Three Maine football storylines to follow against Bryant
UMaine receiver Malik McNeely catches a pass as Bertin Placide of Merrimack defends during a Sept. 12 game in Orono. Maine will look to snap a five-game losing streak when it hosts Bryant on Saturday. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)
It’s been two weeks since the University of Maine football team dropped its fifth straight game with a 24-16 loss to Sacred Heart on Oct. 3 in Orono. Maine had a bye last week, during which it fired offensive coordinator Mikahael Waters.
The Black Bears (1-5, 1-2 Coastal Athletic Association) return to action when they host Bryant (4-2, 2-0 CAA) at 1 p.m. Saturday (FloSports; ABC in Bangor market). Here are three storylines to watch as Maine looks to end the skid.
Green-er pastures?
With Waters gone, running backs coach Sean Green takes over as interim offensive coordinator. Green is well-known in Maine, having won state titles as head coach of Cape Elizabeth High School in 2021 (Class C) and Portland in 2024 (Class A).
Green takes over a Maine offense ranked 121st of 124 Football Championship Subdivision teams in points per game (14.5). In Monday’s CAA press conference, coach Jordan Stevens said the goal is to “continue to find ways to be more balanced” offensively and praised his team’s response to the change.
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“I thought the guys have handled that type of change really well in how they’ve approached practice, and Coach Green has done an excellent job,” Stevens said. “This is not something that’s foreign to him in calling plays; it’s something he’s done in the past, so I have full confidence in his ability.”
The quarterback question
Through the first four games, Eddie Buehler was Maine’s unquestioned starter at quarterback. Yet in the second half at Elon on Sept. 26, Caden Drezek took over under center. Buehler again got the start against Sacred Heart before Stevens turned to Drezek in the second quarter.
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So, with a new offensive coordinator, what will the plan be this weekend? Will Buehler make his seventh straight start? Will the Black Bears turn to Drezek instead? Or will we see some combination of the two, as has been the case the past two games?
“In a perfect world, you’d always probably have one guy,” Stevens said. “I don’t have any answer for you on that right now, but we are working through the quarterback position and how we’re going to manage that this week.”
Up-and-down Bulldogs
On one hand, Bryant boasts an impressive 21-14 win over Princeton, which is 3-1. Yet the Bulldogs also needed a miracle — 10 points in the final 40 seconds — to pull out a win over North Carolina A&T, which might be the worst team in the CAA. Bryant also lost 28-13 at Brown.
This is an opportunity, then, for the Black Bears, who have had two weeks to prepare. The numbers don’t suggest a lopsided game — in fact, ESPN’s SP+ has the Bulldogs as just 1.3-point favorites. A win will be difficult, but it’s not impossible — and if Maine can pull it off, the trajectory of the season could change.
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Tagged: college football, maine black bears, UMaine Black Bears
Mike Mandell came to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel in April 2022 after spending five and a half years with The Ellsworth American in Hancock County, Maine. He came to Maine out of college after. More by Mike Mandell
