Football Readies for Trip to Delaware

ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany football team returns to the road to take on the University of Delaware. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. ET with coverage on FloFootball and 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio in Albany.  

Game Info

Saturday, Oct. 26 at Delaware

Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del.

3:00 p.m.

Live Stats |FloFootball| 104.5 The Team | UAlbany Football Weekly

Leading the Pack

• Quarterback Myles Burkett is coming off a game in which he threw for 214 yards and a touchdown on 18 completions. His 1,585 passing yards and 226 yards per game are both good for third in the CAA.
• Last week, Marqueese Dietz led the team in receptions and receiving yards, collecting 97 yards on six catches against Elon - his best game of the season. 
• Wideout Seven McGee still leads the team in both receptions (36) and yards (472). 
• On the ground, Jojo Uga has found the end zone once per game over UAlbany’s last four contests.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Dontae Lunan has 71 total tackles on the year and is averaging 10.1 tackles per game. Both numbers lead the entire CAA. 
• 14 different players have recorded a sack on the year, six of whom have also recorded multiple TFLs.
• Kevon Angry and KC Eziomume both lead the team with three PBUs.
• Kicker John Opalko is 8-12 on field goals, with his longest being a 43 yarder against Cornell. He is also 15-16 on PATs.

Last Time Against Delaware

The last time the Great Danes took on Delaware was in 2021, when they fell 20-15 on the road to the number ten ranked Blue Hens. The Great Danes made it close when Jeff Undercuffler hit Tyler Oedekoven for a 75-yard touchdown with just under three and a half minutes left in the game. The offense was unable to get the ball back, however, and Delaware drained the clock for their third win of the year.     

Dating back to 2013 when UAlbany joined the CAA, the Great Danes are 2-6 against the Blue Hens. 

Scouting Delaware

The Blue Hens are coming off a 28-9 loss to Richmond, their only loss of the season. Delaware had won six straight before last week, including a dominant 49-0 win against Sacred Heart. This matchup will be the fifth home game of the season for Delaware.

The top two quarterbacks for Delaware have been Ryan O’Connor and Zach Marker. O’Connor started the first three games of the year, throwing for 822 yards and eight touchdowns, but Marker has started the last four, throwing for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns. The top receiver for Delaware has been Phil Lutz, who has 30 catches for 640 yards and nine touchdowns. The run game is split evenly between Jo’Nathan Silver and Marcus Yarns. Silver has played in all seven games and has recorded 355 yards on 52 carries, as well as a team leading four touchdowns on the ground. Yarns is close behind, playing in six of seven games and recording 309 yards on 60 carries, while finding the end zone three times. 

On the defensive side of the ball, eight different players have recorded at least one sack on the season, and nine different players have recorded multiple TFLs. Defensive lineman Melkart Abou-Jaoude leads the team in both, totaling 5.5 sacks and eight TFLs so far this season. In the secondary, KT Seay leads the team with three INTs.

As a team, Delaware is averaging about 38 points a game while allowing an average of under 20 points per game.

Play Like AJ

The team will honor former Great Dane Amitral "AJ" Simon during the 2024 season with a special number dedication in each game.

In April of 2024, while preparing for the NFL Draft, Simon was tragically taken from us – sending shockwaves through both the UAlbany and football communities.

Before each contest in 2024, the UAlbany coaching staff will designate one defensive player to wear the number eight jersey, in game, to honor their fallen brother. The individual chosen will be one who best exemplifies Simon's work ethic and preparation in that week's practices. The football program will announce their selection on Thursdays leading up to games.

This Saturday, Owen Lawson will have the special honor of wearing #8 in game. 

For a full list of this year’s recipients, see below. 

Aug. 31 vs. LIU – Ghassan Chehade

Sept. 7 at WVU – Donte Lunan

Sept. 14 at No. 4 Idaho – Dasean Dixon

Sept. 28 vs. Maine – Denzel Patrick

Oct. 5 at Cornell – Ron Holmes

Oct. 12 at Bryant – Faysal Aden

Oct. 19 vs. Elon – Balansama Kamara 

Oct. 26 at Delaware - Owen Lawson

UAlbany Football Weekly

Head to UAlbanySports.com every Saturday morning at 10:00 for UAlbany Football Weekly, the only show that covers ALL THINGS UAlbany football. 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. 

Click here to view all episodes. 

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