By Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

University of New Hampshire coach Sean McDonnell got a good look at his team's defense Saturday against William & Mary -- especially in the second half.

William and Mary scored 31 points after halftime and posted a 38-34 victory at Cowell Stadium.

The Tribe had the ball for all but 8 minutes and 36 seconds in the second half, and took the lead for good when quarterback Jake Philips connected with D.J. McAulay for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds to play.

William & Mary scored on each of its five second-half possessions. UNH missed two field goals and an extra point in the loss. The Wildcats also turned the ball over twice and committed eight penalties.

"Just disappointed that we couldn't finish off a game in the second half," McDonnell said. "I think in that last drive we gave up four third-down plays. We've got to find a way to get (the defense) off the field in those situations. Saturday we didn't do it and we're 1-1 in the conference because of it.

The loss dropped UNH's record to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Wildcats slipped from fourth to 11th in The Sports Network's FCS Top 25 poll.

"Just a very tough loss," McDonnell said. "Hat goes off to William & Mary. They played exceptionally well on the road again."

UNH will play at Northeastern (2-4, 1-1) Saturday in a game that will be televised by Comcast Sports. The opening kickoff is scheduled for noon.

Northeastern is coming off last weekend's 28-24 loss to Massachusetts.

"We felt like we did things that lost the game rather than UMass doing an abundance of things to defeat us," Northeastern coach Rocky Hager said. "We play very physical football. We play hard-nosed. We give everything we've got."

Northeastern is seventh among CAA team in scoring offense (24.7 points per game) and eighth in scoring defense (27.8).

Beyond the bleachers

McDonnell on the facilities in the CAA's North Division compared to the facilities in the CAA South:

"Most of our teams up North here, we lag behind in some way, somehow in facilities with what's going on down South. You look at JMU, you look at Delaware, you look at William & Mary, you look at Towson ... Villanova. They're good facilities down there. Up here everybody's doing something ... (but) it's all Band-Aids compared to what everybody's doing down there.

"How does that affect your total program -- the recruiting wars, the recruiting world. This is an MTV generation in my mind. The kids want to see the bright lights, big-city stuff. There are other things our institutions up North have to offer. You got to find out in the recruiting process if that's what kids and families are looking for, and that's the challenge in this part of the country right now.

"We have plans to build a new stadium and haven't found the support for it yet. We got great plans to do it. A 13,000-seat stadium -- that would be tremendous up here. You gotta go on with what you're doing and sell what you can. I think what you have to (sell) is what the total package of your university is. The wining, the academics, the football program and the facilities."

Noteworthy

Northeastern linebacker Phil Higgins leads the CAA in tackles with 57 (34 solo), and defensive back Nate Thellen ranks first in interceptions (five). ... UNH's Mike Boyle leads the league in receptions per game (6.40). Boyle has 32 catches in five games. ... UNH is ranked second among CAA teams in both scoring offense (37.4) and rushing offense (194.0). The Wildcats lead the league in total offense (447.4). ... Northeastern senior Alex Broomfield is averaging 107 yards rushing per contest.