Score: #5 UAlbany 0, #1 South Dakota State 59
 
Location: Dana J Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota
 
Records: #5 UAlbany (11-4, 7-1 CAA) | #1 South Dakota State (14-0, 8-0 MVFC)
 
Short Story: The No. 5 University at Albany football team saw its historic season come to a close on Friday night, falling to the top seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits by a score of 59-0.  
 
In 2023, the Great Danes reached incredible new heights. The program recorded its first ever CAA Championship, its first 11-win season (previous high of nine), and first appearance in the NCAA FCS Semifinals – all with individual players shattering the UAlbany record books. The football program now sits with field hockey (2014) and men's lacrosse (2018) as the only programs in UAlbany history to reach a Final Four.

Key Stat Lines

• Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger threw for 232 yards, completing 30-44 pass attempts.
• Julian Hicks led the receiving corps with seven receptions for 76 yards. Brevin Easton followed with six receptions with 44 yards.
• Denzel Patrick finished with 12 total tackles, leading the defense.
• Bill Hackett finished second in tackles with eight, also nabbing a TFL and a PBR.

 
Head Coach Greg Gattuso: "They are a great football team, one of the best I've seen… We just didn't play well enough to compete at times, gotta give them credit. As coaches, it falls on me to have our team ready to play better than that in a Final Four game. I'm proud of these guys. We made a historic run, we've never been here. It's a punch in the gut, but we'll be back. That's what we want to do. We want to try to be at this level and it's an eye-opener for our football team."
 
How it Happened:

• The Great Danes won the opening toss and deferred to the second half, giving the SDSU offense the ball first.
• The Jackrabbits got on the board first on their opening drive. SDSU drove 74 yards on 11 plays, capped by a six-yard TD throw from Mark Gronowski to Zach Heins.
• SDSU recorded the first turnover of the game on UAlbany's first possession. After driving into Jackrabbit territory, Tucker Large picked off Poffenbarger at the SDSU 30-yard line, returning it 12 yards.
• The Jackrabbits took full advantage, pushing the score to 14-0 on that ensuing offensive possession. Running back Isaiah Davis ran it in from three yards out to cap a five-play, 58-yard drive.
• The score moved to 21-0 with 11:11 remaining in the first half. Davis scored his second rushing TD of the game, this one from two yards out. SDSU marched 80 yards on seven plays for the score.
• SDSU made it 28-0 on a 79-yard punt return from Tucker Large with just over eight minutes remaining in the second half.
• SDSU's DyShawn Gales nabbed an interception at the SDSU 14-yard line with 7:22 remaining in the first half.
• The Great Danes blocked a SDSU field goal attempt later in the second quarter from 50 yards out. Elijah Hills was credited with the block.
• The Jackrabbits recorded their third INT of the night with 1:49 remaining in the second, this time by the hands of Dalys Beanum.
• The score became 35-0 with 34 seconds on the clock following a 36-yard TD pass to Jadon Janke.
• On the second play of the second half, SDSU recovered a SDSU fumble and brought it back 35 yards to the house to make it 42-0.
• The score became 49-0 with 12:09 remaining following a 25-yard TD pass to Heins, his second of the game.
• SDSU pushed it to 56-0 with 8:15 remaining.
• The Jackrabbits extended their lead with a field goal with 3:53 left in the game.

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