Football Hosts Maine on Senior Day

ALBANY, N.Y. –   The University at Albany football team returns to Bob Ford Field at Tom and Mary Casey Stadium for Senior Day as the Great Danes face off against Maine. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EST with coverage on FloFootball and 104.5 The Team. 

Game Info

Saturday, November 12 vs. Maine

12:00 p.m. EST 

FloFootball | 104.5 The Team |  Live Stats | Media Center | Tickets

Senior Class

The following Great Danes will be honored on the field pregame this Saturday:

• Matt Valecce
• Chris Potts
• Elijah Ayers
• Lavarey Banton
• DeVante Ford
• Todd Sibley
• Brennan McQuade
• Nate Genevick
• Anthony Lang
• Thomas Greaney
• AJ Mistler 

Leading the Pack

• Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger rolls into week 11 ranked second in the CAA in passing, completing 189-of-293 pass attempts for 2,477 yards. In nine games, he has tossed 20 TDs while averaging 275.2 yards a game. He has been named CAA Rookie of the Week five times this season (9/19, 9/26, 10/3, 10/17, and 10/31) and was once named FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman of the Week (10/17). 
• Todd Sibley ranks sixth in the conference in rushing and eighth in scoring. Sibley is averaging 91.3 yards a game, completing 134 carries for 822yards. Against Elon, he completed 20 carries for 111 yards. 
• Kristen McAdams and Roy Alexander led the offense a week ago at Elon. McAdams had two receptions for 44 yards while Alexander had three receptions for 23 yards. 
• Dylan Kelly ranks fourth in the league and leads the team in tackles with 81.0 (49 solo, 32 asst) while Jackson Ambush follows closely behind. Ambush is ranked ninth in the league and second on the team with 72 tackles (39 solo, 33 asst). 
• On special teams, Tyler Pastula is averaging 43.0 yards per punt (4th in CAA). He recorded a season-high punt of 73 yards against Villanova. Kicker John Opalko is 8-11 on the season, hitting a long of 36 yards. 

Last Time Against Maine 

The last time UAlbany faced Maine was Oct. 23rd, 2021. The Great Danes fell just short of capturing a win with a final score of 16-19. The offense came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points in the final frame, but couldn’t recover from an early deficit. UAlbany trailed by 13 points at one point but was able to come within three with the ball in their possession late in the game. 

Scouting Maine 

In nine games this season, Maine (2-7 overall, 2-4 conference) is facing a three-game losing streak after falling to #23 ranked Rhode Island 22-26 last Saturday. The Black Bears dropped their first four games of the season against the University of New Mexico (0-41), Colgate (18-21), Boston College (17-38), and Villanova (20-45). Maine then picked up their first two wins of the season, defeating Hampton, 31-24, and Monmouth, 38-28. Stony Brook ended the win streak however, beating the Black Bears 27-28. #17 Richmond followed behind handing Maine a 21-31 loss. 

• Offensively, the Black Bears are averaging 21.56 points per game. In nine games, the offense has totaled 3,039 yards. 1,163 yards have come from the ground and 1,876 have come via the air. 
• On the defensive side of the ball, Maine is allowing 31.33 points per game. Opponents are averaging 3,622 yards of offense, with 1,432 from the ground and 2,190 coming through the air. 

UAlbany Football Weekly

Turn the channel to MY4 Albany every Saturday morning at 11:30 for UAlbany Football Weekly, presented by Mohawk Chevrolet. See Coach Gattuso and players in studio, hear special mic’d up segments, and learn about the team with weekly feature stories. It’s all UAlbany football, every Saturday, all season long. 

Around the CAA

For the second week in a row, CAA Football topped all FCS conferences with six nationally ranked teams in the latest Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches FCS Top 25 polls that were released on Monday. William & Mary (8-1) is ranked #8 in both polls after getting past Hampton, 20-14, last Saturday to improve to 5-0 on the road. The Tribe, which is riding a five-game winning streak, returns home to face Villanova this week. Richmond (7-2) rose to No. 12 in the Stats poll and No. 13 in AFCA poll following a 40-34 victory over nationally ranked New Hampshire last week. The Spiders take a four-game winning streak into a big road test at nationally ranked Delaware. Delaware (7-2) moved up to No. 15 in the AFCA poll and No. 17 in the Stats poll after defeating Monmouth, 49-17, last week. The Blue Hens entertain nationally ranked Richmond on Saturday afternoon. Elon (7-3) climbed to No. 18 in the Stats rankings and No. 21 in the AFCA rankings after beating UAlbany, 27-3, last week to move to 5-0 at home. The Phoenix closes the regular season at Hampton on Saturday. Rhode Island (6-3) is ranked No. 22 in both polls following a 26-22 triumph over Maine last Saturday. The Rams visit nationally ranked New Hampshire this week.New Hampshire (6-3), which fell 40-34 at No. 14 Richmond last week, dropped to No. 21 in the Stats poll and No. 25 in the AFCA poll. The Wildcats host nationally ranked Rhode Island on Saturday.

This week’s matchups include:

• Maine* at UAlbany*
• Elon* at Hampton* 
• Towson* at Stony Brook*
• Villanova* at William & Mary *
• Rhode Island* at New Hampshire* 
• Richmond* at Delaware* 

*Denotes CAA Team

Meet the Leadership Council

Every year, the UAlbany players and coaching staff elect a “Leadership Council” comprised of guys who show an extortionary level of leadership both on and off the field. This year’s council is comprised of eight total student-athletes, five coming from the offensive side of the ball and three coming from the defensive side. Players on this year’s council include offensive lineman Scott Houseman, quarterback Joey Carino, tight end Thomas Greaney, center Kobe Thomas, linebacker Jackson Ambush, linebacker AJ Mistler, running back Todd Sibley, and defensive back Larry Walker Jr.

Preseason Honors

UAlbany was picked to finish in 12th place in this year’s CAA Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The low mark comes as no surprise as the team comes off a year in which they went 2-9. The last time the Great Danes finished with a similar record was in 2018, when the team finished with a 3-8 mark. The next year though? The Great Danes went 9-5 overall and won their first ever postseason game, a 42-14 clobbering against CCSU. 

Linebacker Jackson Ambush (Defense) and punter Tyler Pastula (Special Teams) both received preseason conference honors. In addition, defensive lineman Anthony Lang was named Honorable Mention. Ambush led the team in total tackles last season as a freshman. Pastula transferred from CAA foe Delaware, but not before being named All-CAA First Team and collecting two Special Teams Player of the Week awards in 2021. 

Welcome to the CAA

This summer, the CAA announced the addition of two new conference members for football – Hampton University and Monmouth University. The Great Danes are one of the first teams that get to “welcome” the two new challengers to the conference. UAlbany’s second CAA game of the year is schedule for Oct. 8 on the road against the Hawks, followed by a home contest the following week against the Pirates at Casey Stadium. 

Season Schedule

Click here for UAlbany’s full 2022 online season schedule. 

Sept. 3             at No. 10 Baylor          L, 10-69

Sept. 10           NEW HAMPSHIRE*     L, 23-28

Sept. 17           at Fordham                 L, 45-48

Sept. 24           CCSU                           W, 45-26

Oct. 1              BYE

Oct. 8              at Monmouth*           L, 31,38

Oct. 15            HAMPTON*                L, 37-38

Oct. 22            at Villanova*              L, 29-31

Oct. 29            STONY BROOK*           W, 59-14

Nov. 5              at Elon*                      L, 3-27 

Nov. 12            MAINE*

Nov. 19            at Rhode Island* 

* Denotes CAA Matchup

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