Calling them the comeback kids might not be original, but this University of Maine football team makes a habit of rallying to victory.

Of their eight wins, the Black Bears have come back in the fourth quarter four times.

Today, Maine looks for victory No. 9 when the Black Bears play the University of New Hampshire at noon at Cowell Stadium in Durham, N.H.

Plenty is at stake.

• Maine (8-2, 6-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association) can win at least a share of the conference championship with a win over the Wildcats (7-3, 5-2). The Black Bears are tied for first with Towson (8-2, 6-1), which plays today at Rhode Island.

• With a win today, Maine could earn a good seed and first-round bye in the 20-team NCAA playoffs, which begin next week. Twelve teams will get a bye. Maine is ranked 11th in one national poll and is 10th in the Gridiron Power Index, which is based on a formula combining record and strength of schedule.

• Today’s game is the 99th meeting between these border rivals. The winner takes home the Brice-Cowell Musket. Maine currently has possession, based on its 16-13 win last year.

“It’s a part of our furniture in our locker room,” Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said. “It will be on the bus when we go down. It will have its own bed in a hotel. We don’t want to give it back.”

UNH might be motivated by more than the musket. The Wildcats, ranked 12th nationally and 14th in the Power Index, are probably going to the NCAA’s regardless of today’s outcome. But a win would guarantee it.

The Wildcats are coming off a 56-42 loss at Towson. The Tigers did to UNH what they did to Maine the week before — rush for more than 300 yards.

But UNH still put up six touchdowns, mirroring the Wildcats’ season. They lead the league in offense (452 yards per game) and are last in defense (allowing 259 yards and 33 points per game).

UNH quarterback Kevin Decker is the key. He leads the CAA with 286 passing yards per game, and he can run.

“He’s a huge concern,” Cosgrove said. “He’s more creative than any quarterback we’ve seen this year.”

It will be a good matchup: Decker vs. a Maine team that leads the league in pass defense (188 yards per game).

Maine’s offense again will rely on quarterback Warren Smith (244 yards per game) and running back Pushaun Brown (96-yard average).

And the Black Bears know that, if they can stay close, they can win the game.

They trailed Delaware 17-14 in the fourth quarter of a 31-17 win. Then there were other fourth-quarter deficits: 17-14 to James Madison (a 25-24 overtime win); 16-0 to Richmond (a 23-22 win); 21-19 to Massachusetts (a 32-21 win).

“It’s a sign of a senior team and a team that has learned some lessons,” Cosgrove said. “We struggled with that last year, with turnovers and penalties in the fourth quarter.

“Now we’re getting the turnovers, and we’re not getting penalized.”

Staff writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or: [email protected]

Twitter: KevinThomasPPH

UMAINE FOOTBALL

Who: Maine (8-2, 6-1) vs. New Hampshire (7-3, 5-2)

Where: Cowell Stadium, UNH campus, Durham, NH

When: Today, noon

Radio: WLOB/1310-AM