The University of Maine and Hofstra University football programs each have had a week to work out some of the early season kinks in losses to exceptional opponents.

The margin for error shrinks considerably tonight as Atlantic 10 season begins when the 0-1 Black Bears and the 0-1 Pride meet in an important league contest at 7:30 p.m. in Hempstead, N.Y.

UMaine is gunning for its third straight A-10 title, but must first beat a program that has won seven of the last nine meetings. The Bears rallied from a 17-0 deficit in Orono to beat the Pride last season.

“We’ve got to be at our best,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We have to play a tremendous football game to have success down there.”

Tonight’s contest features a showdown between two first-year quarterbacks in UMaine’s Ron Whitcomb and Hofstra’s Anton Clarkson. Whitcomb passed for 188 yards and a touchdown but fumbled twice in the loss to No. 4 Montana last week while Clarkson, a transfer from Division I-A Oregon State, was 5-for-8 against I-A foe Marshall after Hofstra starter Bobby Seck broke his arm.

Whitcomb will try to negotiate a Pride defense paced by Buck Buchanan candidate Renauld Williams, a talented linebacker. The Bears want to establish their run game behind Marcus Williams (70 yds. las t week) and a front five that was tested against Montana.

Christian Pereira (5 rec., 76 yds.) and Ryan Waller (5-23, 1 TD) headline a deep UMaine receiving corps. The Bears were hurt by three offensive turnovers in their opener.

The UMaine defense faces another significant challenge trying to slow down Hofstra’s run-and-shoot offense. The set is designed to spread out the defense, forcing the secondary to cover lots of receivers while opening up running room in the middle.

The Bears will look to Dan Joslyn, Dennis Dottin-Carter and Marcus Walton up front to disrupt the Pride at the point of attack, while LBs Fred Lazo and Jermaine Walker try to control the middle of the field.

The secondary must contend with slippery wideouts Ricky Bryant, a transfer from Ohio State, and Isaac Irby, who combined for nine catches last week. Safety Brandon McGowan anchors a defensive backfield that still lacks a lot of game experience.

Hofstra has a quick halfback in Trevor Dimmie (59 yds. vs. Marshall), the school’s all-time leading rusher, and also will use Irby to run the ball.

Offensively, UMaine must avoid the kind of costly turnovers that gave Montana the upper hand. And the Bears need to shore up their special teams, which allowed a kickoff return for a TD, and had a punt and a field goal blocked in the opener.

Both teams are dealing with some key injuries that will force backups to perform well in starting roles for their teams to be successful.