The Jackrabbits take on another new opponent this week in the Great Danes of the University of Albany (11-3). The Great Danes are the #5 seed and their only losses have come at FBS Marshall, FBS Hawaii and at CAA opponent New Hampshire. In the second round of the playoffs, they demolished Richmond 41-13 and last Saturday won a really good game at Idaho, 30-22. This is a terrific team and the Jacks better be ready to roll on Friday night. Albany’s Head Coach is Greg Gattuso and he was honored as the CAA Coach of the year this season. There are 36 transfers on this roster from all different levels of football.
Offense
The Great Dane offense loves to pass the ball on their way to scoring 30.43 ppg. They rush for a respectable 125.9 yards per game and pass for 243 ypg. Even with passing the ball at such a high rate, UAlbany controls the ball for 32:28 in time of possession. They are good on 3rd down converting on 44.33% of the time and 54.55% of the time on 4th down. In the redzone they have scored on 42 of 51 attempts including an okay 32 TDs. They have 8 lost fumbles on the year (16 total), have tossed 10 interceptions, and have surrendered 34 sacks. Amazingly, this offense had ZERO first team All-CAA selections and just 4 on the second team.
The offense absolutely runs through #7 Reese Poffenbarger (6-0, 208) who was 12th in the voting for the Walter Payton Award. He completes just 57.71% of his passes but for 3,371 yards and 36 TDs on the season to just 10 INT. He has a similar moxy to him and it reminds me of Mark. He has rushed for 417 gross yards and another 5 TDs on the ground. For his efforts, he earned a spot on the All-CAA second team this year. Overall, I was impressed with him in the wins over Richmond and Idaho. He had 341 passing yards and 3 TD against Idaho.
Joining Poffenbarger in the backfield is redshirt freshman #28 Griffin Woodell (5-10, 194) who is a powerful runner which is surprising given his smaller stature. He has 888 yards this season (5.0 ypc) and has 8 TDs. He is also 4th on the team in receptions with 31 for 260 yards and 4 more TDs. Watching him on Saturday night, I never would have guessed that he is a freshman. #0 Aden Faysal (5-7, 214) is built like a bowling ball. He has 453 yards (4.2 ypc) and 2 TD. Faysal is a grad transfer from Utah.
The receiving corp is really talented as well and is led by #13 Brevin Easton (5-11, 197) who had an incredible game vs. Idaho where he had 9 receptions for 228 yards and 3 TD. His body control and speed were things that impressed me watching that game. On the year, he leads the team with 1,055 yards (19.81 ypc), and 13 TDs on 53 receptions. He is joined by two other stud receivers in the starting lineup. #1 Julian Hicks (6-2, 201) and #4 Marqeese Dietz (5-10, 187) also get plenty of opportunities in this offense. Hicks has 43 receptions for 744 yards and 11 TDs. Dietz has 44 receptions for 500 yards and 3 TDs. Before Albany, Hicks spent a season at both Central Michigan and Akron. #8 Levi Wentz (6-2, 205) is a key reserve and he has 15 receptions for 242 yards and 1 TD. Easton and Hicks were both second team All-CAA selections. The tight end is #87 Ian Renninger (6-5, 254) and he has 15 receptions for 141 yards and 2 TD. He impressed me as a blocker against Idaho.
The offensive line for the Great Danes is good and has a nice mix of youth and experience. Against Idaho they lined up from left to right as #65 Ozzie Hutchinson (6-3, 305, Sr), #51 Tyson Foster (6-1, 295, Jr), #60 Sean Dugery (6-1, 305, Fr), #72 Will Marotta (6-5, 325, Sr), and #77 Nolan Latulippe (6-7 281, FR). Hutchinson was selected second team All-CAA while Marotta was a third team selection.
Defense
The UAlbany defense is one of the best in the FCS this season statistically and they pass the eye test as well. They run a 4-3 defense that is predicated on getting after the opposing quarterback and causing him to make rushed decisions. On the season they allow just 17 ppg but that number rises for road game when they allow 24.29 vs. 9 ppg at home. Opponents rush for just 78.3 ypg game on the ground vs. 227.71 through the air. Albany has accumulated a whopping 50 sacks on the season but it comes in bunches. 43 of the 50 sacks have come across just 6 games and 39 of 50 have come at home. Opponents convert just 37% of their 3rd down opportunities. They have forced 22 fumbles and recovered 11 and have hauled in 17 interceptions. In the redzone they are really stout. Opponents have scored on just 34 of 50 trips and only 21 have been touchdowns. This is a good defense that is really experienced. There are 11 seniors or grad students on the 2-Deep.
