You can learn a lot from an underdog

A few audibles after the first real weekend of college and pro football…

University of Maine head coach Kirk Ferentz, coming off Saturday’s 27-24 “upset” win over New Hampshire, said he is not worried about his team overlooking this weekend’s home date with Division II Kutztown State, when the Bears will be favored. Not after a weekend that saw Div. II New Haven knock off I-AA Connecticut 14-13, I-AA The Citadel shock I-A Arkansas 10-3, and lightly regarded Cincinnati (coached by former UMaine boss Tim Murphy) scare the bejeepers out of mighty Penn State (24-20). Ferentz said Monday he and his staff only have to paste up the results of those games to remind the UM players what can happen when an underdog is taken too lightly….

Anyone who watched the Saints-Eagles game Sunday had to wonder why New Orleans head coach Jim Mora didn’t switch quarterbacks from obviously sore-armed starter Bobby Hebert to bullet-throwing backup Mike Buck, formerly of UMaine fame. From the start of the second half until the Saints final possession in the fourth quarter, Hebert completed 1 of 13 throws and was intercepted once. Most of the incompletions came on floaters that enabled the defense to react to the ball and either deflect it or strip it from the receivers’ hands. At one point Buck was shown warming up on the sideline, but Mora, perhaps because of Hebert’s huge contract, never pulled the trigger. The Saints wound up losing 15-13. A prediction: Buck is the starter by the end of September…

Count me among those glad the Russian National team pulled out of a Sept. 26 exhibition with UMaine last week. Nothing against the spirit of international competition and all, but this game was a no-win situation for both the Black Bears and the visitors. The expected blowout victory would prove nothing for Maine, do little to teach the Russians anything of value about the game and, quite likely, have resulted in some injured Russian players (not to mention the potential for injured UM players in a meaningless contest). Yeah, it was a nice PR event, but as a football Saturday, Maine fans deserve to see a real opponent, such as I-AA Liberty College, if the details for plugging the open date can be worked out….

John Elway has taken a lot of guff for never leading the Denver Broncos to victory in the Super Bowl, but the guy remains the clutchest QB with the game on the line with the possible exception of San Fran’s Joe Montana. Sunday night against the Raiders, Elway led the Broncos to a come-from-behind win for the 20th time in his 10-year career. Trailing 13-10 with 2:57 left in the game and the ball on the Denver-15, Elway drove Denver 85 yards in seven plays for the winning TD. He completed 3-of-5 throws for 72 yards. With Montana sidelined, there’s only one QB in the world I’d want leading my team down the stretch with everything riding on the outcome. Big John….

I should have listened to Pittsburgh Steeler offensive tackle Justin Strzelczyk. Talking to the former UMaine standout after the Steelers were shut out in the exhibition season 26-0 by the Saints last month, I asked Strzelczyk if he felt the new offensive system implemented by first-year head coach Bill Cowher and offensive coordinator Ron Ehrhardt was going to be a problem. “No way,” said Strzelczyk. “This system is going to put points on the board. It’s going to surprise some people. We have a lot of faith in it. We just had a bad game.” Sure enough, the Steelers stunned favored Houston 29-24 in the Astrodome Sunday in the opener, running a wide-open attack that featured reverses, a double-reverse and a key fake punt….

Who is No. 1, Miami or Washington? Given the hardship the ironically-named Hurricanes had to go through the past two weeks – many players had relatives and family suffering from the effects of Hurricane Andrew, yet they still beat Iowa 24-7 on the road – I’ve got to give it to Miami on guts alone….

Congrats to UMaine offensive coordinator Jack Cosgrove and wife Marilyn on the birth of a daughter last Monday. Her name? What else would a former QB call her: Jeri Kramer Cosgrove.