Maine is for real folks

[MaineFan]

Maine is for real...i said it in pre-season not to overlook this team and they clearly have been especially in the A-10...then went into Lincoln Nebraska and with 10 minutes left were down by just 8 points to one of the 2 or 3 most storied college teams.

Maine has the blackhole back and appear they will be one of the top defensive units in the country. This team is young,talented and hungry! after a disappointing 2004 season.

and oh yeah remember this name Jovan Belcher! and hes just a frosh!

all im saying is lets give respect where its due...maine has come such a long way from being one of the biggest jokes in football to a ever so improving program.

[mainejeff]

I'm excited, but Maine has a lot to work on.

They have been terribly inconsistent over the past couple of years.

[89Hen]

Mucho kudos to Maine, but a 3-5 A10 Maine team beat a SEC team last year. We'll have to wait to pass judgement on the Black Bears.

[igo4uni]

I don't disagree.

peace

igo4uni

[MaineFan]

oh i agree...we will find out if this was a onetime deal or if this is what to expect from the bears this year.


onething i can say has improved is the dumb penalties after the play is dead.

[mainejeff]

My post-game grades....

Offense: D+ (O-line was biggest weakness, Whitcomb decision making)
Defense: A
Special Teams: C
Coaching: B

[mainejeff]

The Black Bear D is much improved.....you can take that one to the bank.

[MaineFan]

we def need to run the ball better...what happend to williams? not marcus but kien williams...i think he looked impressive at the end of the year.

[igo4uni]

Maine deserves a lot of credit for a good game played.

Lincoln, Nebraska is a very tough place for an opposing team to play. I have been there a few times and it truly is a big time game day atmosphere. For Maine to stay in the game is a compliment to their team. I know Nebraska is not the team that they used to be, but the point is still valid.

peace

igo4uni

[bulldog10jw]

Let's just call Nebraska "one of the most storied" college football programs.

Notre Dame
USC
Alabama
Michigan
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Penn State

just as storied.

However, great performance by Maine.

[JMU2004]

I am proud of Maine....but this IS NOT the Nebraska of old. Callahan will probably be run out of there if they don't win the Big 12

I am just glad to have Maine at home.....but also kinda scared to play them

At least I know 15,000 JMU fans will pack the stands.....but it wont sound like 80,000 Huskers!!!!

Our Home SCHEDULE is looking up ;-)

[JMU Duke Dog]

I am proud of Maine....but this IS NOT the Nebraska of old. Callahan will probably be run out of thier if they don't win the Big 12

I am just glad to have Maine at home.....but also kinda scared to play them

At least I know 15,000 JMU fans will pack the stands.....but it wont sound like 80,000 Huskers!!!!

Our Home SCHEDULE is looking up ;-)

Yes, the Family Weekend game against Maine is looking like a great game; however, the Dukes must take one week at a time. It is time to focus on Coastal Carolina starting tomorrow.

[89Hen]

time to focus on Coastal Carolina starting tomorrow.
Speaking of which, not much word on the CCU/Elon game. Coastal seemed to really struggle.

[blukeys]

I tuned into the game and it was great listening to the Nebraska radio announcers crap in their pants when Maine pullled up to 15-7. :) There was ample opportunity for Maine to pull this one out. They had some opening game screw ups and they need work on special teams but they were always in the game and never quit. The one killer play was an interception Nebraska ran back for a TD. That was really the game. Maine will be a factor in the A-10. But really, is that new? If any conference embodies the motto "Any Given Satruday" it is the A-10.

[bainsey]

It's hard to be grumpy after a loss like that. The only real downside is being led to excitement that another I-A upset was possible after Maine made it 15-7, only to see it fade away on that INT for a TD.

Still, the huge Husker boys were too big & quick and found ways to Whitcomb and Legree too often. The D-line and linebackers didn't give the UM QBs a lot of time to throw. (I think that D+ was a little unfair, Jeff. Gotta grade on a curve, here.) Whitcomb was sacked TWELVE times. I don't believe in "moral victories," but I suppose the scoreboard could have been worse.

There are three things that are encouraging:

*The Maine D only allowed the Nebraska offense in the end zone ONCE, and that was due to a punt return to the Maine 1. (I still thought he fumbled out of the end zone, but oh well.)

