Battle in the Bronx, Football Faces Fordham

Albany, N.Y. – The University at Albany football team hits the road for week three of the 2022 season with a matchup against the Fordham Rams. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. EST with coverage on ESPN+ and 104.5 The Team.

Game Info

Saturday, September 17 at Fordham

1:00 p.m. EST 

ESPN+| 104.5 The Team |  Live Stats | Media Center

Leading the Pack

• Todd Sibley made a big impact for the Great Danes in his first game at Casey Stadium. The grad transfer from Pitt was given the ball 13 times for 105 yards and a TD. His runs brought a spark to the offense, including a 39-yard rush to bring the Great Danes into the UNH red zone and a 15-yard scoring run on a direct snap. 
• Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger also had a solid day against the Wildcats a week ago. He was 18-27 passing the ball for 264 yards and two TDs, keeping the offense clean with no turnovers. He also proved to once again be a danger on the ground, rushing for an additional 64 yards.
• Thomas Greaney stood out in the receiving corps. The big 6-5, 255lb, tight end brought in seven receptions for 105 yards. He was also on the receiving end of both of Poffenbarger’s TD throws in the second half. 
• Through two weeks of action, linebacker Dylan Kelly leads the team in tackles with 18 (11 solo, 7 asst). He is followed by AJ Mistler (13), Bill Hackett (12), and Larry Walker Jr. (12). 
• Defensive end AJ Simon still leads the team with 2.0 sacks on the year. He has a total of 3.0 TFLs for nine yards. 
• On special teams, Tyler Pastula is averaging 44.08 yards per punt. Kicker John Opalko is 2-3 so far on the season, hitting a long of 36 yards. 

Scouting Fordham

In two games this season, Fordham (2-0) has been a scoring machine. The Rams posted 48 points against Wagner in their season opener before dropping another 52 against CAA school Monmouth last week. Both of those high-scoring games have come on the road, with the team’s home opener set against UAlbany this weekend.

• Quarterback Tim DeMorat has had an excellent start to the season. He has twice been named the GEICO Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and was also named the NCAA FCS National Player of the Week after the Rams’ last game. Against Monmouth on Saturday, he completed 34 of 51 passes for a career-high 452 yards and six touchdowns. He tied his own school record with the six touchdown passes and became the school's all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 78. On the year, DeMorat has completed 52 of 76 passes for 838 yards and eleven touchdowns. He leads the NCAA FCS in passing touchdowns and passing yards/game.
• Linebacker Ryan Greenhagen leads the team in tackles with 15 (10 solo, 5 asst). He also has 1.0 sack for six yards and 1.5 TFLs on the year. In total, the Rams have four players who have recorded a sack this year – Greenhagen, Jonathan Coste, Alfonso Dixon IV, and Stephen Williams II. 
• In the backfield, the Rams have relied on two running backs. In two games, Julius Loughridge has 36 carries for 225 yards and a TD. Trey Sneed has posted similar numbers in the backfield, with 195 yards gained on 35 attempts with a TD.

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

A season-high five CAA squads were voted into the Stats Perform Top 25, while four squads remained ranked in the AFCA Coaches Top 25. Villanova (2-0) was ranked No. 5 by the AFCA and No. 7 by Stats Perform. The Wildcats, who are coming off a 38-21 victory at LIU, travel to Army West Point this Saturday. Delaware (2-0) continued its climb up the polls, coming in at No. 9 in the Stats poll and No. 10 in the AFCA poll while William & Mary (2-0) vaulted to No. 15 in the Stats poll and No. 17 in the AFCA poll. Rhode Island (2-0) moved up to No. 14 in the AFCA rankings and No. 17 in the Stats rankings and New Hampshire (2-0) earned a spot in the poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 25 by Stats Perform and received votes in the AFCA rankings. Richmond (1-1) and Elon (1-1) were among others receiving votes in both polls, and Towson (2-0) picked up votes in the AFCA poll.

CAA Football’s five ranked teams in the Stats Perform poll matched the Big Sky for the most of any conference. The CAA, Big Sky and Missouri Valley each had eight teams either ranked or receiving votes.

This week’s matchups include:

• UAlbany* at Fordham
• Richmond* at Lehigh
• Villanova* at Army
• Georgetown at Monmouth*
• Towson* at West Virginia
• Delaware* at Rhode Island*
• Hampton* at Norfolk State
• William & Mary* at Lafayette
• Stony Brook* at UMass
• Gardner-Webb at Elon*
• North Carolina Central at New Hampshire*
• Maine* at Boston College

*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

Sept. 24           CCSU

Oct. 1              BYE

Oct. 8              at Monmouth*

Oct. 15            HAMPTON*

Oct. 22            at Villanova*

Oct. 29            STONY BROOK*

Nov. 5              at Elon*

Nov. 12            MAINE*

Nov. 19            at Rhode Island* 

* Denotes CAA Matchup

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