#12 Football to Play for CAA Championship

ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany Football Team, ranked #12 in the nation, will play for at least a share of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) regular season championship this Saturday. The Great Danes are set to host the Monmouth Hawks from Casey Stadium. The game, which will also celebrate the senior class, will kick off at 1:00 p.m. with coverage on FloFootball and 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio.

Game Info

Saturday, November 18 vs. Monmouth

Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.

1:00 p.m. EST

FloFootball | 104.5 The Team | Live Stats | Media Center 

For the ‘Ship

Entering Saturday’s contest, the Great Danes sit in a four-way tie for first place with Delaware, Villanova, and Richmond. All four teams sport a 6-1 CAA record. With a win, UAlbany will clinch at least a share of the CAA regular season title – a feat the team has never accomplished in its history. Only one team will be awarded the CAA’s automatic qualifier. For a full list of tiebreaking scenarios, click here. 

Senior Day

In addition to competing far a CAA title, the Great Danes will celebrate Senior Day before Saturday’s game. This season, 15 seniors will be honored in a special pregame ceremony. This year’s senior class includes: 

Cole Esposito

Billy Martin

Tyler Pastula

AJ Simon

Julian Hicks

Bill Hackett

Brevin Easton

Issac Duffy

Ori Jean-Charles

Stephen Sokach-Minnick

Joe Tortello

Joe Greaney

Dylan Kelly

Ian Renninger

Larry Walker Jr. 

Leading the Pack

• The UAlbany defense has been dominant in 2023. The Great Danes lead the entire FCS in rushing yards allowed per game, giving up just 79.8 yards per game on the ground. The team ranks 14th in the nation in third in the CAA in total defense, allowing a stingy 306.2 yards per game in total. 
• The defense has been led by defensive ends Anton Juncaj and AJ Simon. The dynamic due sit in second and third, respectively, in the entire FCS in sacks. Juncaj leads the CAA with 12 on the season, followed closely by Simon with 10.5. The next closest CAA defensive end is William & Mary’s John Pius, coming in with 8.5.
• Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger is third in the country in points responsible for with 180. The sophomore QB has completed 192 of 335 passes for 2,613 yards against just eight interceptions. He’s thrown for 27 TDs, including four games this season where he has thrown four scoring passes. The Maryland native has added another three TDs on the ground for an even number of 30. 
• Linebacker Dylan Kelly leads the entire FCS with 135 tackles. The mark is just eight shy of the school’s single-season record of 143, set by Ken Schoen all the way back in 1974. Kelly’s season has been highlighted by a 23-tackle performance on the road against Towson – a showing in which he was named the National Defensive Player of the Week for. 
• Defensive back Amir Hall ranks third in the FCS with 17 passes defended this season. He’s collected four INTs on the year, where he is tied with eight other plays for the national lead. 
• Rookie running back Griffin Woodell was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday after a career-high 136-yard performance against Stony Brook. It is the third time this season he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark, and now sits with a total of 633 yards on the ground. The Glens Falls native has scored five rushing TDs and four receiving TDs. 
• Wideouts Brevin Easton and Julian Hicks sit atop the stat sheets with eight TDs each. Easton leads the team in receiving yards with 714, having scored at least a TD in his last five games. Hicks led the team past Stony Brook this past weekend with two TD receptions. 

Last Time Out

The Great Danes took down rival Stony Brook on Saturday afternoon, 38-20. The win keeps the Golden Apple Trophy in Albany for the second consecutive year. The victory over the Seawolves also brought their season to an end, officially with a 0-10 overall record.

• Reese Poffenbarger completed 20 of 28 passes for 247 and four TDs. It's the fourth time this season he has passed four TDs in one game.
• Freshman back Griffin Woodell gained 136 yards and a TD on the ground. The 136-yard mark is a season-high for the Glens Falls native.
• Julian Hicks ended the game with two TDs and 62 yards on six receptions. Wideout Brevin Easton finished with similar numbers, gaining 89 yards on six receptions with a TD.
• Levi Wentz scored his first collegiate TD. He finished the game with 65 yards on four receptions, his best thus far as a Great Dane.
• Dylan Kelly led the defense with 14 tackles, five solo.
• Anton Juncaj finished with another sack, which was also a forced fumble.
• Larry Walker Jr. also added a forced fumble. He finished with five tackles, three solo.

Scouting Monmouth

The Hawks will play their final game of the season on Saturday afternoon, heading into the contest with an overall record of 4-6 and a conference mark of 3-4. In CAA action, Monmouth has picked up wins over Towson, Hampton, and Stony Brook. 

Running back Jaden Shirden has been the spotlight of the offense. He leads the entire FCS in rushing yards with 1,429, over 200 yards more than the second place rusher. He’s averaging 142.9 yards per game and has scored 10 TDs on the ground while adding another through the air. Shirden will face the Great Dane run defense, currently the best rushing defense in the FCS. Through the air, the Hawks also have wideout Dymere Miller. Like Shirden, Miller leads the entire FCS in receiving yards with 1,241, over 200-yards more than second place. He has scored nine TDs this season. Throwing him the ball is quarterback Marquez McCray – a grad student from Schwenksville, Pa. McCray has totaled 2,497 passing yards in 2023, throwing 21 TDs against just five INTs. In total, the Monmouth offense is the best in the CAA in terms of yards per game, averaging 457 per contest. 

Into the Rankings

The Great Danes keep moving up in the national rankings. After coming in at #18 in the Stats Perform Top-25 last week, UAlbany has moved up to #12 this week after a road win at Stony Brook. In addition, the Great Danes have moved up in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll, coming in at #23.  UAlbany has two wins over ranked teams and an overall FCS record of 8-1.

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. 

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.

Let’s Get Social

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