*Nice coaching, especially exposing the achilles heel when NU's star safety went out injured, and McMahan got the call to go right at his replacement for Maine's lone TD.

*Tenacity. The Nebraska announcers can talk all they want about NU's mistakes, but much of those mistakes were caused by Maine hitting.

The big question mark is how Maine will react to this game and fare the rest of the season. When Maine beat Mississippi State last year, it was almost if its season was made, and after that, A-10 teams figured out how to get through Maine's porous defense. Maine finished the year 5-6. Quite frankly, I'd rather lose to Nebraska and finish with a winning season, or better yet, a playoff berth. We'll have a better barometer when Richmond comes to town in two weeks.

[dwtime]

Let's just call Nebraska "one of the most storied" college football programs.

Notre Dame
USC
Alabama
Michigan
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Penn State

just as storied.

However, great performance by Maine.


You might add Miami to the above list, but agreed with point and all to Maine for a good showing.

[Cheevy]

I am proud of Maine....but this IS NOT the Nebraska of old.

Husker fans hate the hell out of their new West Coast offense and prefer Smash Mouth.

[Cap'n Cat]

WTF was the final score?

I'm too drunk to check!


:o :o :o :o

[bulldog10jw]

You might add Miami to the above list, but agreed with point and all to Maine for a good showing.



I thought about Miami, Fla. State, and Texas, but felt the ones I named have the longevity that separates them. May have been unfair to Texas.

[bkrownd]

Nebraska's still struggling to put things together, but it's nice to see Maine hang in there regardless. I bet they had fun. Hope Maine got some Runzas and Valentino's pizza after the game and enjoyed their visit to my beloved homeland. :D

[ChickenMan]

What was most impressive to me was that Maine held Nebraska to only 121 yrds rushing. Nebraska may not be the old Cornhuskers... but limiting them to 121 yrds on the ground is very impressive.

[JohnStOnge]

Maine is for real...i said it in pre-season not to overlook this team and they clearly have been especially in the A-10...then went into Lincoln Nebraska and with 10 minutes left were down by just 8 points to one of the 2 or 3 most storied college teams.

.

Great effort by Maine and impressive, but Nebraska WAS one of the most storied teams. They've ditched the system that made them what they were and they ain't what they used to be.

Don't get me wrong...they're still a BCS league team. But they're not the consistent national championship contender they were when they were running their physical, option-oriented offense.

[bkrownd]

Great effort by Maine and impressive, but Nebraska WAS one of the most storied teams. They've ditched the system that made them what they were and they ain't what they used to be.

During the mid-70's Nebraska was a fancypants passy-ball team for a while, until Osborne found that he couldn't win the Big 8 with that offense. What they ditched was the entire coaching staff, the remainder of a group that had been built over decades since Devaney's arrival in the early 60's. Last year the whole program started over from scratch.

[PapaBear]

1. Biggest difference was size and athleticism of Nebraska d-line. A shortcoming last year, the Husker d-line is senior-laden this year and came into the season expected to be the team's strongpoint. It didn't disappoint. Those guys should make a mess of their conference.

2. Second biggest difference was special teams play. Maine punting was inconsistent. Their returns and return coverage were not good, either -- while Nebraska's returns were lightning quick and its coverage tams were in UM's face.

3. Skill players were not much different. Maine had plenty of team speed to handle Nebraska. And although Ron didn't have a great night at QB, I still think he FAR outplayed Taylor from Nebraska, a JC transfer who showed a limp arm on several outs and who coughed up a panic INT inside the 5 while running for his life. I'd like to see that kid even SURVIVE the game with the kind of rush Whitcomb saw all night.

4. Several freshmen saw significant action for Maine, and -- as others have already said -- OLB Jovan Belcher from Long Island looks like he'll be a great contributor this year.

5. This game means absolutely nothing as far as predicting Maine's A-10 fortunes. It's a loooooong season and a tooooouuuuuugh conference.

6. If the respect of Nebraska's announcers or of 1A fans and teams, in general, is our goal, then we cannot just play them close. We must beat them. Furthermore, we must stop saying -- or even THINKING -- that playing them close is some kind of accomplishment. We have to permanently and thoroughly shake that mindset.

