ORONO – Just five years ago, a game of this magnitude could have been slugged “David vs. Goliath,” or any of the other underdog cliches that people tend to associate with football games with mismatched opponents.

Now, Maine and Montana are both nationally ranked, and both have made it into the Division I-AA quarterfinals in each of the last two years.

Maine, the preseason No. 14 team in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, opens its season Saturday with a major test against No. 3 Montana at Alfond Stadium.

The 6 p.m. matchup will give fans a chance to see Maine against one of the perennial national powerhouse teams.

“This is the toughest we’ve had since Central Florida in 1994 in terms of ranking,” said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We’ve felt we needed to bring a well known, high ranked opponent to town for a while now, to be able to say we’ve played against a top team, and to challenge ourselves against the best.”

Heading into the Montana game, Maine has won five straight non-conference regular season games, but none of those teams have had the firepower that Montana brings to the turf in Orono.

“This is definitely a different kind of opener for us,” said Cosgrove. “We’ll find out much more about ourselves this year than last year.”

Maine, which has won its last three openers, upended Central Connecticut 52-3 last year at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

Montana will be without its starting quarterback. Colorado transfer Craig Ochs is sidelined with an ankle injury and is listed “week-to-week.” That leaves Jeff Disney, a junior transfer who sat out last season as a redshirt, to lead the offense that relies heavily on the pass.

“This is our chance to prove what we can do,” said Maine defensive captain Dennis Dottin-Carter. “We have to focus on playing defense well and not worry about how they are going to play.”

Redshirt freshman Ron Whitcomb will become the second freshman in five years to start at quarterback on opening day for the Black Bears, following four-year starter Jack Eaton. Whitcomb watched last season as Eaton played his final season. He inherits a strong returning staff led by last year’s breakout running back Marcus Williams, who averaged over 100 yards per game.

Kickoff for the game, which will be shown locally on Adelphia Network Channel 9, is 6 p.m.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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