2018 Maine Black Bears football team

2018 Maine Black Bears football
CAA champion
FCS Playoffs Semifinals, L 19–50 vs. Eastern Washington
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATS	No. 4
FCS Coaches	No. 5
2018 record	10–4 (7–1 CAA)
Head coach	Joe Harasymiak (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Nick Charlton (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Corey Hetherman (3rd season)
Home stadium	Alfond Stadium (Capacity: 10,000)
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 CAA football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Maine $^		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 9 James Madison ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 16 Stony Brook ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
No. 20 Towson ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
No. 24 Delaware ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
No. 19 Elon ^		4	–	3					6	–	5
Rhode Island		4	–	4					6	–	5
William & Mary		3	–	4					4	–	6
New Hampshire		3	–	5					4	–	7
Villanova		2	–	6					5	–	6
Richmond		2	–	6					4	–	7
Albany		1	–	7					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Maine Black Bears football team represented the University of Maine in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They played their home games at Alfond Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They were led by third-year head coach Joe Harasymiak.^[1] They finished the season 10–4, 7–1 in CAA play to be crowned CAA champions. They received the CAA's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where, after a first round bye, they defeated Jacksonville State in the second round, and Weber State in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to Eastern Washington.

Previous season[]

The Black Bears finished the 2017 season 4–6, 3–5 in CAA play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place.

Preseason[]

CAA Poll[]

In the CAA preseason poll released on July 24, 2018, the Black Bears were predicted to finish in eighth place.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	James Madison	241 (21)
2	New Hampshire	206 (2)
3	Delaware	182
4	Stony Brook	169
5	Elon	168 (1)
6	Villanova	164
7	Richmond	127
8	Maine	81
9	Albany	78
10	Towson	74
11	William & Mary	55
12	Rhode Island	39

Preseason All-CAA Team[]

The Black Bears had three players selected to the preseason all-CAA team.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 p.m.	No. 7 New Hampshire		Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket)	FCS/FSGO	W 35–7	6,597
September 8	7:30 p.m.	at Western Kentucky*	No. 22	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	W 31–28	15,178
September 22	3:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan*	No. 13	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN+	L 5–17	16,474
September 29	1:00 p.m.	at Yale*	No. 16	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	ESPN+	L 14–35	7,889
October 6	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Villanova	No. 25	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	FCS/WVII/WIPL	W 13–10	6,894
October 13	12:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Rhode Island	No. 21	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	CAA.tv	W 38–36	7,301
October 20	3:30 p.m.	at William & Mary	No. 16	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	Cox Yurview	L 20–27	10,462
October 27	1:00 p.m.	Albany	No. 24	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	FCS/WVII/WIPL	W 28–9	9,248
November 3	4:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Towson	No. 23	Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD	CBSI Digital/CBS SportsLive	W 35–28	7,356
November 10	3:00 p.m.	at Richmond	No. 16	Robins Stadium Richmond, VA	NBCS WA+	W 28–9	7,820
November 17	12:00 p.m.	No. 14 Elon	No. 16	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	FCS/WVII/WIPL	W 27–26	6,584
December 1	12:00 p.m.	No. 8 Jacksonville State	No. 12	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 55–27	6,145
December 7	8:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Weber State	No. 12	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)	ESPN2	W 23–18	7,726
December 15	2:00 p.m.	at No. 4 Eastern Washington	No. 12	Roos Field Cheney, WA (FCS Playoffs Semifinals)	ESPN2	L 19–50	7,529
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source:^[3]

Game summaries[]

New Hampshire[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7
Black Bears	0	22	7	6	35

at Western Kentucky[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Black Bears	0	14	14	3	31
Hilltoppers	21	0	0	7	28

at Central Michigan[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Black Bears	0	0	3	2	5
Chippewas	0	10	0	7	17

at Yale[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Black Bears	0	0	7	7	14
Bulldogs	7	7	14	7	35

Villanova[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Wildcats	3	0	7	0	10
No. 25 Black Bears	0	3	7	3	13

at Rhode Island[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 21 Black Bears	7	7	8	16	38
No. 16 Rams	10	6	14	6	36

at William & Mary[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Black Bears	10	7	0	3	20
Tribe	7	7	3	10	27

Albany[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Great Danes	0	0	3	6	9
No. 24 Black Bears	14	7	0	7	28

at Towson[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Black Bears	7	14	7	7	35
No. 15 Tigers	0	7	14	7	28

at Richmond[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Black Bears	14	7	7	0	28
Spiders	0	3	0	6	9

Elon[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Phoenix	0	10	10	6	26
No. 16 Black Bears	0	14	13	0	27

FCS Playoffs[]

Maine received a bye in the first round.
Box scores:^[4][5][6]

Jacksonville State–Second Round[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Gamecocks	7	7	10	3	27
No. 12 Black Bears	21	21	7	6	55

at Weber State–Quarterfinals[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Black Bears	0	7	7	9	23
No. 3 Wildcats	0	3	9	6	18

at Eastern Washington–Semifinals[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Black Bears	0	0	19	0	19
No. 4 Eagles	21	7	15	7	50

Ranking movements[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	NR	22	17	13	16	25	21	16	24	23	16	16	12	4
Coaches	NR	25	20	16	16	25	22	20	RV	RV	21	19	14	5

References[]