The only people who know whether the University of Maine football team is in a good position to earn a Division I-AA playoff spot are the members of the NCAA selection committee.

That group won’t make its picks until after Saturday’s games. The pairings will be announced Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net New England.

That leaves Black Bear coaches, players and fans guessing about UMaine’s postseason prospects.

UMaine (8-2) is ranked 17th in both of the Division I-AA national polls this week. Only 16 teams advance to postseason, with eight earning automatic berths awarded to conference champions.

The Bears, who capped the regular season with a resounding 57-24 win at New Hampshire, are out of the chase for the Atlantic-10 title – which will go to either Villanova or Hofstra – and must earn one of eight at-large spots.

“I really believe three teams from the conference will go to the playoffs,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We want to be one of those three teams. We’ve got a lot of better football in front of us, too. I think the committee will see that.”

The Bears are viewing this week as if it were a bye week. They practiced Monday and Tuesday, but were scheduled to return to their homes for Thanksgiving and return to campus Sunday to watch the selection show.

“We have quality wins, [we’re] ranked, too; [playing in] the best conference in America,” began junior quarterback Jake Eaton. “We won big games at home. We’ve won big games away… I don’t know how you can argue with that.”

Tony Moss of The Sports Network sees the Bears in the postseason picture. In his special report on TSN’s Internet site, Moss lists UMaine 12th on the list of teams likely to make the playoffs.

“Seven wins in that league should be just enough to put Jack Cosgrove’s team in the field for the first time since 1989,” Moss writes. “Where the team will be placed in the bracket is anyone’s guess.”

While such a vote of confidence may be comforting, Moss isn’t on the selection committee.

Moss figures No. 10 Hofstra (9-2) to be a virtual lock, while the winner between No. 15 Villanova (8-2) and No. 20 William & Mary (7-3) should determine the third A-10 playoff team.

Five teams are already in by virtue of automatic qualifiers. They are No. 1 Montana (9-1), the Big Sky Conference champion; No. 3 Eastern Illinois (9-1), Ohio Valley; No. 5 Lehigh (10-0), Patriot League; No. 7 Northern Iowa (9-2), Gateway; and unranked Florida A&M (7-3) of the Mideastern Athletic Conference.

Among the teams viewed as sure things are No. 2 Georgia Southern (9-1), No. 4 Furman (8-2), and No. 13 Sam Houston State (9-2), while No. 16 Northern Arizona (8-3), No. 12 Western Kentucky (8-3), No. 14 Northwestern State (8-3) and No. 18 Eastern Kentucky (8-2) all are good bets.

Moss lists No. 11 McNeese State (7-3), No. 9 Appalachian State (8-3), No. 6 Youngstown State (8-2), No. 8 Grambling State (8-1) and No. 22 Rhode Island (7-3) among the “bubble” teams.

Montana, Georgia Southern, Furman, McNeese, Youngstown and Grambling play this week in addition to the Villanova-William & Mary contest.

There are other measurable factors that seem to reflect positively on UMaine’s postseason quest. According to the computer rankings compiled by Jeff Sagarin for USA Today, the Bears are the No. 63 team in all of Division I college football.

UMaine is behind only A-10 rival Villanova (No. 60) among I-AA schools and it leads Hofstra (64) and even top-ranked Montana (74).

Further supporting a UMaine selection is the fact the Atlantic 10 is the highest-rated I-AA conference in the land and is No. 12 overall, according to Sagarin. The Southland, home to Sam Houston, McNeese and Northwestern State, checks in at No. 13 among the conferences.

The waiting game ends Sunday.

“We come back Sunday and see who we’re playing,” Cosgrove said.

Eaton earns Gold Helmet Award

UMaine junior quarterback Jake Eaton earned a coveted weekly honor on Tuesday when he was named the winner of the Coca Cola Gold Helmet Award, which is presented by the New England Football Writers.

The award is presented to the outstanding Division I-AA, II or III football player for a given week.

Eaton completed 22 of 33 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns in Maine’s 57-24 win over New Hampshire. He also rushed for two touchdowns.

UMaine baseball signs 5 recruits

The University of Maine baseball team has signed five players to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period for the 2002-2003 season.

Righthanded pitchers Greg Norton of South Portland and Brett Rogers of Orrs Island are among the players who plan to play for coach Paul Kostacopoulos beginning next fall.

UMaine also has signed middle infielder Steve Gambale of Medford, Mass., righthander Troy Martin of Dover, N.H., and outfielder Joe Hough of Catholic Memorial High in West Roxbury, Mass.

“We’re extremely excited about this year’s class,” said Kostacopoulos, who led UMaine to a 36-15 record, a second-place regular-season finish in America East and a No. 1 New England ranking last spring. “All five of these guys are good.”

Norton, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, was a standout for South Portland High, while Rogers (6-4, 225) was a standout at Mount Ararat High in Topsham.

The Bears have only one senior for the 2002 season, outfielder Mike Ross. Kostacopoulos hopes the addition of three big righthanders can bolster a staff led by Mainers Mike Collar of Scarborough and Mike MacDonald of Camden.

Moore signs with UMaine

Lisbon’s Greg Moore, who led St. Dom’s High School of Lewiston to the State Class A hockey championship in 2000 and is currently playing for the United States National Development Program, has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Maine.

The six-foot-one winger has three goals and four assists in 18 games for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based team this season. He was the seventh-leading scorer for the U.S. Under-17 team a year ago with eight goals and 12 assists in 69 games.

During the 1999-2000 season, he amassed 32 goals and 40 assists in 31 games for St. Dom’s.

“Greg has proven through USA Hockey that he can compete at the elite level,” said Maine interim head coach Tim Whitehead. “We feel he will help our team as a power forward. The fact he is from Maine makes this signing even more special.”

The admission of all student-athletes is contingent on following NCAA rules, including registration with the NCAA Clearinghouse.