The University of Maine’s 26-7 Colonial Athletic Association football loss to Villanova on Saturday was a source of frustration for coach Joe Harasymiak and his staff.
On six different occasions, the Black Bears penetrated Villanova’s 22-yard line.
They never capitalized. Not a single point for UMaine, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.
The only points came on a 97-yard kickoff return by freshman Earnest Edwards to open the second half.
UMaine’s offense was held scoreless as it was in the second half of its previous game, a 35-28 win over William & Mary. Mican Wright’s 67-yard punt return provided UMaine’s only second-half points.
UMaine had one opportunity in the red zone (inside opponent’s 20-yard line) in the second half at the William & Mary game but, on a fourth-and-one at the 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Dan Collins was tripped up after taking the snap and lost 3 yards.
On Saturday, three of UMaine’s six drives were thwarted by interceptions. A holding penalty stunted another drive, there was a missed 26-yard field goal by Patrick Leonard, and there were myriad miscues on another drive including a bad snap on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
Villanova went 4-for-4 in the red zone, and UMaine went 0-for-5, which Harasymiak said was the difference in the game.
“The last six quarters have been frustrating. I feel like we’ve moved the ball well. We had nearly 200 [first-half] yards [198] against a very dominant defense on Saturday, and [Villanova] showed why they’re who they are. They make plays. They don’t let you score,” he said.
“We have to continue to give our quarterback some looks in practice and do a better job making sure he’s prepared as well as he can be. We have to continue to stress the need to score touchdowns when we get into the red zone. Turning the ball over in the red zone kills you,” said Harasymiak.
Over the last four games, UMaine has converted only four of its 12 forays in the red zone into points with three touchdowns, while opponents are 10-for-12 with eight touchdowns.
On the season, UMaine is 13-for-24 in red-zone conversions, which is last among the 12 teams in the CAA.
“Danny’s got to make some plays, the line has to block better, and the backs have to break more tackles. It’s a combination of things [we have to do better],” said Harasymiak.
UMaine is eighth in the league in third-down conversions (35.2 percent) and last in fourth-down conversions (10 percent) even though it has the second-best passing offense (224.1 yards per game).
Collins has completed 139 of 266 passes for 14 touchdowns, but he has been intercepted 13 times, including four times on Saturday.
Trailing 3-0 with 2:14 left in the first half on Saturday and Villanova having just one time-out left, UMaine took over at its own 29. But Collins’ first play was a long pass down the middle of the field, and it was picked off by safety Rob Rolle.
Villanova capitalized on the turnover, marching 69 yards in six plays to build a 10-0 halftime lead.
UMaine’s inability to kick field goals also has forced it into situations where it has elected to try to pick up a fourth down rather than try a field goal. UMaine is one-for-seven on field-goal attempts, with Leonard one-for-six and Derek Deoul zero-for-one.
“There’s nothing we can do right now in terms of personnel. We have what we have, and we can’t change it. We’ve got to figure something out,” Harasymiak said.
The Black Bear defense continues to be victimized by big plays as Villanova had six plays of 22 yards or more.
“We held them to 94 yards rushing. We’ve got to continue to stop the run,” said Harasymiak, whose team was torched for 326 passing yards by sophomore left-hander Zach Bednarczyk, who completed 23 of 31 passes for three touchdowns with no interceptions.
“Our big players have to step up and make plays, and they didn’t. Their guys did,” said Harasymiak.
With just two regular-season games remaining, UMaine still has a chance to earn a berth to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs if it defeats Stony Brook on Saturday and beats archrival New Hampshire on Nov. 19 in Orono.
James Madison (8-1, 6-0 CAA) has all but locked up a berth. Villanova and UNH are both 5-1 in the CAA, and Richmond, UMaine and Stony Brook are 4-2.
UMaine and Stony Brook are each 5-4 overall, but two of UMaine’s losses come against Football Bowl Subdivision teams Connecticut and Toledo.
Harasymiak isn’t comfortable talking about playoff prospects just yet.
“To be honest, we’ll see what happens this week. We’re just going to focus on this one. Stony Brook is a very tough place to play, and it’s going to be a very physical game. We can’t afford to look forward. We’ve got to take care of this weekend. Hopefully, we can have that conversation next week,” said Harasymiak.