UNH hoping for success on the road
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
DURHAM -- How important is the University of New Hampshire's Colonial Athletic Conference game at Maine on Saturday?
The loser will drop to 0-2 in the conference and will be at the bottom of the CAA standings. In other words, it's very important.
"How big is this game? It's huge," UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. "You don't want to have two losses in the league. More importantly, it's the next one. I'm not even worried about thinking about who's next after this one, because this one is so, so important and so big for us."
UNH and Maine will meet Saturday (6 p.m.) at Maine's Alfond Stadium. UNH is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the CAA. Maine is 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
The Black Bears are coming off Saturday's 24-21 loss to William & Mary. Maine surrendered 21 fourth-quarter points in that loss and was penalized 11 times for 134 yards.
Maine played that game without running back Jared Turcotte, who missed the contest because of the birth of his first child.
"They're a team that plays very, very fast on the defensive side of the ball," McDonnell said. "Their secondary gets to the ball in a hurry. Up front, their solid in the defensive line.
"Offensively, they ran the ball very, very well last week against a good William & Mary team -- and that was without Turcotte, their best running back.
"We can't turn the ball over. We have to make sure we keep it in our hands. We have to stop the run. The games that we've won, Central Connecticut and Lehigh, we've done a good job of stopping (the run). We've got to make some things happen on special teams. We've got to make some plays.
"It's gonna be a Maine-UNH war."
OUT OF LINE
UNH was without five opening-day starters for last weekend's victory over Lehigh. Tight end Chris Jeannot, right guard Seamus O'Neill, right tackle Mickey DiLima, defensive tackle John Murray and middle linebacker Devon Jackson were those who missed the Lehigh game.
DiLima returned to practice Tuesday.
McDonnell said O'Neill and Jeannot will be game-time decisions.
GOOD AS GOLD
UNH senior quarterback R.J. Toman received this week's Gold Helmet Award (FCS level) for his performance in Saturday's 31-10 triumph against Lehigh.
Toman completed 26 of 37 passes for a career-high 348 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.
Through four games, Toman has completed 81 of 125 passes (64.8%) for 899 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks second in the CAA in passing yards per game (224.8) and total offense (246.8) and has now thrown for 6,500 yards -- fourth in UNH history -- and 54 overall touchdowns in his career.
FOOTNOTES
Both McDonnell and Maine coach Jack Cosgrove are coaching at their alma mater. McDonnell is 82-54 in 12 seasons at UNH (48-44 in the CAA). Cosgrove is 94-104 in 18 seasons at Maine (63-77 in the CAA). ... Maine is 0-2 at home this season. The Black Bears dropped a 3-0 decision to Albany in their opener. ... Maine quarterback Warren Smith, a transfer from Iona, has completed 71 of 106 passes (67 percent) with two touchdowns and two interceptions this season. ... UNH is averaging 26.2 yards per game. Maine is averaging 16.5 points per contest. ... UNH receiver Terrance Fox needs 124 yards to reach 1,000 receiving yards for his collegiate career.
