UMaine football vs. Bryant likely to be a high-scoring game

The University of Maine’s football team, coming off a 59-14 loss to Football Bowl Subdivision power Oklahoma, will begin the stretch run when first-year Coastal Athletic Association member Bryant University (Rhode Island) invades Orono on Military Appreciation Day on Saturday.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
The Black Bears are 4-5 overall and 2-3 in conference play while the Bulldogs are 2-7 and 0-5.
Both teams will be looking to snap losing streaks.
The Black Bears have lost two in a row after winning three of their previous four games while Bryant has lost four in a row including a 31-30 overtime loss to No. 20 Stony Brook last weekend.
The Black Bears will have two games remaining after Saturday as they will travel to Elon (N.C.) the following Saturday before finishing up with arch-rival New Hampshire on Nov. 23.
The game shapes up to be a high-scoring affair.
North Carolina A&T is the only team in the 16-team conference that has allowed more points per game than Bryant. It has surrendered 40.33 while Bryant has given up 36.89 points per game.
UMaine is 12th at 30.56 allowed.
It will feature two of the CAA’s best passing attacks going up against pass defenses ranked in the bottom half of the conference.
Bryant, which has used two quarterbacks, is averaging 262 passing yards per contest which is third-most in the CAA.
UMaine is only 13th in passing yards (194 ypg) but has the CAA’s best pass completion percentage at 67.47 percent.
Bryant’s pass defense is the worst in the league, surrendering 264 yards per game, while UMaine’s is 10th, surrendering 218.22 yards per contest.
However, Saturday’s weather forecast calls for winds between 15-25 mph with higher gusts so the running games could be important and both teams are in the bottom third in the CAA in rushing yards per game.
UMaine is averaging 115.44 rushing yards per game, which is 13th, and Bryant is 15th with 96.78 ypg.
This will be the seventh meeting between the two and UMaine holds a 5-1 edge including a 4-0 mark at Morse Field in Alfond Stadium.
UMaine’s three leading rushers are separated by just 33 yards.
Brian Santana-Fis has carried the ball 50 times for 303 yards; Jaharie Martin has 79 carries for 294 yards and Tavion Banks has 67 carries for 270 yards.
Fabrice Mukendi is Bryant’s leading ballcarrier with 426 yards on 71 carries. Dylan Kedzior is next with 196 yards on 42 carries.
Jarrett Guest is Bryant’s starting quarterback and his 239.14 passing yards per game is second-best in the CAA. He has completed 62.2 percent of his passes with 13 touchdown passes and four interceptions.
However, he missed the last two games due to injury but freshman Brennan Myer stepped in and, in his second start last weekend, earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors by completing 28 of 39 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns against Stony Brook.
Guest is listed as the starter on the Bryant depth chart.
UMaine quarterback Carter Peevy has completed 68.38 percent of his passes including 12 for TDs and four interceptions.
Peevy has thrown for 1,714 yards and Guest for 1,674.
Two of the league’s top seven receivers will also be on display.
Landon Ruggieri has caught 49 passes for 843 yards and a league-high 11 TDs for Bryant while UMaine’s Montigo Moss has 44 receptions for 461 yards and three TDs.
Ruggieri’s 5.44 receptions per game is third tops in the CAA while Moss’ 4.89 is seventh.
The Black Bear defense has been led by linebacker Kesean Dyson, who has 53 tackles and 2.5 sacks; end Xavier Holmes (52 tackles, team-high 5.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries), linebacker Christian Thomas (38 tackles, 7.6 tackles per game) and tackle Izaiah Henderson (4.5 sacks among his 30 tackles).
The Bulldog defense has been paced by linebackers Cole Nilles (50 tackles) and Colin Elliott (48 tackles, 2 sacks). Nilles is a freshman. The sacks leader is Ben Silver with four and a half.