Coach Jack Cosgrove and his staff knew coming into 2014 season there were some significant holes to fill, especially on offense.
Two games, and three weeks, into the campaign, the magnitude of the rebuilding challenge has hit home for the University of Maine football team.
The Black Bears slipped to 1-1 with Saturday’s 13-10 loss at Bryant, where UMaine’s offensive struggles again were evident.
“We’ve got the right kind of young men there, it’s just getting the experience of Division I college football under their belt and growing them,” Cosgrove said Monday during the weekly CAA teleconference.
The Black Bears managed only 13 first downs and 277 total yards behind a reconfigured offensive line that included redshirt freshman tackle Isaiah Brooks and first-year tackle Jamil Demby, who made his collegiate debut in place of junior Ben Wezel.
Cosgrove praised the play of Bryant’s defensive line, which at times had its way with UMaine’s front five.
“They gave our freshman tackles a hard time, I’ll cut right to the chase on that,” Cosgrove said.
“We’ve all got to be patient with that (inexperience), especially coaches, because they want to win so bad and they want to achieve,” he added.
UMaine has mustered only 23 points in its first two contests. That is the poorest point production in back-to-back games for a Black Bears team since September 2008.
UMaine continues breaking in a new quarterback in sophomore Dan Collins. He completed 10 of 21 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown but was not intercepted on Saturday.
The Bears went 3-for-13 on third down.
Cosgrove said Collins’ learning curve has steepened because of the the inexperience in the line and at key receiver spots.
“We were inconsistent at the quarterback position, which is going to be part of the growing process here,” Cosgrove said. “He made some very good plays, some outstanding throws, but then at critical moments decision-making was not what it needed to be.”
Through two games, Collins is 18-for-41 passing with 243 yards, two TDs and no interceptions. He has a passing efficiency rating of 109.79.
Collins beat out freshman Drew Belcher of Reading, Massachusetts, for the starting job during training camp. The staff did not announce that decision until two days prior to UMaine’s Aug. 30 opener against Norfolk State.
Cosgrove on Monday expressed his apparent willingness to allow Collins and the offense to work some things out.
“There needs to be some patience probably on all of our parts, me included, in that area with regard to the development of the quarterback,” Cosgrove said.
That doesn’t necessarily mean fans couldn’t see another quarterback if things don’t improve.
“Anything’s possible. We’re going to put our best players on the field,” Cosgrove said.
It’s early in the season and he remains confident in the Bears’ potential because the players have demonstrated they are willing to put in the work to get better.
“We’ve got a lot of football to play and we’ve got a lot of improvement in front of us, we can see that,” Cosgrove said. “If we weren’t working as hard as I’ve seen this group work in practice and prepare, and [hadn’t seen] the energy that they bring every day and the excitement for the game, the tone of my voice would probably change.”
UMaine looks to fast-forward its progress in anticipation of Saturday’s 1 p.m. game at Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles are coming off a 37-31 home upset of then-No. 9 Southern Cal on Saturday night.
“The magnitude of the challenge certainly is there for us,” said Cosgrove, who conceded nothing.
“We’re going down there to win. We’re not going down there for show.”
Third-down breakdowns
The defense enabled UMaine to stay in position to win Saturday’s game, but ultimately could not make plays in key situations.
The Bears gave up only 29 rushing yards, but allowed 301 through the air, including a game-changing 41-yard completion on a trick play that set up Bryant’s game-winning touchdown — the first given up by UMaine this season.
“We didn’t think they’d be as efficient as they were in throwing the football,” Cosgrove said.
“They were 5-for-7 on third-and-8-plus (yards-to-go situations), which really hurt us,” he said.
Sophomore linebacker Chris Mulumba continued his dominating play in the middle with a game-best 13 tackles.
Junior cornerback Sherrod Baltimore overcame an injury to his right knee suffered against Norfolk State and made seven tackles with two pass breakups in his return to action.
Redshirt freshman Tayvon Hall made three tackles at the other corner as classmate Najee Goode missed the game because of a code of conduct violation.