One more win.

With a spot in the Division I-AA playoffs likely riding on the outcome, the 17th-ranked University of Maine football team goes after a piece of school history today in its regular-season finale.

It’s the only game involving Maine colleges, as Maine Maritime Academy, Colby, Bates and Bowdoin have completed their respective seasons.

Maine (7-2) at New Hampshire (4-6), noon, Cowell Stadium, Durham, N.H.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Black Bears don’t need any additional motivation this week.

It could be the final game in a UMaine uniform for the seniors, who are trying to lead the team to its first postseason berth since 1989 and to seven league victories for the first time ever.

“We definitely don’t want to overlook New Hampshire, because if we do lose, that’s it, we don’t have a chance [at the playoffs]” said senior linebacker Ernie Svolto.

If that wasn’t incentive enough, it is the 90th renewal of a storied football rivalry among New England land-grant universities that began in 1903. To the winner goes the Brice-Cowell Muskat, which is named in honor of former UMaine coach “Foxy” Fred Brice and former UNH mentor Bill Cowell.

“You look at the record, 41-41-8 over 90 years. That’s awesome to me,” said Cosgrove, who likened the atmosphere of the game to the Massachusetts high school teams that traditionally play on Thanksgiving.

“That was a game where whether you were both 9-0 or you were both 0-9, it made your season,” he added. “It’s that big of a football game.”

The UMaine defense expects another stressful day as it tries to contain the multifaceted New Hampshire offense. The Wildcats feature a pair of game-breakers in senior quarterback Ryan Day and junior running back/receiver Stephan Lewis.

Lewis ranks third among Atlantic 10 rushers with 136 yards per game and is fifth with 5.3 receptions per outing. He is second in all-purpose yardage with 231.4 ypg.

Day is second in total offense with 276.3 ypg and ranks fourth in passing yardage at 227 yards per contest. He has completed 62 percent of his throws.

“We have to play disciplined and play hard,” Cosgrove said. “We’ve got to have great communication on their personnel groupings and formations. They do more than most teams in terms of their offensive presentation.”

UMaine looks to linebackers Stephen Cooper (90 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 interceptions) and Lofa Tatupu (52 tackles, 2 Ints.), along with free safety Dave Cusano (50 tackles, 2 Ints.), to set the tone.

The Bears rank second in the A-10 in total defense (314 ypg), scoring defense (19.9 ppg) and rushing defense (120.4 ypg).

Tailback Royston English and quarterback Jake Eaton headline the UMaine offense, which is a solid fifth in the league in total offense (377.4 ypg) and fifth in scoring at 28.1 ppg.

English needs one yard to become the Bears’ first 1,000-yard rusher in a season since Bob Jameson in 1996. He is only 73 yards shy of overtaking Jameson (2,756) for third place on UMaine’s all-time rushing list.

Eaton, who has been solid but unspectacular of late, has completed 140 of 251 passes (.558) for 1,855 yards and 17 touchdowns. His favorite targets are wideouts Stefan Gomes (53 rec., 689 yds., 8 TDs) and Paris Minor (44 rec., 661 yds., 3 TDs).

They’ll face a Wildcat defense that has been the most porous in the Atlantic 10. UNH has surrendered a league-high 33.5 points and 461 yards, including 250 through the air.

UMaine hasn’t won in Durham since 1989.