New Mexico Football: First Look At Maine Black Bears
New Mexico Football: First Look At Maine Black Bears
Lobos open season up vs. an FCS fo
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Who is Maine?
The New Mexico Lobos will host the Main Black Bears in its home opener in Albuquerque on September 3 at University Stadium.
Danny Gonzales enters his 3rd year as the Lobos head coach and has a record of 4-14 and believes this Lobo ship is headed in the right direction.
This will be the first matchup between the two programs as the Black Bears head to Albuquerque to take on the UNM Lobos in the high-altitude Albuquerque.
This will be the first of three straight home games to open the season for the Lobos, who FBSchedules.com lists as having the 42nd most challenging schedule.
Head Coach Danny Gonzales has named Kansas transfer Miles Kendrick as the starting quarterback for the 2022 season and ahead of the season opener against the Maine Black Bears. Kendrick is the lone senior among UNM’s five quarterbacks on the roster.
Location: Orono, Maine
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association
Series History: First time these two teams meet
2021 Record: 6-5 (4-4 Conference)
NCAA Division: Division 1 FCS
Head Coach: Jordan Stevens was named the head football coach for the Black Bears by AD Ken Ralph on December 7, 2021. So this will be his first year as the head coach for the Black Bears.
Stevens, a native of Temple, Maine, mentored nine All-Ivy League players and a pair of All-Colonial Athletic Association honorees during his 11-year assistant coaching career with Yale and UMaine.
Coach Stevens was a former Black Bear player who was also the defensive line coach once his playing days were over.
The 2021 Maine Black Bears had an up and down season. Despite the challenges they had, they managed to beat their rival, New Hampshire, for just the second time in over a decade.
They also managed to pick up a win against FBS Umass on November 13 for just the fourth time in its history.
Because of a rash of injuries, especially at the Quarterback position, they would finish just fifth place in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Key Players
Freddie Brock, RB. 5-10 190
Named to Phil Steele’s CAA All-Conference Fourth Team … Two-time CAA Rookie of the Week … Appeared in 10 games, and led all Black Bears with ten touchdowns … On the ground, ran for team-high 720 yards and seven touchdowns on 132 carries, averaging 4.4 per rush and 65.5 per game
Rutgers University transfer fifth-year running back Elijah Barnwell should also help the Black Bears. Neither Brock nor Barnwell played during the spring game, as both are recovering from offseason surgeries.
Michael Gerace, OL 6-4 317
One of two Maine players to be named a first-team all-CAA selection last season, Gerace is one of the longest-tenured Black Bears on the roster. He’s appeared in 39 games since 2018, including 35 starts, and set a new personal best in 2021 with a 73.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the eighth-best mark among FCS centers.
Khairi Manns, DL. 6-3 230
He appeared in all 11 games with 42 (17 unassisted) total tackles, six of which were for loss (30 total yards), and also had a fumble return for 20 yards which came at Northern Illinois (9/25)
His performances came against Rhode Island (10/30) with six tackles (three unassisted), a half-sack for a loss of seven yards, and one QB hurry, and against Stony Brook (11/6) with a career-high ten tackles.
Shawn Bowman, TE 6-5 255
Without the Black Bears’ star wideouts, Andre Miller and Devin Young look for the Black Bears to throw to tight end Shawn Bowman.
He is a weapon for the Black Bears, especially in the Red Zone at his large frame.
He was named to Phil Steele’s CAA All-Conference Fourth Team, and he Appeared in all 11 games and finished tied for second most touchdowns on the team with four.
Those touchdowns came from 282 receiving yards on 24 receptions, the longest being 27 yards and third on the team in receptions and receiving yards.
Fifth on the team in all-purpose yards with 282 yards and averaged 25.6 per game, and his best performance came against Elon (10/09) with six receptions, 59 yards, and a touchdown.
Joe Fagnano, QB. 6-3 225
Fagnano only got to play in four games last fall because he suffered a high ankle sprain that knocked him out for most of the year, but there’s no doubt he’s a difference maker when healthy.
In sixteen career games, he owns a 62% completion rate and has thrown for 3,424 yards and 31 touchdowns, with an interception rate of just 1.5%.
In his last two starts of 2021, Fagnano led Maine to a 25-point win over UMass and then rallied the team from an early 13-point deficit to defeat rival New Hampshire.
Fagnano was named to the All-CAA Second Team and Two-time CAA Player of the Week.
He finished the abbreviated season 67-of-116 for 795 yards and eight touchdowns while tossing just one interception and also added 31 carries for 59 rush yards and two touchdowns.
He was second in the CAA at 198.8 passing yards per game while posting a 57.8 completion percentage and checking in third in the CAA at 213.5 yards of offense per game and second in total offensive touchdowns (10) with eight passing and a pair of rushing scores.
Offense
The Black Bears’ offense was not as impactful with Joe Fagnano being absent in the fall. Backup quarter backup Derek Robertson completed just 50.8% on his passing and was a modest 6.3 yards per attempt.
Because of this, the Black Bears could only manage just 5.27 yards per play and scored 25 points per game.
Assuming a clean bill of health, though, Maine could rebound with Fagnano and Brock in the backfield, though the offense must find a way to replace their top two pass catchers, including all-conference wide receiver Andre Miller.
Defense
The Black Bears “Black Hole’ defense allowed 27 points per game, giving up 5.94 yards per play, and ranked 10th and 11th in the CAA.
The Black Bears had star linebacker Ray Miller, last year and will count on others to step up this year.
Their defense will count on DL Khairi Manns and linebackers Adrian Otero and Xavier Nurse, who had combined tackles of 123, 6.5 TFL (tackles for loss).
In the secondary, Robbie Riobe and Shakur Smalls should be solid performers, as well as Cornerback Buggs Brown, who led the Black Bears with three interceptions and was just a freshman.
Overview:
The Black Bears are not the most dominating FCS team for the hometown Lobos to play, but there is some excellent talent on the Black Bears that they should not take lightly.
These Black Bears are very talented, just not very experienced in spots on the roster, but they should be a good test for the Lobos before playing Boise State next week.
Their young receiving core will have to have a big day to compete against the Lobos, and the Lobos’ strength last year was the secondary.
They will also have to be able to run the ball against a defense that is strong against the run, the Rocky Long 3-3-5.
They have a proven QB and running back that can pass and run the ball. They will be challenged by Defensive Coordinator Rocky Long’s 3-3-5, which comes from all angles and puts enormous pressure on the quarterback.
The Lobos’ very large offensive line and very talented running backs will give the Black Bear defense all they can handle and should be able to score if they play smart football.
Another factor that could play in the outcome of the game is the high altitude of Albuquerque, 5,312. This usually doesn’t affect a team until the latter part of the game.
Early Prediction
New Mexico 34, Maine 14
