With practice in the Carrier Dome having ended, Warren Smith took a moment last Friday afternoon to show off.
The University of Maine’s sophomore quarterback positioned himself beyond the 50-yard line with a football and uncorked a rainbow heave. The ball sailed through the uprights — 60-plus yards away.
Black Bears coach Jack Cosgrove quickly admonished Smith, pointing out the possibility of him hurting himself with such a strenuous throw.
The demonstration was a fitting reminder of Smith’s arm — which he showed off during Saturday’s 41-24 loss to Big East Conference member Syracuse.
Making his first start for UMaine, Smith passed for three touchdowns, including a 56-yard strike to Landis Williams, while completing 24 of 35 passes for 305 yards.
“We put him in because all you have to do is watch him in practice. He’s a good player,” Cosgrove said of the decision to start Smith.
It was the first 300-yard passing performance by a UMaine quarterback since Ron Whitcomb threw for 422 yards in a loss to New Hampshire on Nov. Nov. 20, 2004.
Aided by more aggressive play-calling, Smith provides UMaine with the ability to stretch defenses by throwing downfield and to the outside.
“He has a very strong arm, an accurate arm,” said Cosgrove, who explained the staff began preparing last week to use Smith and end the platoon system that had included senior Mike Brusko.
“We had to make sure he [Smith] had to handle the game plan properly. We made that decision on Friday,” Cosgrove said.
However, he tempered the talk about the offensive exploits by stressing UMaine lost the game and that Smith has plenty of room for improvement.
“I was disappointed in turning the ball over,” Cosgrove said of the two interceptions.
“He gets greedy [trying to make the long throws] and we’ve got to calm that down,” he added. “Those are things we’ve got to coach and live with sometimes working with a young quarterback.”
One of the prime beneficiaries of the new-look offense was senior wide receiver Landis Williams. The Bears’ best deep threat made six catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
“I was excited going into the game,” said Williams, who now has 18 receptions for 228 yards and four TDs in three games.
He leads the Colonial Athletic Association with 6.0 catches per game and 76.0 receiving yards per contest.
“I didn’t have much thinking to do,” Williams said. “I knew just had to go out there and try to play my best and execute the plays that he [offensive coordinator Kevin Bourgoin] was calling and catch the balls that Warren was throwing.”
Sophomore tailback Derek Session was UMaine’s top receiver against Syracuse, grabbing seven passes for 61 yards.
“He’s got great hands,” Cosgrove said. “He can catch it on the run and turn it into something, which is exciting for us.”
UMaine seeks complete game
While the Bears had reason for some optimism after the Syracuse game, they were not happy with the result.
The biggest letdown was the inability of the team to sustain its outstanding first-half play during the last 30 minutes.
“We didn’t execute the way we did in the first half,” Cosgrove said. “I didn’t think we were fighting as hard. Whether we got happy with the first half of whatever, that’s the disappointing part for me, to see it get away from us as it did.”
It was the second straight game during which UMaine played well early, but faltered in the second half.
“We put the picture out there of what we need to do and how we need to play,” said senior linebacker Brandon McLaughlin. “Finishing like that, that’s not acceptable.”
The Bears will redouble their efforts in practice and in the meeting room this week as they prepare for Saturday’s 6 p.m. CAA clash against Delaware at Alfond Stadium in Orono.
“We’re not going to put a sugar coating on it that we almost beat a I-A [BCS] team,” Smith said. “We lost and that’s not acceptable to us, not acceptable to coach Cos[grove].”
Black Bears’ Coston feeling OK
Sophomore safety Trevor Coston experienced some scary moments Saturday night.
Coston was injured in the fourth quarter while making a tackle and apparently experienced some numbness or tingling in his extremities.
The Syracuse medical staff decided to immobilize his head and take him by ambulance to a local hospital. Coston was X-rayed and examined, then released in time to make the trip home on the charter flight.
“He’s fine,” Cosgrove said Monday.
“He’s been cleared to play this week. That was a scary moment there and they took all the precautions necessary and handled it well.”
Coston has been in on 21 tackles and has made three interceptions in four games.
Syracuse on 2010 UMaine slate
UMaine football will again travel to Syracuse for its Bowl Championship Subdivision game in 2010.
Athletic director Blake James said the Bears are expected to open the season against the Orange in the Carrier Dome.
In 2011, UMaine will travel to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to take on the Pitt Panthers, another Big East program.