This experienced defensive line has good size and features two potential All-Americans at defensive end. #4 Anton Juncaj (6-3, 273) and #8 AJ Simon (6-1, 267) have been game wreckers all season long. Juncaj has 54 total tackles, 21.5 TFL, 15 sacks, 3 PBU, 12 more QBH, and 5 forced fumbles. Simon has 52 tackles, 21.5 TFL, 12.5 sacks, 2 PBU, 19 QBH, 2 forced fumbles. Both of these players had good season in 2022 but have become dominant in 2023 and they were rewarded for their efforts by earning All-CAA selections. On the interior they are joined by #93 Elijah Hills (6-2, 281) and #58 Joseph Greaney (6-4, 280). For big interior players they both stay really active with Hills having 31 stops, 9 TFL, and 1.5 sacks, 2 QBH, and 1 forced fumble. Greaney is right behind him with 25 tackles, 7 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 INT, 2 PBU, 2 QBH and a forced fumble. Yale transfer, #21 Brian Abraham (6-5, 221) is a key reserve at end and he has 36 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 1 IN, 3 QBH, and a forced fumble. The two interior reserves #56 Neco Eberhardt (6-0, 296) and #94 Ghassan Chehade (6-5, 266) are pitched in with 11 total tackles.
The linebackers for Albany are terrific. They are headlined by CAA Defensive Player of the Year, #42 Dylan Kelly (6-2, 224). He leads the team with a whopping 155 tackles (89 solo), 8.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 3 QBH, and a forced fumble. I have been impressed with his instincts and ability to diagnose plays. #15 Ori Jean-Charles (6-4, 235) spent time at both Louisville and Maine and has had a really good season for the Great Danes. He is second on the team with 112 tackles, 12 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 3 QBH, and 2 forced fumbles. #9 Michel Lucien (5-11, 234) is the final starting linebacker and he has 39 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT, and 2 PBU. #31 Jahlil Johnson (6-2, 209) has performed well as a key reserve and has 28 tackles, and 2 sacks.
The secondary features a terrific cornerback in #1 Aamir Hall (6-1, 201) who transferred in from Richmond. He has 60 tackles, 5 INT, 15 PBUs, 2 QBH, and a forced fumble. He had 2 big PBUs against Idaho. He was an All-CAA defensive selection as well. Opposite him is #5 Bill Hackett (5-7, 180) who has 58 tackles of his own along with 2 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INT, and 7 PBUs. #3 Brad Igweike (5-8, 177) is a key reserve and he has 25 tackles and 1 INT. The safeties are led by #7 Larry Walker Jr. (5-11, 200) who was also an All-CAA selection. He has 70 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PBU, and 2 forced fumbles. Next to him is NC State transfer #19 Isaac Duffy (5-8, 184) who has 60 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT, and 6 PBUs. #20 Denzel Patrick (5-11, 200) and #27 Tyler Merwarth (5-11, 199) are the reserve safeties and they have combined for 18 tackles.
Special Teams
The Albany special teams certainly struggled last week against an excellent Idaho special teams unit but they appear to have been solid throughout the season. UAlbany has used three different kickers this season for kickoffs but seems to now be using a combination of #49 Tyler Pucci and #37 John Opalko. Pucci has a 55 yard average on 11 attempts with 1 TB and 1 kicked out of bounds. Opalko has 7 attempts for a 45.6 yard average. They clearly want to pin opponents inside of the 25 as opponents average just 20 yards per return with a long of 55 (set last week against Idaho).
Opalko also handles the field goal duties where he is 13 of 18 on the season with a long of 46 yards. He has just missed 2 extra points on the year. The punting duties belong to #6 Tyler Pastula. He has a 42 yard average on 58 punts. He has a long of 68, forced 14 to be faircaught, landed 16 inside the 20 and booted 12- 50+ yards. He has just 5 touchbacks but he has had 1 punt blocked.
#8 Levi Wentz is the primary punt returner and he has 6 returns for 45 yards (7.5 avg) with a long of 15. He is also the primary kick returner and has a 25.58 yard average off of 12 attempts and a long of 60 yards. UAlbany has blocked both a punt and field goal this season.
Prediction
Villanova showed us on Saturday that the CAA is no joke this season. Albany handled Villanova earlier this season so I do expect a really tough game. If I’m an Albany fan, I am concerned about the travel and scheduling being somewhat stacked against this team. They didn’t get back to Albany until mid-morning on Sunday and now have to fly back to South Dakota for a Friday night game. That is tough.
Albany’s offense is pretty high flying as evidenced by what they did to Idaho. Historically, being one dimensional against SDSU is not a recipe for success but this Albany offense could do it. They have a lot of skill on the perimeter. The #Chaingang will have to play a terrific game and get after the QB. Winning the trenches will be key as their defensive line clearly loves to get after the QB and is also great against the run, which is really a tough combination to achieve.
I think this game is close for a majority of the game but the Jacks pull away in the end with their ability to simply wear teams down.
Jackrabbits 31- Great Danes 13
Go Jacks!
Matt