GameDay Central: Football Goes for Third-Straight CAA Victory Saturday

Black Bears have won three-straight against William & Mary

Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine football team (3-3, 2-3 CAA) goes for its third-straight victory when it hosts William & Mary (2-5, 0-4) on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 12:00 p.m. at Alfond Stadium. The Black Bears are proud to welcome back and honor our service members on Military Appreciation Day, presented by Dead River Company.

UMaine vs. William & Mary - Oct. 28 - 12:00 p.m. - Alfond Stadium

TICKETS

Follow The Black Bears:

Tickets - Tickets for Saturday's contest can be purchased at GoBlackBears.com or by phone at 207.581.BEAR. The ticket office will open at 9 a.m. on game day.
Watch - Saturday's game will be televised live on WVII/WFVX Bangor, WPME Portland and Fox College Sports. The game will also be streamed at GoBlackBears.com.
Listen - The game will be carried by the Black Bears Sports Network radio affiliates through the state of Maine. Fans can tune in at 103.9 FM, 101.3 FM, 1450 AM, 1310 AM and streamed live at GoBlackBears.com.
Live Stats - Fans can follow along to live, up to the second stat updates throughout the game, provided by StatBroadcast at GoBlackBears.com.
Social Media - Follow @BlackBearsFB on Twitter for all in-game social media photos and updates!

Tailgating:

The game is just part of the fun of a UMaine Football game day atmosphere! Fans are invited to enjoy food, drinks and fun beginning three hours before kickoff in any of our special tailgate lots! For more information, including maps, rules and regulations, on UMaine tailgating, please click HERE.

Game Storylines:

Maine and William & Mary are meeting for the 14th time with the Tribe holding a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series, with a no contest meeting in 2003. However, the Black Bears have won each of the last three meetings, including a 35-28 decision last year at William & Mary. Maine is 2-4 at home against the Tribe, who are making their first trip to Orono since 2013. W&M won the first five meetings in the series, including a 47-23 decision in the first ever contest back in 1993.
Josh Mack, the nation's leader in rush yards per game (146.7) will look for his sixth 100+ yard rushing performance of the year when he faces a William & Mary rush defense which ranks sixth in the CAA, allowing 121.9 yards per game.
William & Mary enter play searching for its first CAA victory of the year after dropping its last five contests, including a most recent 46-14 decision at James Madison.
The Black Bears, who have won two in a row, are coming off a 12-10 victory at UAlbany in which they used a pair of 37-yard field goals from Brandon Briggs and a 34-yard touchdown reception from Micah Wright to defeat the Great Danes.
The Black Bears will look to take advantage of a William & Mary team which has turned the ball over 15 times and rank last in the CAA with a -9 turnover margin.
Chris Ferguson, who is coming off a career-high 263-yard performance at UAlbany, will meet a stout William & Mary pass defense which ranks second in the league in yards allowed (183.6).
The Tribe ranks last in the CAA in total offense (280.1 ypg) and 11th in total defense (415.2 ypg). William and Mary averages 15.6 points per game.
Defensively, the Black Bears have allowed just 10 points over their past six quarters, only three points coming from the opposition's offense. Additionally, Maine, which ranks sixth in the nation and leads the CAA in third down conversion percentage defense (27.6), held UAlbany to just 1-for-12 on third down.

A UMaine Win Would...

...Be Maine's sixth victory over William & Mary.
...Be Maine's third home win against William & Mary (2-4)
...Be Maine's fourth-straight win over William & Mary (2012, 13, 16)
...Be Maine's second-straight win at home against William & Mary.
...Be Maine's third-straight overall win, and third-straight in CAA play.
...Move Maine to a perfect 3-0 at Alfond Stadium this season.
...Be Maine's 64th win at Alfond Stadium.
...Be Coach Harasymiak's 10th career win.

Series Notes:

Maine and William and Mary will be meeting for the 14th time ... The Tribe holds a 7-5 edge in the all-time series ... The 2003 meeting was ruled a no contest ... Maine has won three-straight in the series, including a 35-28 decision a year ago on the road ... The Black Bears also won the latest meeting in Orono, a 34-20 decision in 2013 ... Maine has averaged 31.0 ppg over its three-game win streak against the Tribe ... Overall, Maine is 2-4 at home against the Tribe ... The first meeting in the series took place in 1993, a 47-23 win by the Tribe at William & Mary ... A year ago, Micah Wright's 67-yard punt return for a touchdown proved to be the difference in Maine's 35-28 win. Wright also added a 26-yard touchdown catch.

