UAlbany Falls to No. 10 Baylor
Mario Terrana
10
UAlbany UAL 0-1 , 0-0
69
Winner Baylor BAY 1-0 , 0-0
UAlbany UAL
0-1 , 0-0
10
Final
69
Baylor BAY
1-0 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UAL UAlbany 7 0 3 0 10
BAY Baylor 21 14 14 20 69

Game Recap: Football |

UAlbany Falls to No. 10 Baylor in Season Opener

Score: No. 10 Baylor 69, UAlbany 10
 
Location: McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas
 
Records: UAlbany (0-1, 0-0 CAA) | Baylor (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
 
Short Story: The University at Albany football team fell to FBS foe No. 10 Baylor to start its 2022 season.
 
Key Stat Lines
  • Reese Poffenbarger – 13-26-0, 150 yards, TD, 45 yards rushing
  • Julian Hicks – 4 rec, 53 yards, TD
  • Todd Sibley – 9 rushes, 18 yards
  • Thomas Greaney – 3 rec, 57 yards
  • Dylan Kelly – 12 tackles, 8 solo
  • AJ Simon – 2 sacks
  • AJ Mistler – 6 tackles, 5 solo, 0.5 TFL
  • Jackson Ambush – 6 tackles, 3 solo
  • In the first half, UAlbany collected 87 yards through the air and 52 via the run game.
  • The UAlbany offense held the ball for 16:33 in the first half compared to Baylor's offense with just 13:27 time of possession.
  • In the second half, UAlbany was limited to just 98 total yards. The Bears offense marched down the field for 316.
     
Coach Greg Gattuso: "I thought our kids competed hard in the first half. I was tough on myself and the staff for some of the little mistakes we were making. That's our responsibility to keep ourselves from making those mistakes that hurt us a lot. But overall, the kids played their butts off for two and a half quarters, we were beat up in the second half… There were moments in the game where we competed really well, I'm proud of them."
How it Happened:
  • UAlbany won the opening coin toss and chose to receive the football. The first play of the game was a run from Todd Sibley – his first as a Great Dane.
  • Baylor struck first on their opening drive following a 47-yard pass from Blake Shapen to Monaray Baldwin. The Bears used 2:20 of clock on six plays for 76 yards.
  • Baylor forced a turnover on the Great Danes' next possession, stripping the ball from Jackson Parker after what would have been a six-yard completion. The Bears gained control around UAlbany's 30-yard line. They scored four plays later on a four-yard run from Craig Williams to push the lead to 14-0.
  • Baylor pushed the lead to 21-0 on a 72-yard punt return from Gavin Holmes late in the first.
  • UAlbany fought to get back into the game at the end of the first quarter. Baylor went for it on a fourth-and-one on their own 30-yard line. The UAlbany defense, led by Elijah Hills, stopped the Bears in their tracks. Soon after, Reese Poffenbarger found Julian Hicks in the back of the end zone off a 17-yard dime to score the first TD of the year for UAlbany. The score was the final play of the first quarter, making it 21-7.
  • Baylor pushed the lead to 28-7 at the 11:55 mark of the second quarter. Shapen found Hal Presley on a 38-yard pass for the score.
  • With one second left in the half, Baylor elected to go for the score from the UAlbany two-yard line. Shapen rolled to his right and was able to barely stretch the football over the pylon for the TD. The score capped a 2:44 drive that had the Bears marching 80 yards on 11 plays. The TD brought the score to 35-7 heading into the locker room.
  • On the first drive of the second half, Baylor marched 80 yards on six plays to push the lead to 42-7. Monaray Baldwin got his second TD of the night on a 50-yard catch and run reception.
  • John Opalko hit his first field goal of the year in the third quarter from 25 yards out with 6:19 remining to make the score 42-10.
  • Baylor scored once more in the third quarter when backup quarterback Kyron Drones ran it in on fourth-and-two from nine yards out. The play was the final in a nine play, 54-yard drive that spanned 4:25.
  • The score became 56-10 with 12 minutes remining in the game. Baylor's Richard Reese rushed in from a yard out for the score. The drive ran 2:27 and covered 61 yards on seven plays.
  • Reese scored again on a seven-yard run with 9:10 remaining to push the score to 62-10.
  • Qualan Jones ran it in from 27 yards out to make the score 69-10 in favor of the Bears. The extra point was no good after a bad hold.

Next: The Great Danes return to Tom and Mary Casey Stadium next Saturday for the team's 2022 home opener. The game will also kick off the CAA season for UAlbany, with a matchup against conference for New Hampshire. Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany football by following the team on Twitter and Instagram and by using the hashtags #UAUKNOW and #WinTheDay. 
 
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