Any coach will tell you that when it comes to crunch time, the period at the end of the season when teams are jockeying for playoff position, they want to be in position to control their own destiny.
They don’t want to have to rely on other teams to help them earn a playoff berth.
University of Maine football coach Joe Harasymiak and his Black Bears (4-3, 3-1 CAA) have put themselves in position to control their own destiny thanks to a four-game winning streak that includes three Colonial Athletic Association victories.
But the road to a berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs is going to be a challenging one.
The only team remaining on UMaine’s schedule that isn’t ahead of Black Bears in the CAA standings is Saturday’s opponent, William & Mary, and the Tribe will be refreshed coming off a bye week.
William & Mary (3-4, 1-3 CAA) hosts the Black Bears at 3:30 p.m. in Williamsburg, Virginia.
After that, UMaine hosts Villanova (6-2, 4-1 CAA) on Nov. 5, visits Stony Brook (5-2, 4-0 CAA) on Nov. 12 and entertains archrival New Hampshire (5-3, 4-1 CAA) on Nov. 19.
Six CAA teams have lost only once or not at all in league play.
Harasymiak was pleased with Saturday’s 28-21 win at Rhode Island, which was highlighted by five UMaine interceptions.
The Rams still racked up 430 yards of offense after entering the game with a league-low average of 237.6 yards per game. Redshirt freshman Jordan Vazzano threw for 347 yards.
Even more concerning for Harasymiak was the fact Rhode Island had five plays of at least 25 yards.
“We’ve got to eliminate big plays,” said Harasymiak, who added that UMaine must continue to improve its tackling.
He is aware of the logjam atop the CAA standings but said he just goes “week to week” and doesn’t focus on the standings.
“We just want to go 1-0 every week,” he said.
Run game gains momentum
UMaine’s running attack has continued to be more productive, which adds valuable diversity to the offense.
Freshman Josh Mack (11 carries, 115 yards) rushed for over 100 yards for the second time in a four-game span. He had gained 151 against Bryant.
Mack leads the Black Bears with 368 rushing yards on 59 carries. Zaire Williams and Darian Davis-Ray have each rushed for 238 yards.
UMaine has run for at least 187 yards in three of its last four games.
The offensive line has done a nice job, according to Harasymiak.
“We don’t have any All-CAA players on the line, but they have a lot of CAA experience,” he said. “We feel they can still get better.”
Senior quarterback Dan Collins struggled to the tune of a 13-for-30 completion rate, but he still threw for two touchdowns, including the 43-yard game-winner to Micah Wright.
Harasymiak defended his quarterback to a degree.
“Dan did a good job managing the offense. He didn’t throw an interception, and it was a wet day,” said Harasymiak. “He didn’t have his best game. He missed some throws. He has to make better reads.”
Collins has completed 102 of 198 passes for 1,502 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions.