CEDAR FALLS -- Jack Cosgrove's days on the sidelines are done for the 2008 football season.

Saturday evening, Maine's head coach tried a different role -- volunteer scout.

Following Northern Iowa's 40-15 victory over his Black Bears, Cosgrove fielded a question about the Panthers' upcoming matchup with New Hampshire. The Wildcats reached the quarterfinal round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs by beating Southern Illinois at Carbondale.

In their final regular-season game, Cosgrove and Maine dropped a 28-24 decision to their Colonial Athletic Association rival.

So the Black Bears have stored fresh images of both UNI and New Hampshire.

"That's interesting," said Cosgrove of the Panthers-Wildcats game, set for Saturday at 6 p.m. in the UNI-Dome.

"Being in here obviously helps Northern Iowa."

Cosgrove said New Hampshire fields another good quarterback in R.J. Toman and a strong offensive line.

"(The Wildcats) will challenge you more with the throwing game than we did -- that's for sure," said the Maine head coach. "They're bigger than we are. We're not a real big team up front, either.

"Their offensive line is real, real good. It's gonna be a heck of a game here next week, for sure."

If Cosgrove's prediction comes true, the 2008 Panthers-Wildcats matchup will be chapter 3 in a series of postseason thrillers.

Three years ago, UNI ventured to then-No. 1 New Hampshire and won a quarterfinal game, 28-24. Last season, the Panthers prevailed, 38-35, on the Eric Sanders to Montari Leonard touchdown pass with seven seconds to go.

"That whole game was a battle out there," said UNI runningback Corey Lewis of the 2007 classic. "It went down to the wire. That's what football is all about right there."

Asked if UNI-New Hampshire qualified as a rivalry, head coach Mark Farley grinned.

"If they keep showing up, it might be," said the Panthers head coach.

Farley added, "We all know how difficult it is to win at Southern Illinois. (New Hampshire) is another good football team and a great program…. I think we have two great programs who are playing each other."

BEGINNING AND END ï½ Maine kicked off the 2008 season with a 46-3 loss to Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. The Black Bears finished at 8-5 after falling to the Panthers at the UNI-Dome.

After the playoff loss, Maine handed out high praise to UNI, most notably its defense. The Panther front four sacked Black Bear quarterback Michael Brusko three times.

"Their defensive line is probably the best we've faced all year, and I would say that includes Iowa," said Brusko.THE BOTTOM LINE ï½ Javon Belcher is a two-time winner of the Colonial Athletic Assocation's defensive player of the year award. The Black Bear defensive end drew high praise from Farley throughout the week.

On the field, Belcher made five tackles and did not post a sack.

Said UNI offensive lineman Bob Swift, "It was nothing new for us as an offensive line. We respected him. We didn't fear him. We went out there and controlled what we can control and got away with the win."TROPHY CASE ï½ After the game, UNI's players and coaches received a trophy for the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship. The Panthers finished in a tie for the title with Southern Illinois.SPECIAL TEAMS? ï½ The Panthers' biggest problems Saturday came in the kicking game. Maine blocked a Brook Black punt to set up its only first-half touchdown. Billy Hallgren's streak of eight straight successful field goal tries came to an end when he missed a pair in the opening 30 minutes.

"Special teams kept (Maine) in the game," said Farley. "Those are things we've got to shore up."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com