The University of Maine football team is going to find out real fast how good it is.

The Black Bears open the season Thursday night at home against Delaware, the fifth-ranked team in two Football Championship Subdivision national polls. The following week, Maine travels to Harrisburg, Virginia, to play James Madison, the second-ranked team.

“That’s a Maine schedule right there,” said Coach Nick Charlton. “We know we’re playing two tremendous teams (right away). We know if we want to be at a championship level, we’ve got to compete at that level.”

If Maine has any hope of contending for a Colonial Athletic Association title and its automatic berth in the FCS playoffs, the Black Bears must win at least one of those games.

Can they?

Yes.

How can they do it?

By getting back to playing the relentless defense they played in 2018, when the Black Bears advanced to the FCS national semifinals. Maine had one of the nation’s best defenses that year, leading the nation in rushing defense (79.2 yards per game) while ranking second in sacks (47) and tackles for a loss (117) and third in turnovers gained (31).

The Maine offense, led by junior quarterback Joe Fagnano and a slew of big-play receivers should be fun to watch.

We saw glimpses of how explosive this offense can be last spring in wins over Albany (38-34) and Stony Brook (35-19). Those opponents had no answer for Fagnano and wide receiver Andre Miller. Fagnano threw for 499 yards and eight touchdowns in those games; Miller caught 16 passes for 277 yards and six touchdowns.

This year, Charlton and offensive coordinator Andrew Dresner look at the receiving corps and smile. They see seven playmakers there, led by returning Devin Young, who opted out last spring because of the pandemic. There’s also Zavier Scott, Jacob Hennie, Michael Monios, Montigo Moss and Jamie Lamson.

Each one has the ability to turn a short pass into a long gain. Each one has the ability to get the ball when it’s in the air. Scott, a transfer from Connecticut, is so versatile that he has been used in the running game during the preseason.

“We have some great top-end talent there,” said Dresner. “They’re all dynamic in different ways.”

The running game, fueled by returners Elijah Barnwell and Freddie Brock and an experienced offensive line, should be better. Maine averaged just over 125 rushing yards a game in four spring games. That’s good, but not good enough to set up the passing game, which relies a lot on play-action fakes to freeze defenders and keep them from clogging the passing lanes.

“The run game sets it up,” said Fagnano. “If we’re running the ball well, it gets the defense coming downhill and opens up the passing game.”

“The offense is going to compete,” said Dresner.

Will the defense?

Since that magical 2018 season, Maine’s Black Hole defense has been prone to giving up big plays. Last spring, it gave up 212.2 rushing yards per game, and had only two sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery.

The Black Bears believe they’re going to be better.

“Overall, I feel our depth is stronger going into the season,” said defensive coordinator Mike Ryan. “Definitely better than in the spring.”

A lot of that optimism is based on the transfers that were brought in this year. Some, like defensive lineman Austin Chambers and safety Fofie Bazzie, played in the spring. The others will make their Black Bear debuts against Delaware. They are defensive end Xavier Mitchell and linebackers Ray Miller, Brian Lee and Vince Thomas.

Ryan said they will bring an edge to the defense. The pass rush should be better. The interior run defense should be stouter.

“We’ve got to create takeaways, that’s been a big focus for us,” said Charlton. “We’ve got to be strong, tackle well, play fundamentally sound and communicate in our coverage. We do those things, and that brings us to the next level, getting (tackles for losses), getting to the quarterback, creating turnovers.”

Linebacker Adrian Otero, who is starting his third season with the Black Bears, doesn’t think there is any pressure on the defense to perform better. “We just need to do what we do,” he said. “Just execute our assignments, be mentally ready, swarm to the ball. Do what the Black Hole does.”

Part of that is playing with a chip on their shoulder.

“We’re the underdogs,” said Otero. “We don’t have many eyes on us.  And that definitely motivates us more.”

The Black Bears have always thrived on being overlooked.

“That’s always the identity up here,” said Charlton. “Look at 2018, they picked us to finish eighth. It’s a big rallying cry for us. These guys are hard workers. … We’re confident, we’re hungry and we’re where we want to be, the underdogs. We’re out to prove what we can do.”