The logic for Group of Five teams like Western Kentucky scheduling FCS opponents is easy to follow.

The Hilltoppers take some of the money paid to them by a Power Five team (in this case, $1.35 million from Wisconsin) and pass that on to a lower-division squad (in this case, $300,000 to Maine) to come to Bowling Green.

The hope is that WKU, as an FBS program, will dispatch the FCS foe without much stress and collect a win in front of its home fans.

But defensive tackle Jeremy Darvin knows the Toppers (0-1) are hosting a confident Black Bears team Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium (6:30 p.m., ESPN+).

Maine (1-0) makes the trip to WKU having just walloped rival New Hampshire – the preseason seventh-ranked FCS squad – Aug. 30 in its season opener.

“Maine’s a great opponent,” the redshirt sophomore Darvin told the Daily News on Wednesday. “Despite what everyone says, we’re looking at them as a worthy opponent.

“They played a tough team last week and they put it on them. … They’ve got some guys who can really play ball.”

The Black Bears went 4-6 last season and missed the FCS playoffs for the fourth straight year. Third-year coach Joe Harasymiak’s squad was picked to finish eighth this season in the 12-team Colonial Athletic Association, one of FCS’ toughest leagues.

Maine didn’t look anything like an eighth-place team last week in its opener. The Black Bears outgained UNH 454-108, limiting the Wildcats to minus 15 rushing yards on 32 official carries.

Wide receiver Earnest Edwards ran for a 17-yard touchdown and caught an 11-yard TD from quarterback Chris Ferguson. Meanwhile, Maine’s defense collected 12 tackles for loss, including six sacks.

The Black Bears’ 28-point win over New Hampshire vaulted them into the FCS STATS Top 25 poll at No. 22.

“We’ve always got to look forward to competition,” WKU wide receiver Lucky Jackson said. “They’re coming off a big win, so they’ll be coming in here ready to get after it.”

Coach Mike Sanford compared Saturday’s matchup to a road game WKU played last season against a Texas El-Paso team that finished the year 0-12. The heavily favored Tops came out flat and barely escaped the Sun Bowl with a 15-14 win.

Sanford also noted that WKU can’t take anyone lightly, especially considering the Hilltoppers are 1-6 over their last seven games dating to last season.

“If you don’t prepare the right way, anybody can beat anybody any given day,” Sanford said. “But I think this is a different beast than UTEP because this is a team that’s actually very confident in what they’re doing on the field. So we have to play our best ball.”

WKU is 0-1 after a 34-3 loss to a Wisconsin squad ranked fourth in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Hilltoppers saw some positives (offensive line play, pass rush) and areas for improvement (red zone offense, third-down defense).

Most importantly for the rest of WKU’s season, it came out of the Aug. 31 opener healthy. The Toppers announced the same depth chart Monday for the Maine matchup that they did before the contest against the Badgers.

Now, the 2018 WKU squad will debut for its fans on a busy day in Bowling Green. The program’s All-Century Team is being honored, and Grammy Award-winning rock band Cage the Elephant plays a 4:30 p.m. concert on South Lawn.

“We know the task at hand,” defensive tackle Julien Lewis said. “We know the main priority is to beat Maine. We can’t get sidetracked. If we want to achieve our goals, then we need to stay focused on the main goal, which is Maine.”

Broadcast info

Online stream: ESPN+ (Graham Doty, play-by-play; Bob Belvin, analyst)

Radio: 100.7 FM/1450 AM

Notes

Western Kentucky and Maine have never met. Since 2013, the Hilltoppers have faced first-time opponents 12 times. WKU is 10-2 in that span with its only losses coming at South Alabama and at Illinois. … Over the last 20 years, the Toppers are 17-3 in home openers and 74-20-5 all time. WKU has not lost a home opener since 2011 (14-40 vs. Navy). … Since 2012, the Hilltoppers are 16-2 against non-conference opponents from outside the Power Five conferences, with the two loses coming in bowl games. WKU has not lost a home game to a non-conference Group of Five or FCS team since 2011 (10-0 since then). … The Tops are 4-2 all time against current members of the Colonial Athletic Association, where the Black Bears are an associate member for football. … WKU is one of just three programs across the FBS who began the year with five new position starters on the offensive line. The other two were Fresno State and Texas-San Antonio.{&end}