Maine solid despite losing Bears keep pace against Nebraska

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LINCOLN, Neb. – Memorial Stadium was a roaring blur of bright-red shirts Saturday night as the University of Nebraska faithful turned out to watch the Cornhuskers’ football season opener against Maine.

The Black Bears made sure most of the 77,469 fans, who accounted for Nebraska’s 269th straight shutout, squirmed in their seats – and remained in them much longer than they likely had anticipated.

Bo Ruud returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown with 9:58 left, then Chris Congdon kicked a 23-yard field goal with 4:40 remaining, finally giving Nebraska some breathing room in a closer-than-expected 25-7 victory over the Black Bears.

Even in defeat, the UMaine contingent couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

“There were a lot of smiles in the locker room,” said UMaine senior linebacker Justin Knox of Rome. “You obviously always want to win, but to come out against a team like this was a really humbling experience.”

Division I-A Nebraska survived a gritty effort by coach Jack Cosgrove’s I-AA Bears, who tested the Big 12 icon less than a year after shocking Mississippi State in Starkville.

“Openers are tough games … sometimes you don’t know what to expect,” said ‘Huskers coach Bill Callahan. “But you’ve got to give Maine credit, they played hard.”

After the game, the Bears received hearty hugs and handshakes from the ‘Huskers whose fans saluted UMaine with an appreciative ovation as it exited the field.

“I got goosebumps walking off the field from the fans here. I know our players did, too,” Cosgrove said.

“I think that’s what they saw from Maine tonight, a bunch of young guys that played real hard and gave everything they had and just didn’t have enough,” he said.

Despite struggling on offense (145 total yards, minus-6 rushing), the Bears were within striking distance in the fourth quarter thanks to a valiant defensive effort.

With senior linebacker Jermaine Walker (14 tackles) leading the charge, UMaine forced five turnovers, including two inside the 12-yard line. It also forced Nebraska (313 total yards) to settle for field goals four times inside the 25.

“We have a lot of young players on the team and everyone just went out there and gave all they had,” Walker said. “They played with a lot of heart.”

There was a hint of deja vu for UMaine after the Bears got on the scoreboard three minutes into the fourth quarter.

Wideout Kevin McMahan beat Nebraska cornerback Bryan Wilson down the right sideline and quarterback Ron Whitcomb threw a perfect strike for a 52-yard scoring pass that cut the deficit to 15-7.

“We’re thinking Mississippi State,” said offensive guard Justin Roberts, referring to UMaine’s 9-7 win last season. “When we were down 15-7 we thought, let’s go win this game.”

The Bears got the ball back on the next play from scrimmage when Patrick McCrossan caused I-back Cory Ross (20 carries, 80 yards) to fumble after a 30-yard gain and Manauris Arias recovered at the UM 43-yard line.

UMaine couldn’t convert, despite a couple of close throws down the sideline. ESPN-TV even cut away from its featured game to show the Bears’ threat.

“We felt like we were definitely in it,” said Whitcomb, who threw for 149 yards but was under constant pressure, found his receivers tightly covered and was sacked a Nebraska-record 11 times.

Ultimately, the Bears’ hopes of an upset were dashed. On first down, Whitcomb was grabbed by Nebraska end Jay Moore as he threw to Montell Owens. Ruud stepped in front of the ball and ran it back 27 yards for a momentum-building TD.

“Our defense was playing so well that we were still in the game and we thought we would come right back and score and unfortunately I had the interception,” Whitcomb said.

UMaine, which penetrated the N 44 only once all night, was unable to respond.

“We felt like we missed out on an opportunity to win so it was kind of bittersweet,” said UMaine senior QB Chris Legree. “I’m very proud of our team and the heart that we showed out here.”

The Bears trailed 9-0 at halftime with the aid of some second-quarter defensive heroics.

The ‘Huskers broke a scoreless tie after Zac Taylor (two interceptions) threw a 73-yard bomb to Frantz Hardy, who was run down by safety Jarrod Gomes at the 8-yard line.

UMaine stiffened and forced a 23-yard Congdon field goal with 5:21 left in the half.

After a three-and-out, UM’s Rocco Navarro sailed a 50-yard punt to speedy Terrence Nunn at the N-37. He found a seam down the left sideline and raced 62 yards before being tripped up at the M 1 by Alex Goyins.

Ross quickly punched it in to make it 9-0 with 2:46 left in the half (Congdon’s PAT kick missed wide right).

“We knew we had the talent, we knew we had the heart to do it, so we just went out and gave it our all, everything we’ve got; we just left it out on the field,” Gomes said.

Kick coverage was a problem for UMaine. Navarro punted a school-record 13 times for a 39.8-yard average in his Bears debut, but the ‘Huskers piled up 198 punt return yards, more than the 181 they managed last season.

“We had a new punter, a whole bunch of new guys playing on the punt team; we were challenged,” Cosgrove said. “They’ve got some fast guys running that thing back, too. They just need a little crease.”

Linebacker John Wormuth posted nine tackles and cornerback Daren Stone eight for UMaine, which played five true freshmen on defense including LB Jovan Belcher (6 tackles).

Nebraska stretched its lead to 15-0 in the third quarter on Congdon field goals of 38 and 33 yards, but the Bears hung in.

UMaine’s running game was virtually nonexistent against a strong and speedy Nebraska defense. That forced the Bears to be creative in mixing up their plays.

Corey McKeon led Nebraska with 10 tackles, including three for negative yardage. The ‘Huskers had 18 tackles for a loss.

“Those guys hung in there and I tried to hang in there,” Whitcomb said of the offense. “It was tough for us to match up against them, but we battled and I thought our O-line did a great job.”

CORNHUSKERS 25, BLACK BEARS 7

Maine (0-1) 0 0 0 7 – 7

Nebraska (1-0) 0 9 6 10 – 25

N – Congdon 23 field goal

N – Ross 1 run (kick failed)

N – Congdon 38 field goal

N – Congdon 33 field goal

M – McMahan 52 pass from Whitcomb (Donnelly kick)

N – Ruud 27 interception (Congdon kick)

N – Congdon 23 field goal

Maine Nebraska

First downs 10 17

Rushing att.-yards 37-(-6) 42-121

Passing comp.-att. 36-16 36-15

Passing yards 151 192

Total yards 145 313

Punts-avg. 13-39.8 4-46.8

Fumbles-lost 3-1 5-3

Intercepted by 2 1

Penalties-yards 7-55 0-0

Rushing

Maine: Owens 8-30, Pearson 6-18, Legree 6-17, Gordon 1-(minus-1), Whitcomb 16-(minus-70); Nebraska: Ross 20-80, Lucky 13-44, Jackson 6-18, Taylor 2-(minus-5), Team 1-(minus-16)

Passing

Maine: Whitcomb 15-32-1-149; Legree 1-4-0-2; Nebraska: Taylor 15-36-2-192

Receiving

Maine: McMahan 7-93, Gordon 3-9, Ry. Waller 2-27, Owens 2-9, Radulski 1-8, Ro. Waller 1-5; Nebraska: Hardy 7-152, Sievers 2-12, Phillips 2-7, Mulkey 1-12, Nunn 1-8, Todd 1-1, Ross 1-0

A-77,469 (sellout)