Football Travels to Face Maine

ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany Football Team is set to travel north this weekend to take on Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) foe Maine for a Saturday matchup. The Great Danes roll into Orono with an overall record of 5-3, having gone 5-1 in FCS play. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. with coverage on FloFootball and 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio.

Game Info

Saturday, October 28 vs. Maine

Morse Field at Harold Alfond Sports Stadium in Orono, Maine

1:00 p.m. EST

FloFootball | 104.5 The Team | Live Stats | Media Center 

Leading the Pack

• Anton Juncaj continues to pace the entire FCS with 10 total sacks. He is followed closely by teammate AJ Simon, who sits with eight after adding one this past weekend. As a team, the Great Danes sit in a tie for second place in the FCS with 25, four behind Lafayette. 
• Reese Poffenbarger has found a groove on offense, passing for four TDs in each of his last two outings. He ranks second in the FCS in TD passes (20) and third in points responsible for (138). For yardage, he currently sits just outside the top-10 with 1,837 yards – fifth in the CAA. 
• Dylan Kelly, who was named the National Defensive Player of the Week after his game against Towson in which he recorded 23 tackles, sits second in the nation with 100 total tackles. He holds 18 more tackles than the next closest player in the CAA. 
• Aamir Hall leads the FCS in passes defended with 14, averaging 1.8 per game. He currently holds three interceptions on the season, just one off the national lead. 
• Julain Hicks has emerged as the top wideout on the team. In his last two games, Hicks had recorded 350 receiving yards with four TDs. This past week, he racked up 188 receiving yard and two TDs in the first half alone, one of which went for 85 yards. He sits with a season total of 473 yards and six TDs.  
• The UAlbany defense ranks second in the CAA for defensive efficiency (117.4).  

Rookie of the Week

Running back Griffin Woodell was named the CAA Rookie of the Week by the league on Monday morning. It was the second time this season Woodell has earned the conference's weekly honor. Woodell rushed for 115 yards in a 35-10 home win for the Great Danes over Rhode Island this past weekend. The rookie back got going early, rushing for 48 yards and a TD on the offense's very first drive of the afternoon. The Glens Falls native ripped a 44-yard run just six plays in to set up the Great Danes at the URI two-yard line. Woodell pounded the ball in one play later to put the Great Danes into the lead, 7-0. The 115-yard performance is the best of Woodell's career thus far, and the first time the rookie eclipsed the 100-yard mark. He had previously been named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 2 following an 87-yard, two TD performance against then-ranked #16 Villanova.

Last Time Out

The Great Danes continued to stay hot on home turf, dismantling CAA foe Rhode Island 35-10 at Casey Stadium. The win improved UAlbany’s home record to 3-0 on the year, with wins earlier in the season coming over Fordham (34-13) and then-ranked #16 Villanova (31-10). 

• Reese Poffenbarger had another great outing in the pocket. The quarterback passed for 324 yards and tossed four TDs, the fifth time he has done so in his career.
• Julian Hicks continued his hot streak, bringing in a career-high 188 yards with two TDs. All of his stats came in the first half, making the feat even more impressive. He was on the receiving end of an 85-yard play, turning on the Jets and bringing the ball to the house late in the second quarter.
• Brevin Easton also had a strong outing, bringing in two passes for 88 yards. His day was highlighted by an 83-yard reception right before the half.
• Both Griffin Woodell and Faysal Aden broke the 100-yard mark. Aden finished with 100 yards even, while Woodell ran for 115 yards and a TD.
• Defensively, Dylan Kelly led the team with 10 tackles and an INT. He also added a TFL.
• AJ Simon recorded another sack, bringing his season total up to eight.
• The defense as a unit held URI to just 311 yards of total offense.

Scouting Maine

The Black Bears currently sit with an overall record of 2-6, having gone 1-4 in CAA action. The team is coming off of three strong games, scoring 31 points against Richmond (31-42 loss), winning 24-13 against LIU, and putting up 28 against Campbell (28-34 loss). The team is 2-1 at home with the win over LIU and a 56-28 trouncing of Stony Brook earlier in the year. Maine fell to then ranked #21 Rhode Island in its first home game of the year, 17-34. 

The Black Bears are averaging 22.25 points per game, with opponents averaging 29.63. The offense is led by quarterback Derek Robertson, who has thrown for 2,049 yards with 14 TDs and nine interceptions. His favorite target has been wideout Joe Gillette, who has hauled in 35 passes for 563 yards and five TDs. On the ground, Tristen Kenan has led the attack with 312 yards on 78 attempts with five TDs. 

Defensively, Kahzir Brown leads the team in tackles with 47. He is followed closely by Tyshawn Stewart (44) and Abdul Stewart (43). The Black Bear defense has only registered 10 sacks so far this season between eight different players. Abdul Stewart leads the team with three INTs, a mark that is tied for second best in the FCS. 

