The death Monday of University of Maine men’s hockey coach Shawn Walsh has put an emotional damper on the entire university community this week.

The Black Bear football team hopes to pay tribute to Walsh Saturday by earning a victory in its Atlantic 10 clash against James Madison.

James Madison (1-2) at Maine (1-1), 7 p.m., Morse Field, Alfond Stadium, Orono.

The Bears are hoping to continue the offensive momentum generated in last week’s 51-44 loss at Hofstra. Quarterback Jake Eaton was sharp against the Pride and wideouts Stefan Gomes and Paris Minor had breakout games.

Defensively, UMaine looks to make a better showing against JMU, which is a young squad. The Bears likely will try to pressure Dukes freshman QB Clayton Matthews, who has been steady in two outings (17-for-32, 249 yards).

“They’re playing a lot of inexperienced kids in the offensive line, too, but they have a lot of talented kids blended in there,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove.

Linebacker Stephen Cooper leads UMaine with 18 tackles and corner Jarrod Gomes has 15. End Marcus Walton also has been outstanding with six tackles for a loss.

Brannon Goins is averaging 111 rushing yards per game for the Dukes, who have mixed the run and the pass well.

The JMU defense is strong, led by talented linebackers Derrick Lloyd (49 tackles) and Derick Pack (37). The Dukes must contend with Bears tailback Royston English, who ran for 112 yards last week.

“Their two linebackers, Pack and Lloyd, are as good as any we’ll see all year long,” Cosgrove said. “We’ll be very much challenged on the offensive side of the ball.”

Maine Maritime (0-3) at Bridgewater State (1-2), 1 p.m., Bridgewater, Mass.

The Mariners head back on the road trying to bounce back from a 21-0 loss to UMass-Dartmouth.

MMA struggled offensively and QB Pat Bard of Winslow was sacked nine times. The defense had a few breakdowns against the pass, but had a good second half.

The Bears, who lost to Framingham last week, are off to a slow start. Their defense has been a bit too forgiving.

Colby (0-1) at Middlebury (1-0), 1:30 p.m., Middlebury, Vt.

The White Mules look for their first win on the road after dropping their opener against Williams. Colby hopes to tighten up its defense against the Panthers, who are usually quite stingy.

The Mules threw the ball 51 times a week ago and may look to establish more balance.

Saturday’s other games: 0-1 Bowdoin at 1-0 Amherst, 1-0 Tufts at 0-1 Bates.