For the University of Maine football team, the key takeaway from Saturday’s 41-20 loss to fifth-ranked Villanova was its poor performance in the second half.
The Black Bears (2-3, 1-1 Colonial Athletic Association) trailed only 21-13 at intermission, but stumbled a bit in the third quarter. The Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 CAA) scored twice to maintain the upper hand on the way to a victory.
Coach Jack Cosgrove and his players were quick to point out their lack of execution in the second half.
“We have not been a good second-half football team this year, for the most part,” Cosgrove said.
“That’s a problem we’ve got to fix … if we’re going to win football games in the CAA, we’ve got to be a better second-half football team,” he added.
Statistically, the defense experienced similar problems in the second half as it had during the first 30 minutes. A handful of long pass plays plagued the Black Bears, who had trouble containing Wildcats quarterback John Robertson and his talented cast of receivers and running backs.
As it turns out, Villanova’s points scored and yardage numbers were nearly identical in the second half to those in the first half.
“We didn’t respond in the second half,” said UMaine senior safety Khari Al-Mateen.
“If we don’t get lined up [correctly] and we don’t make tackles, we don’t stand a chance against anybody,” he added.
It was the Black Bears’ offense that failed to get much going in the second half. The hosts managed only one touchdown and 87 total yards after the break.
Villanova coach Andy Talley explained that his team had hoped to take advantage of UMaine’s inexperience on the offensive side of the ball.
“What we were hoping is that with their young offensive line, and trying to break in a young quarterback, we could get some three-and-outs and get our offense an opportunity to go back and try to get some points on the board,” Talley said.
UMaine showed some good signs of things to come in the first half, when the offense scored 13 points and put up 189 yards, including 151 through the air.
“I felt like we really came out flying, really had a lot of energy in the first half,” said senior wide receiver Damarr Aultman.
Sophomore quarterback Dan Collins continued to show improvement while completing 20 of 35 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. However, he was sacked five times.
The Black Bears also had trouble running the ball, netting only 59 yards on 29 attempts.
“They still bit on all our play actions,” Collins said. “We still had open throws that I didn’t make. It’s all of us together.”
Cosgrove again pointed to the offense’s inability to move the ball consistently in the second half as a key issue.
“I was encouraged by our offensive productivity and some of the things we’ve advanced on, but there wasn’t enough of that happening in the third quarter,” he said.
Aultman said the emphasis moving forward will be on energy and execution.
“As a senior, I just have to do a better job of motivating the guys and staying focused, no matter what the situation we’re in, to believe that we can stay in the game and keep on fighting,” he said.
The always classy Talley offered some encouraging thoughts on the Black Bears, the offense in particular.
“I think it’s a team on the rise,” he said.
“It’s hard when you’re grooming a young quarterback with a young offensive line,” Talley explained. “[Collins] doesn’t have the time to make the throws that he wants to make sometimes. He has to hurry some things up, because the pass rush is coming.”
The UMaine offense will be tested again on Saturday when the Bears travel to Long Island, New York, to take on the defense-minded Stony Brook Seawolves in a 7 p.m. game.
One-man QB show
Collins’ continued improvement has enabled him to earn the lion’s share of the playing time at quarterback for UMaine.
He is 65-for-118 passing for 791 yards, with eight touchdowns and only one interception. Collins ranks fifth in CAA passing efficiency at 132.1.
However, UMaine is ninth in the league in scoring (15.4 points per game) and ranks last in total offense (239.4 ypg) and rushing offense (68.1 ypg) and is ninth in passing (171 ypg).
Freshman Drew Belcher, who debuted Sept. 20 at Boston College, did play on Saturday, but he took only eight snaps. He carried three times for four yards and was 1-for-3 passing for seven yards and was sacked once.