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The best measuring stick for a quarterback is the number of points his team scores.
Two games into the 2007 season, the University of Maine offense has scored only two touchdowns.
As a result, with the Black Bears (1-1) poised to open the Colonial Athletic Association part of their schedule Saturday at Villanova, the starting quarterback job appears tenuous.
“There is an issue,” admitted UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove. “Obviously, it’s a get-us-in-the-end zone issue.”
He came out of Saturday’s 38-0 loss at Connecticut giving the benefit of the doubt to sophomore Mike Brusko, who earned the job during the spring season and training camp.
“I still think Mike’s our No. 1 quarterback right now,” Cosgrove said.
Even so, Cosgrove couldn’t resist affording Adam Farkes an opportunity to play against UConn. The strong-armed redshirt freshman was inserted to see how he would react.
“The competition between the two of them was such that we needed to find out about Adam’s ability to go in and play a football game,” Cosgrove said. “I thought he did some real good things Saturday night.”
Brusko hasn’t impressed as a passer through two games, going 18-for-30 for only 88 yards with two interceptions. Saturday’s interception on the second play of the game was returned for a touchdown.
“Mike did some good things as well, there’s no getting away from that, but we’ve thrown a couple early-game interceptions in the first two weeks of the season and those have been setbacks to our entire operation,” Cosgrove said.
Farkes debuted in the second quarter and wound up completing eight of 15 throws for 64 yards with an interception. He also showed good mobility.
“I saw enough good things I wanted to get him more reps, so we kept him in there in the second half for some extensive work,” Cosgrove said.
While Brusko has demonstrated poise and leadership in addition to his running ability, Farkes is still trying to learn the offense and get comfortable on the field.
“Obviously he’s got some management issues,” Cosgrove said of Farkes, who took two delay-of-game penalties.
“It might have been a little bit of stage fright at the initial phase of the game, but I thought he settled down and I could really see some good signs there,” he added.
With UMaine averaging only 247 yards per game (76 through the air), developing a passing attack quickly is of paramount importance.
Nobody realizes that more than Brusko.
“We didn’t have enough success in the passing game, we were forced to run the ball, and it takes a toll on our offensive linemen,” he said. “At times we became one-dimensional.”
The Bears go back to work today in the hope of getting the offense clicking for Villanova.
“The best thing to do is to get back out there, start practicing. We’ve got a big game next weekend,” Farkes said.
Black Bears in Run for Hope
Members of five UMaine teams participated Monday in the 25th Run for Hope, a charity event that supports cancer research at Eastern Maine Medical Center’s CancerCare of Maine.
The Black Bears’ men’s and women’s basketball and ice hockey teams, along with the softball squad, took part in the 3.1-mile run as part of their preseason training regimens.
Men’s hockey player Mike Banwell and women’s basketball player Whitney Morrow each finished in the top 10 overall in the Run for Hope. Banwell was eighth in 20 minutes, 6 seconds while Morrow was right behind at 20:16.
The men’s hockey team was the first to get all its players across the finish line, while women’s basketball took second.
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