Into the Rankings

The Great Danes sit just outside the Stats Perform and AFCA Top 25 Polls, receiving votes after being ranked No. 24 two weeks ago. The Great Danes are 5-1 in FCS play, with the lone losing coming on the road to UNH. Delaware (6-1) moved up to a season-best #5 in the Stats poll and #6 in the AFCA poll after beating Hampton, 47-3, to extend its winning streak to five. The Blue Hens are back on the road this Saturday at Towson. William & Mary (4-3) fell to #22 in the Stats rankings and #24 in the AFCA rankings following its 34-24 setback to Towson last week. The Tribe entertains Monmouth on Saturday. Villanova (5-2), which was off last week, climbed to #19 in the Stats poll and received votes in the AFCA poll. The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday as they entertain Stony Brook. New Hampshire (4-3) moved up to #20 in the AFCA poll and is getting votes in the Stats poll after topping Stony Brook, 45-14, last Saturday. The Wildcats visit Rhode Island this week. UAlbany (5-3) was among other teams receiving votes in both polls. The Great Danes visit Maine on Saturday.

UAlbany Football Weekly

Turn the channel to MY4* Albany every Saturday morning at 11:30 for UAlbany Football Weekly, presented by USX Pest Control. 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. 

*UAlbany Football Weekly will also be posted to UAlbanySports.com every Saturday at 12:00 p.m. for fans to watch online. 

Dominating Defensive Performance

Dylan Kelly had a performance of a lifetime against Towson on Oct. 7. The senior linebacker ended the game with 23 total tackles, the most by any FCS player in a single game this season and the second most in a single game all-time in the UAlbany record books. The was just one tackle shy of tying the UAlbany record of 24 set by Don Mion in 1974. Kelly added a forced fumble and recovery in the win and was also a key contributor on the final defense play of the game that sealed the win for the Great Danes. 

For his efforts, Kelly was not only named the conference’s Defensive player of the Week, but was also named the Stats Perform FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week – the first national award of his career. 

Record Breakers

The UAlbany defense combined to record 10 sacks in the season opener against Fordham, a single-game record. The previous record, eight, was set in 2017 against New Hampshire. Leading that charge was defensive end Anton Juncaj, Juncaj finished with four sacks on the day, claiming his own individual record for most sacks in a single game. Also having impressive nights were AJ Simon, who finished with three sacks, Dylan Kelly (2), and Ronnell McCorn (1). 

Meet the Leadership Council

Every year, the UAlbany players and coaching staff elect a “Leadership Council” comprised of players who show an extortionary level of leadership both on and off the field. This year’s council is comprised of nine total student-athletes, five coming from the offensive side of the ball and four coming from the defensive side. On offense, Leadership Council selections include quarterback Reese Poffenbarger, Tight End Ian Renninger, wide receiver Roy Alexander, and linemen Scott Houseman and Ozzie Hutchinson. On defense, safety Larry Walker Jr., lineman AJ Simon, and linebackers Dylan Kelly and Ori Jean-Charles get the nod. 

A Decade at UAlbany

It’s been a decade since Head Football Coach Greg Gattuso took over the reins of the UAlbany program, replacing legendary long-time coach Bob Ford. In ten years, Gattuso has amassed a 39-57 overall record, leading the Great Danes on some of their most historic seasons. The 2019 season saw the Great Danes win nine games, including their first-ever FCS playoff game, at home against Central Connecticut State. The Danes went 9-5 overall, including 6-2 in the CAA to finish second after being picked 11th in the preseason coaches’ poll.  The 2019 team featured six All-CAA selections and two major awards, including Offensive Rookie of the Year Jeff Undercuffler, with Gattuso landing CAA Coach of the Year honors.  Gattuso was also a finalist for the STATS Eddie Robinson Award, presented annually to the top head coach in FCS football.

Gattuso was a defensive lineman at Penn State, where he helped lead the Nittany Lions to a national title in 1982. In his first collegiate head-coaching role, Gattuso piloted Duquesne to a 97-32 record during his 12-season tenure, and while making three bowl appearances at Pittsburgh, he turned the defensive line into one of the best in the nation as an assistant head coach.

Going Cashless

UAlbany Athletics will shift to an entirely cashless payment model for all events starting with the 2023-24 season. Additionally, gates for UAlbany football games will now open 60 minutes prior to kickoff.

In shifting to cashless operations, the UAlbany Department of Athletics modernizes the pregame and gameday experience for Great Danes fans, who will now enjoy shorter wait times in line for tickets, concessions, and merchandise, as well as enhanced security and convenience in their transactions.

On gameday, the UAlbany Athletics ticketing box office, merchandising, concessions, and parking will accept all major credit cards.  Additionally, concessions will further accept Apple Pay, and parking will further accept both Apple Pay and Google Pay.

All events hosted by the UAlbany Department of Athletics will be subject to the new cashless policy.  For more information, please contact the UAlbany Ticket Office by phone at (518) 442-DANE or by email at GreatDaneTickets@albany.edu.

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