Now that the University of Maine football team’s Football Championship Subdivision playoff chances have gone by the wayside following Saturday’s 31-25 loss at Elon, the Black Bears will be looking to finish the season by claiming the Brice-Cowell Musket with a home win over arch-rival New Hampshire at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Morse Field in Alfond Stadium.
The musket is what the two teams play for.
A win would also produce a .500 season both overall (6-6) and in the Coastal Athletic Association (4-4) for the Black Bears.
And it could bounce the Wildcats from the FCS playoffs as they will come into the game with an overall record of 7-4 and a CAA mark of 5-2.
The Black Bears would like nothing better than to end UNH’s playoff aspirations because the Wildcats have certainly done that to them.
In 2013, UNH didn’t prevent the Black Bears from making the FCS playoffs with its 24-3 regular-season ending victory in Durham, but the Wildcats came to Orono two weeks later for a FCS playoff game and eliminated the Black Bears 41-27.
The loss to Elon was frustrating.
With the other favorable CAA results over the weekend, a win would have given UMaine a legitimate chance to make the playoffs if it had gone on to beat New Hampshire.
There were two important third-quarter sequences that proved particularly costly for the Black Bears.
The first one was when the Black Bears took a delay-of-game penalty on third down at the Elon one-yard line while trailing 14-10.
Then, after the ball was moved back to the six, quarterback Carter Peevy threw an interception which led to a touchdown drive.
That turned out to be a 14-point swing.
UMaine coach Jordan Stevens said they were waiting to get a response on where the ball was going to be spotted at the one-yard line and “unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay in the process and get the snap off in time. It starts with me. I have to be better in that situation.”
But Peevy also can’t throw an interception because, in the worst case scenario, UMaine kicks a field goal and trails 14-13 rather than 21-10.
Then, later in the third quarter, after UMaine scored to pull within 21-18, the Black Bears gave up a 70-yard TD pass on Elon’s first play from scrimmage.
Another example of UMaine being hurt by a big play.
Elon averaged 17.6 yards per completion compared to UMaine’s 12.3.
Stevens said the team competed “really hard all game” but “didn’t perform up to our standards” when it came to situational football.
UMaine went just 2-for-12 in third downs compared to Elon’s 6-for-14.
The Black Bears also struggled to run the ball, gaining just 59 rushing yards.
That made the Black Bears more predictable and easier to defend.
UMaine is averaging 136 rushing yards per game in its wins and 97 in its losses.
So now it is on to the New Hampshire game.
The beauty of rivalries is the games are always meaningful regardless of the records.
“This game is everything. It’s the most important game on our schedule,” said UNH head coach Rick Santos. “To get an opportunity to play for (an FCS playoff berth and national championship), there is no other place I would rather be than going against our arch-rivals, up there.
“It’s going to be a real tough contest. It’s going to be a slugfest. They’re a very good football team. We know Maine is going to give us their best shot so we’d better be prepared to play our best game of the year. I couldn’t be more excited about it,” added Santos, a former standout UNH quarterback.
UNH is coming off a great come-from-behind victory over Stony Brook as the Wildcats erased a 30-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 31-30.
“(Beating New Hampshire) is a goal of ours every year,” said Stevens, a former UMaine all-conference defensive end. “It’s a rivalry game and we’re fortunate to be a part of it. We have a ton of respect for New Hampshire and what they continue to do every year. We are going to approach the game like every game … with a level of humility, a level of preparation and respect for our opponent.”
After back-to-back 2-9 seasons, the Black Bears are headed in the right direction with five wins to date.
But a win over New Hampshire would be special and give the Black Bears momentum for 2025.