Early in the game I heard a Maine fan yell something very disturbing to a Nebraska fan, and it illustrates exactly my point. The Huskers had just made a stop or kicked a field goal or something ... I forget the circumtances ... and the Nebraska fan -- one of maybe three or four nitwits out of 78,000 first-class football fans and human beings -- yelled some mild insult at the 150-odd blue-and-blue wearers in Section 21. So our fan yells back, "Well we're a one double-a team and you're one-a, so don't be so impressed with yourself" (or something to that effect). I wanted to puke.

[mainejeff]

PapaBear.....How do you feel about Cosgrove's very public disdain for playing I-A games like these?

[PapaBear]

PapaBear.....How do you feel about Cosgrove's very public disdain for playing I-A games like these?

I wasn't aware Coach Cos had a disdain for playing 1A games. What has he said about it?

[blukeys]

Early in the game I heard a Maine fan yell something very disturbing to a Nebraska fan, and it illustrates exactly my point. The Huskers had just made a stop or kicked a field goal or something ... I forget the circumtances ... and the Nebraska fan -- one of maybe three or four nitwits out of 78,000 first-class football fans and human beings -- yelled some mild insult at the 150-odd blue-and-blue wearers in Section 21. So our fan yells back, "Well we're a one double-a team and you're one-a, so don't be so impressed with yourself" (or something to that effect). I wanted to puke.


Yeah this is not the kind of thing that says WE ARE MAINE AND WE'RE PROUD.
Too bad Ralph wasn't there as he would have B!tch slapped this guy back to Orono. :) :) :)

[blukeys]

5. This game means absolutely nothing asrs or of 1A fans and teams, in general, is our goal, then we cannot just play them close. We must beat them. Furthermore, we must stop saying -- or even THINKING -- that playing them close is some kind of accomplishment. We have to permanently and thoroughly shake that mindset.


One of the things I love about KC Keeler as a coach is his mind set that we go into every game expecting to win. After the '03 win over Navy KC stated that he didn't consider it an upset to beat Navy and that he expected to win every game we are going into. The depth difference that 85 scollies provides over 63 should not be as huge in the 1st game of the season before injuries hit. Maine had a very realistic shot to win this game at 15-7. The interception run back for a TD was a back breaker.

[SU1982]

I've read this thread with interest because I am both a Nebraska fan and a I-AA football fan.

Maine certainly deserves a lot of credit. Even though Nebraska is down, it is still a very tough place to play. The Maine players showed a lot of poise.

I hope the fans were treated well. Nebraska has a reputation for making people from other schools feel good about the experience...and they give the opposing players a standing-o at the end of each game, no matter the result.

From what I've read, Maine did have a lot of team speed and a very strong, disciplined defense. The 121 rushing yards came as the greatest shock to my system...that is a tremendous accomplishment. I'm sure Maine fans don't believe in moral victories, but that rushing total alone will cause Nebraska fans to remember Maine for a long time.

Good luck the remainder of the season.

[PapaBear]

I hope the fans were treated well. Nebraska has a reputation for making people from other schools feel good about the experience...and they give the opposing players a standing-o at the end of each game, no matter the result.

As I mentioned in my original post, the Nebraska fans were absolutely terrific. Even hours before the game, when my family and I were sitting in a bar downtown having a few beers (hey, you tailgate wherever you can!), the fans were gracious. Some sat with us and struck up conversations. Others kidded us goodnaturedly about our "minority" status. But there was zero intimidation. Not even a hint of trash talk.

Same was true in the stadium. There was one goober sitting near us who seemed to celebrate excessively whenever the Huskers did something good. But he was an oddball.

And, yes, the fans did cheer Maine's players -- before AND after the game. My son joked that they were almost too nice -- "Hard to work up a good hate for them," he said.

[SU1982]

My son joked that they were almost too nice -- "Hard to work up a good hate for them," he said.

:D People manage, believe me.

Glad you had a good experience. I'll be rooting for you the rest of the year, unless my Samford Bulldogs make the playoffs and draw Maine.