As a hushed group of Western Kentucky supporters shuffled down Avenue of Champions at 10:15 Saturday night, Maine players whooped and hollered from just inside the stadium gates.
The FCS Black Bears had just walked into Houchens-Smith Stadium and stunned the FBS host Hilltoppers 31-28. And, as one Maine player reminded the fans, they took home a $300,000 payday in the process.
Maine (2-0) fell behind WKU (0-2) 21-0 barely five minutes into the teams’ matchup Saturday night. Then the Black Bears dominated from that point forward, scoring 31 unanswered points and leading by 10 in the fourth quarter.