The Seawolves come home this weekend after playing their last three games on the road. They play host to the Black Bears of Maine of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Seawolves hope to break their three game losing streak while Maine will look for their second win of the year after losing their past five.
This will be the first meeting between the two clubs. Maine comes back to Long Island after playing Hofstra two weeks ago, a game in which they lost. They come off a game last week in which they lost 21-20 to William and Mary.
They currently do not have a win in their conference, and have only beat Monmouth, who they played in their first game of the year. The Black Bears have been solid on the ground with junior Jhamal Fluellen leading the attack. He has 644 yards on 119 attempts and three touchdowns.
Seven other players have totaled 487 yards, giving the Bears 1131 yards on the ground in their six games. They currently start redshirt freshmen Adam Farkes at quarterback. He has completed 50 percent of his passes with 497 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in five games, but has only started the last three.
Eleven receivers total 75 receptions, led by sophomore Landis Williams. While running a basic spread offense, they will give Fluellen plenty of opportunities to run up the middle while spreading out the defense.
The Black Bears have a junior-dominated starting team, and a young team overall. Only seven of the 22 starting offensive and defensive players are seniors, and they start five sophomores and two redshirt freshmen, including Farkes.
They have only 12 seniors on the roster. Defensively, they have been outscored 173-78, and have given up 97 points the last three games. They also gave up 38 points to Division 1 Big East opponent Connecticut. They give up an average of 33 points per game on the road.
Stony Brook comes off a disappointing loss to another CAA team, nationally ranked Richmond. The Seawolves could not get the offense going last week, even though they out passed Richmond, and the defense held Richmond to 325 total yards.
The Seawolves will have to contain the running game on the defensive side of the ball. Fluellen is off of a career high 200 yards on 31 carries against William and Mary last week. The quarterback Farkes has the capability of being successful, but is a redshirt freshmen and only making his fourth collegiate start.
On the offensive side of the ball, Josh Dudash will have to be on the mark. Last week, he attempted 48 passes, a career high, and completed 26. If the offense can get the passing game going, they should be able to make big plays.
Maine gives up an average of 186 passing yards per game, while SBU averages 220 passing yards per game. Last week, the Bears gave up two touchdown passes of 30 yards or more. The running game should also have the capability of making big plays.
After two heartbreaking losses and last week’s blowout, the Seawolves should rebound against a struggling Maine team, who is still trying to find its way in the passing game and defensively in the secondary.
The Seawolves should pull this one out on Homecoming in a convincing fashion. The game starts on Saturday at 3:00 PM at LaValle Stadium.