Bear Tracks:

Sophomore running back Josh Mack, who has rushed for 100+ yards in five of Maine's six games, currently leads the country at 146.7 rush yards per game and ranks second in the nation in total rush yards (880). Mack, averaging a league best 6.11 yards per carry, had a historic performance against Bryant earlier this season. In that game, Mack rushed for 255-yards becoming just the second Black Bear ever to rush for more than 250+ in a game, and the first to go over 200 since Marcus Williams (246 yds) in 2003. Mack again eclipsed the 200+ yard mark with 248 rush yards against URI - becoming just the second Black Bear since 1989 (Carl Smith) to rush for 200+ twice in a single season. Mack has now rushed for 100+ eight times in his career.
Kayon Whitaker has made his presence known in the oppositions backfield over the past few weeks. Whitaker, who leads Maine and ranks second in the CAA with 5.5 sacks, has recorded 5.0 sacks over the last three games, including a pair of 2.0 sack performances.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Jaron Grayer, who leads all CAA freshmen in tackles and was recently named to the Jerry Rice Award watch list, has burst onto the scene for Maine. After leading the Black Bears with 10 tackles in his first career game, Grayer followed up with 3.0 TFLs, including a sack, and a forced fumble against Bryant before adding a career-high 11 tackles at Villanova. Grayer currently ranks 12th in the CAA with 7.8 tackles per game.
Sacks: The Black Bears' offensive line have provided incredible production thus far. Maine has allowed just 10 sacks all season, tops in the CAA. On the flip-side, the Black Hole defense ranks first in the CAA and seventh nationally with 3.50 sacks per game.
Third Down Defense: The Black Hole defense has held its ground on third down as it ranks sixth in the country and tops in the CAA, allowing a slim 27.6% conversion rate to opponents facing third down. Last week, Maine held UAlbany to just 1-for-12 on third down.
Special Teams: The return game, which was a highlight for Maine in 2016, has picked up right where it left off. The Black Bears returned all five of their return weapons (DeVaughn, Edwards, Scott, Mack, Wright) to a unit which currently ranks second in the CAA in kickoff return at 23.3 yards per return. Individually, Edwards is second in the CAA and ranks 24th nationally at 24.8 yards per return. On the punt side, Maine is seventh in the country and tops in the CAA, averaging 16.3 yards per return. Defensively, the Black Bears lead the nation in punt return defense, allowing just 1.00 yard per return.
Redshirt freshman QB Chris Ferguson made his career debut in Maine's opener at UNH. Ferguson tossed three touchdown passes in the 24-23 loss, becoming the first player since Ron Whitcomb (2003) to throw for 3+ touchdowns as a freshman. Ferguson matched the feat with three more TDs in his second career game, against Bryant before tossing five touchdowns against Rhode Island. Ferguson is just the third UMaine QB since the start of the 1999 season to throw for 5+ TDs in a game. With a career-high 263-yards against UAlbany, Ferguson surpassed 1,000-yards throwing for the season.
Take Aways: On Sept. 9, the Black Bears forced an impressive eight turnovers (five interceptions, three fumble recoveries) in a win over Bryant.
Sterling Sheffield enters the game against with a tackle for loss in each of his last nine games, dating back to 2016. In his last nine outings, Sheffield has totaled 14.5 TFLs.
Sophomore RB Josh Mack is 408 rush yards from 1,500 in his career and 120 from 1,000 this season.
Freshman Earnest Edwards enters action 27 receiving yards from 500 in his career.
Senior WR Jared Osumah, who pulled down his 50th career reception at UNH, is 234 receiving yards from 1,000. Osumah stands 30 receptions from 100.
Senior WR Jaleel Reed is 239 receiving yard away from 1,000 for his career.
Preseason all-conference corner Najee Goode recorded his 100th career tackle in Maine's opener at UNH. Goode is now 38 tackles away from 150.
Redshirt junior safety Darrius Hart stands 19 tackles from 100 in his time at Maine.
Senior safety Jason Matovu is Maine's active leader in tackles (131).
Manny Patterson, who notched a career-best five pass breakups at UAlbany, currently ranks 10th in the nation with 1.7 pass breakups per game.
Senior right guard Isaiah Brooks is Maine's active leader in games played at 39, starting all 39 he's appeared in. Jamil Demby and Najee Goode, rank second on the active games played list for Maine (35).