Bragging rights in the Northeast are up for grabs when the Maine Black Bears visit the Massachusetts Minutemen. The start time is 2:00 pm (Eastern) and the game will be televised on ESPN3. Current Odds have Maine listed as 3 point favorites, while the total sits at 42.
Analysis: The Black Bears, two wins shy of 500 all time, won three of their final four games last season and built momentum for this season. They continued with a nice 23-6 road win over Norfolk State in their opener. The Black Bears led the CAA in scoring defense last year and they started this year with some strong defensive play in the opener, holding the Spartans to just 244 yards of total offense and 6 points. Their pass defense really stepped up as the Spartan QB's Malike Stokes and Tyler Clark combined to hit just 13 of 37 passes for 144 yards and a mere 3.8 ypc. Offensively Maine was solid as they put up 377 yards, including 168 yards on the ground. They have a strong senior class, so there is good reason for optimism, as the last time the Black Bears had a strong senior season was back in 2013 and they qualified for the FCS playoffs that year.
Last year Umass did not transition well to the FBS level, going just 1-11 in their first year at this level. It was their worst season since 1957. This year it may not be that much better for them as they return just 11 starters overall, including 4 on offense. Umass started the year off with a 45-0 loss to Big 10 Power Wisconsin, in a game they they were totally outmatched in. The Minutemen were actually down just 17-0 at the half, before Wisconsin flexed their muscles in the 2nd half. The Minutemen were outgained 598 to 212 in the game and they allowed Wisconsin to go 8 of 11 on 3rd downs. This Umass team allowed 40.2 ppg last year and 459 ypg, so clearly they have allot more work to do on that side of the ball. Last year teams ran for 224 ypg on this defense and little has changed as they allowed Wisconsin 393 yards on the ground at 8.9 ypc. The Badgers had 4 TD runs in the game of 51+ yards. Umass lacks playmakers on both sides of the ball which should make for another long year for the Minutemen.
Pick: I will go with the Under in this one. Just don't see a whole lot of scoring from either team. The Umass off is horrid, while the Black Bears have one of the best defenses at the FCS level. Umass does have 7 starters back on the defensive side of the ball and Maine's offense isn't nearly as strong as Wisconsin's is. This should be a tight low scoring game.
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