ORONO — It’s Drew Belcher’s offense now, and he’s determined to run with it. Literally.

The sophomore quarterback has carried the football 44 times the past two weeks, leading the Black Bears to a home win and a road loss. The starting job is Belcher’s to keep, Coach Jack Cosgrove said this week as Maine (3-5, 3-2) prepares to host Towson (5-3, 3-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

UMaine quarterback Drew Belcher has rushed 44 times in two weeks. He rushed for 97 yards in Maine’s 13-3 loss to Villanova on Saturday. Photo by Kevin Bennett

“There were times last year where I felt like I’d go through my read (when) there weren’t guys open. I’d kind of sit in the pocket and take sacks. This year I’m kind of just going through my reads and then getting out and not taking sacks, not taking negative plays. It seems like I have more carries but a couple of times I’m just trying to make faster decisions,” Belcher said Tuesday, after gaining 97 yards rushing while being sacked just once in a 13-3 loss at Villanova.

“We do have more designed run plays for me (than Dan Collins). I’m able to run the ball a little bit. I’m a big quarterback, so I’m able to take hits. We do some read-option stuff. They’re usually pretty successful. So I think that’s a good piece of the offense to have.”

It’s been a weird season for Belcher, who once again lost the starting job to Collins, a junior, after an extended training-camp battle. Cosgrove said there wasn’t much separating the two quarterbacks.

Belcher didn’t play in a season-opening loss at Boston College, then appeared in relief roles in Maine’s next four games. In a 21-10 home loss to Yale, Collins went the distance, which prompted Cosgrove to make the unusual admission afterward that he regretted not using Belcher in an attempt to spark the offense.

Two weeks ago, Belcher came on in the first quarter and played most of a 23-10 win over Stony Brook, carrying the ball 25 times for 65 yards and a touchdown. On Saturday, Belcher made his first start of the season, and this time it was his turn to take every snap despite an inability to generate touchdowns.

Cosgrove said Tuesday that he never considered giving Collins a shot at Villanova.

“Until we got into the red zone, I liked what I was seeing,” Cosgrove said. “I always have wanted to believe in (playing just one quarterback), but it just hasn’t been that easy.”

Maine has averaged only 16.1 points per game, with 34 of them coming off turnovers. The Black Bears are also stuck in a pattern of following a win with a loss in each of their six games with FCS opponents, falling from playoff contention along the way.

Now it’s left to Belcher to try to salvage some offensive momentum in the last three games. He has led the offense on just one touchdown drive in the last two weeks, and that covered only 31 yards thanks to a forced Stony Brook fumble by the defense. Maine reached the red zone four times at Villanova, with one field goal to show for it. There were two missed field goals by Sean Decloux and a fourth-down pass into double coverage in the end zone that sailed incomplete.

Cosgrove said Belcher made only three big mistakes – misreading the coverage on that incompletion, plus an interception and a lost fumble. He completed 16-of-29 passes for 180 yards, including gains of 40 yards to Nigel Beckford and 43 to Jordan Dunn on a pair of sideline patterns that could have produced touchdowns if the balls weren’t slightly underthrown. Cosgrove said the coaching staff is not simplifying its game plan for Belcher, but rather playing to his strengths.

Belcher, at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, has shown that he can absorb a blow while inflicting some damage of his own. Cosgrove also praised his leadership ability and his command of the huddle.

But there is little variety to the Maine offense, and Towson, coming off a 19-0 victory over Delaware, will surely test that. The Tigers, looking to win a shot at a playoff berth, excel at taking away one thing that opposing offenses rely on. On Saturday, Cosgrove figures that will be either the zone-read play that Belcher runs effectively, or his play-action sprints to the outside.

“The challenge with Drew will be identifying the fronts and the disguises and getting us situated that way, and then making the right decision to run or pass,” Cosgrove said.

Belcher is just happy to be the one making the decisions on the field.

“It’s definitely been different going from not playing at all to playing a lot more. You’ve just got to push through, keep working hard. Just be ready to go whenever, that’s what I’ve tried to do,” he said.

“It’s big (being named the starter). I really want to do my best to help the team win. And I’m excited for the opportunity.”

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