WATCH: UMaine Football Holds Pep Rally Ahead Of Playoff Game Against JSU

The University of Maine football team held a pep rally on campus ahead of Saturday's game against Jacksonville State in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

The Black Bears will make their eighth NCAA playoff appearance, and first since 2013, when they host the Gamecocks at Alfond Stadium.

"I really just wanted to say thank you to everyone. That's the main message here," coach Joe Harasymiak said at Thursday's rally. "I see a lot of familiar faces here, and I can't tell you how much it means to have a home playoff game. It's only the second time in the history of University of Maine football that we have a home playoff game, and we started in 1892. So it's pretty impressive for these guys and what they've accomplished so far."

Maine lasted hosted a playoff game in 2013, when they lost to New Hampshire in the second round.

It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and the first time Maine has matched up against a school from the Ohio Valley Conference.