was game, set and match.
That was the ninth play of 20 or more yards for the Hawks including six of 25 yards or more.
Montana State also had nine plays of 20 or more yards.
Colgate had just four explosive plays in UMaine’s season-opening 17-14 win.
But it is also important to note that the offense hasn’t held up its end of the bargain, either.
While Monmouth was building a 20-0 lead, UMaine was able to gain a mere 28 yards on its first three possessions.
UMaine trailed 27-7 at the half and the only points UMaine scored came on a 98-yard kickoff return by Trevin Ewing, who was named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Week.
If the defense is struggling, it is up to the offense to move the ball to keep them off the field, keep them fresh and put points on the scoreboard.
Going into the Monmouth game, the two keys for UMaine were to control the ball and pressure Robertson, who has a strong arm but is slow afoot.
Monmouth had a 33:04-26:56 edge in possession and UMaine never sacked Robertson, who completed 22 of 36 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns.
UMaine now has just three sacks in three games.
There is no simple answer.
You can’t pin UMaine’s 1-2 start just on the defense.
In order to win, they have to play complementary football.
The offense can’t be non-existent for a half and force the defense to keep trotting onto the field.
But the UMaine defense has to come up with those third-down stops to get off the field, too, and give the offense a chance to get rolling.
And the defense has to get pressure on the quarterback even if it means employing a series of risky blitzes which often leaves the cornerbacks and safeties in one-on-one coverages.
The Black Bears can’t give quarterbacks at this level ample time to throw the football.
They have to return to UMaine’s identity of being hard-nosed, physical and aggressive.
A unit nobody wants to play against.
The good news for the Black Bears is they don’t have time to dwell on the Monmouth game.
They travel to North Andover, Mass. on Saturday afternoon (1:00) for a non-conference game against a 1-2 Merrimack College team that is coming off a 31-21 win over Bucknell after losing to a pair of teams in the higher-level Football Bowl Championship Subdivision: the U.S. Air Force Academy (21-6) and UConn (63-17).
There will be no excuses for a sub-par performance against a Merrimack team that is certainly good but not nearly as good as Montana State or Monmouth.
