On one hand, four of the five starting offensive lineman, the starting quarterback, and eight defensive starters who helped lead the University of New Hampshire football team to a share of the Yankee Conference title last season are gone.

On the other hand, UNH Coach Bill Bowes knows how to recruit talent. His nine straight winning seasons (and 17 of 20) attest to the consistent quality of the Wildcats.

So what can fans expect from the relatively inexperienced UNH team that visits Alumni Field in Orono Saturday to battle Maine in both squads’ season opener?

Bowes, for one, can’t wait to find out.

“Right now, in terms of where we are as a football team, it’s hard to tell,” said Bowes, the all-time winningest Yankee Conference coach. “We have some outstanding skill players, kids who played for us in the past. And we have a lot of new faces in there, in some cases, kids who have never played who are going to be outstanding Yankee Conference football players. But they are redshirt freshmen. No one knows what they’re going to do when it’s for real.”

Fortunately for the newcomers, one player who already knows what to do when it’s for real is senior All-American tailback Barry Bourassa. The 5-foot-7, 165-pound scatback has led the I-AA nation in all-purpose yardage each of the last two seasons. Last year, Bourassa rushed for 1,185 yards and scored 21 touchdowns for the 9-3 ‘Cats.

Bourassa said it will be up to the young-but-huge UNH offensive line to determine what this season will bring, starting against Maine.

“I know there’s a lot of talent there. Now, it’s just a question of how they react in a game,” Bourassa said.

Anchoring that line is junior center Matt O’Neill of Waterville (6-4, 270), the lone returning starter. The new guys are 6-10, 320-pound senior right tackle Bob Jones, senior left tackle Rob Kinter (6-5, 300), sophomore right guard Matt Gibby (6-3, 265), and 6-3, 285-pound freshman left guard Steve Wagoner.

Rich Green, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior, takes over at quarterback for graduated Matt Griffin. Green isn’t, well, green. He stepped in for an injured Griffin to lead UNH to a 45-26 win over BU last season, completing 13 of 28 passes for 224 yards.

Veteran wide receiver John Perry, who burned Maine with an 87-yard TD reception in last year’s 38-20 UNH win, returns, along with speedy split end David Gamble. And senior fullback Mike Gallagher can both catch and run.

Defensively, the Wildcats will be led by returning starters in senior tackle Steve Dunn (6-3, 260), senior end Dwayne Gordon (6-2, 235), and senior cornerback Greg Lewis (6-0, 200).

GAME NOTES…. Maine Coach Kirk Ferentz announced Thursday senior tight end Mark Shaw will handle the team’s placekicking chores against UNH. Shaw beat out senior kicker Matt Tobin. Shaw, of Winchester, Mass., last kicked for his high school team, which won the state title…. Maine will be thin at fullback, where true freshman Ray Baur may start for ailing senior Gordon Willey (back). If Willey can’t go, Ferentz said Maine may have to use a split-back look with two tailbacks to spell Baur.