WHERE: Meade Stadium, Kingston, R.I.

WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday

STREAMING: FloFootball

ALL-TIME SERIES: Maine leads 62-36-3

KEY STAT: 69%, Maine quarterback Carter Peevy’s completion percentage, tops in the Coastal Athletic Association and 11th-best in the FCS.

OUTLOOK: Coming off a 35-7 win over No. 5 Villanova, the Black Bears take to the road to face No. 15 Rhode Island. A win keeps Maine in the hunt for a spot in the FCS playoffs. Maine has four games remaining against FCS competition, and to have a shot at the postseason, it must win each one. Coach Jordan Stevens said his team’s physicality was a key on both sides of the ball in last week’s win, and that has to continue. Defensively, it starts with a pass rush that has 20 sacks in seven games after recording 14 sacks all of last season. “They played together, and I think that’s the big piece,” Stevens said of the defensive effort last week against the Wildcats. Defensive end Xavier Holmes leads the Black Bears with 5.5 sacks, second-best in the CAA. Maine’s pass rush can’t be too aggressive, or else it could get out of position to stop the Rams’ strong running attack, led by Malik Grant (576 yards rushing and five touchdowns). URI ran for 176 yards in last week’s 26-9 win at UNH, its first victory at UNH since 1995. Holmes and linebacker Kesean Dyson lead Maine with 44 tackles each. The Black Bears forced four turnovers and held Villanova’s strong running game to 35 yards last week.

Maine’s offense must contend with a URI defense that held UNH to 235 yards last week, including just 20 yards on the ground. The Rams’ defensive front is disruptive and adept at getting into the backfield, Stevens said. Linebacker AJ Pena leads the Rams with seven sacks, including a pair last week. Linebacker Cole Brockwell has 68 tackles to lead URI. Maine has to continue running the ball well, and Peevy needs to continue his accuracy. In his first season at Maine, Peevy has thrown a touchdown pass to six receivers, and the Black Bears have seven receivers with at least one catch of more than 20 yards. Maine’s lopsided win over Villanova certainly got his team’s attention, URI Coach Jim Fleming said. “I like their team. They’re believing right now,” Fleming said.

OF NOTE: The Rams are Maine’s third ranked opponent in four games. Along with the win over No. 5 Villanova last week, the Black Bears defeated No. 21 UAlbany on Sept. 28. …  Maine received two votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll this week. … Rhode Island’s lone loss was at FBS Minnesota (48-0). … This is the 102nd game between Maine and URI. The only opponent the Black Bears have faced more is rival New Hampshire. … While Maine has a huge edge in the all-time series, the Rams won the last two meetings. … A win gives the Black Bears back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since the 2018 FCS playoffs, when Maine beat No. 8 Jacksonville State and No. 3 Weber State to advance to the semifinals. … Three of the last five games between the Black Bears and Rams were decided by four or fewer points.