The University of Maine’s bye week brought a welcome rest but unwelcome news. Sophomore fullback Jared Turcotte is done for the season.

Turcotte, a preseason All-American from Lewiston, has missed the entire 2009 campaign due to an injury he suffered just prior to training camp. On Sept. 21, he underwent lower abdominal surgery and, according to Maine coach Jack Cosgrove, visited a doctor in Lewiston earlier this week before the decision was made to shut him down for the season.

With their leading rusher from last season unable to salvage their decaying running game, Maine (3-4, 2-2 CAA) sought to address the rushing attack and other issues over the break, plus start preparations for Saturday’s game against the University of Massachusetts (3:30 p.m., CSNE). 

“I think we made some advances,” Cosgrove said. “And then Sunday, we had kind of an extra practice for UMass, which you usually don’t get. I liked the guys spirit, their attitude and how they went about their business.”

Cosgrove would like his team to get back to the business of running the ball with efficiency. In their 24-10 loss to top-ranked Richmond two weeks ago, the Black Bears netted -2 yards on the ground.

Maine still moved the ball because of QB Warren Smith’s 327-yard passing performance, but the inability to mix in the run, particularly in short-yardage situations, cost the Bears.

“Last year, as a run team, I felt like we had enough balance in our pass game that we were productive,” Cosgrove said. “Right now, our nervousness is that we’ve become a dominant passing team and we’re not providing enough run balance. If we’re going to throw it like we did against Richmond then we better have some sort of run that’s effective in there.”

Maine would move into sole possession of second place in the CAA North with a win over 19th-ranked UMass (4-3, 2-2), and could still win the division if it wins the four remaining games.

Cosgrove said the Black Bears won’t prescribe to a youth movement for the rest of the season, but some of the underclassmen have improved enough to earn more playing time.

“We have a great group of seniors and by no way, shape or form are they going to be neglected,” he said. “But I think we have advanced some first-year guys along the way, and one of the goals was to get them a lot of practice reps last week, especially so we could reduce the stress on some of our older players.”

UMass is coming off a 34-12 loss to Richmond last week, a game in which they threw six interceptions. That might lead the Minutemen to rely more on a running attack led by Jonathan Hernandez. 

“The thing that’s interesting is they’re second in the conference in offense and No. 2 in passing,” he said. “They turned it over seven times against Richmond. We’re expecting that they’re going to try to run the football up here, just because when you’re throwing it and not having success and turning it over, then you’ll probably become a little more conservative in your play selection.”