Photo Credit: Tina Haines

Score: Montana State 47, UAlbany 21

Records: UAlbany (9-5), Montana State (10-3)

Location: Bobcat Stadium – Bozeman, Montana

Short Story: UAlbany football's historic season ended on Saturday, falling to fifth-ranked Montana State, 47-21, in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.

Key Stats:

• Jeff Undercuffler tossed a pair of TDs in the contest. He finished with 273 yards on 18-37 passing with two interceptions.
• Juwan Green and Jerah Reeves each caught one touchdown. Green finished the contest with a team-high 123 yards, marking his seventh game with 100-plus receiving yards. Reeves put up in 72 yards on a team-high six receptions.
• Karl Mofor tallied his 10th rushing touchdown of the season. The junior produced 64 rushing yards and added another 17 in the air.

Head Coach Greg Gattuso: “Congratulations to Montana State for playing a great football game. I have to take off my hat to them and their fans, they really brought the energy. From our end, I think the kicking game got us into a bit of trouble. We had a blocked punt which resulted in a safety for them and that began to swing the momentum. Defensively, we battled the entire game. Our guys gave us a shot to close the gap before halftime but in the end, we just couldn't push through. At the end of the day, I just love this football team. I am extremely proud of them and what they have done this year. We are building something special here at UAlbany and these guys are a huge part of that.”

Redshirt-senior Josh Wynn: “I just want to thank coach for giving me an opportunity to play Division I football. These past five years have been incredible. After the game I told the younger guys to keep grinding and building on what we created this year. I will continue to cheer this program on. I love this program and I'm not going anywhere.”

Recap

The historic 2019 UAlbany football season culminated on Saturday in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at Montana State. The Great Danes, who were picked to finish last in the CAA this season, finished the season with a 9-5 record (6-2 CAA), setting numerous school records. Along the way, UAlbany won their first FCS Playoff game and won nine games for the first time since 2012.

UAlbany has set a number of individual single-season records this season. Among them: QB Jeff Undercuffler (41 passing TDs and 3,543 passing yards), WR Juwan Green (17 receiving TDs, 1,386 receiving yards) and Eli Mencer (14.5 sacks).

The Great Danes got out to a fast start with Green taking it 58 yards to the house on a pass from Undercuffler just 63 seconds into the game. Green racked up 100 of his 123 yards in the first half.

The Bobcats quickly responded with a 42-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-all. Montana State's offense continued to roll, scoring 26 unanswered points to pull ahead 26-7 at halftime.

Montana State added a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to increase its lead to 33 points.  

In the fourth, Karl Mofor took the ball 23 yards into the end zone to give the Great Danes their first score since the opening drive. Jerah Reeves followed suit with a 16 yard catch before barreling into the end zone for the Great Danes' third TD of the day. Montana State would go on to win 47-21.

Defensively, Josh Wynn paced the squad with 17 tackles. Tyler Carswell finished the day with six tackles and a forced fumbled, while AJ Mistler had nine tackles and a fumble recovery.

Next up: The Great Danes conclude the season with a 9-5 overall record and finished second in the CAA behind a 6-2 record. The program also earned their second bid into the FCS Playoffs and earned the program's first ever FCS Playoff win with a 42-14 victory against CCSU on Nov. 30.