Albany at New Hampshire Official Game Thread

[GD84]

damn...ua should have won this game. they shot themselves in the foot.

[danefan]

Respectable showing by Albany. Albany should have won this game.

2 times in the red zone with a chance to win and can't punch it in.

[GD84]

i hate the idea of a respectable showing...this was a game that should have been a victory...end of story.

[danefan]

Albany should be ranked after this week.
But I doubt people will vote for them.

[UNHWildCats]

Respectable showing by Albany. Albany should have won this game.

2 times in the red zone with a chance to win and can't punch it in.
You cant assume they win even if they get a TD, UNH would still have had a chance to respond.

[danefan]

i hate the idea of a respectable showing...this was a game that should have been a victory...end of story.

I know, I know.

UA should have won this game.

[UNHWildCats]

Albany should be ranked after this week.
But I doubt people will vote for them.
even with the loss I will have them ranked. 1-2 against 3 CAA teams and COULD easily be 3-0 against them.

If they run the table against the NEC and plays delaware close or wins that game, they have a serious shot at the playoffs.

[dwtime]

well the defense came to play in the end. Tough win, Albany is a good team.

[GD84]

they key was the missed 49 yard field goal near the end of the half...it gave unh the ability to drive down and get the td to cut it to 3 pts at half, and give them energy in the 2nd...

[danefan]

they key was the missed 49 yard field goal near the end of the half...it gave unh the ability to drive down and get the td to cut it to 3 pts at half, and give them energy in the 2nd...

Yes it was. Should have punted away.

Special teams was horrendous.

[danefan]

I don't understand Fordie's special teams calls sometimes.

Example:
4 and goal at UMass with 8 second left in the half and you go for it.
49 yard field goal attempt here?
Fake punt on the 40 yard line?

[UNH_BLUE]

they key was the missed 49 yard field goal near the end of the half...it gave unh the ability to drive down and get the td to cut it to 3 pts at half, and give them energy in the 2nd...

Didn't understand that either.

Good game guys. You don't have a bright future in front of you. Your bright future is now.

[WWII]

Yes it was. Should have punted away.

Special teams was horrendous.

They should have let the clock run down farther or at least make UNH use one of their time outs. They called time out with 39 secs left.

[WrenFGun]

Clearly the play of the game was the TD throw by Toman late in the first half. What a great throw. UNH completely stopped the Albany running game, but as I suspected, struggled with the passing game. Albany seemed almost unwilling to throw the ball down the field. Also, that fake punt was a very foolish call, IMO.

Additionally, two horrible calls in Albany's favor made this game closer than it should've been. The PI call on Klein and the late hit call were both, in my opinion, awful. Virtually no penalties all day on Albany, it seemed. Happy to escape and Albany looks good, though.

[Seawolf97]

Good game for the Great Danes! They should dominate the NEC this season.

[aceinthehole]

Good game for the Great Danes! They should dominate the NEC this season.

Its a LONG season. Albany has played 3 very good games, but they haven't proved they will dominate anything.

Monmouth played very well against Maine and URI.

Despite the score, CCSU battled NDSU and still have a chance to make some noise vs. Delaware St.

I really like what Albany has done this year, but let's not annoint them anything yet.

[DetroitFlyer]

Its a LONG season. Albany has played 3 very good games, but they haven't proved they will dominate anything.

Monmouth played very well against Maine and URI.

Despite the score, CCSU battled NDSU and still have a chance to make some noise vs. Delaware St.

I really like what Albany has done this year, but let's not annoint them anything yet.


I'm waiting one more week. Albany has been "playing up" and losing for years. Maybe the losses are not as one sided as before, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss.... If Albany could go 2-2 OOC, I would be very worried if I were a NEC member.... If they finish 1-3.... Well, the NEC could be interesting....

[danefan]

I'm waiting one more week. Albany has been "playing up" and losing for years. Maybe the losses are not as one sided as before, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss.... If Albany could go 2-2 OOC, I would be very worried if I were a NEC member.... If they finish 1-3.... Well, the NEC could be interesting....

Albany was 1-3 OOC last year and steam rolled the NEC easily.

I'm still of the belief that Albany playing, leading and almost beating UMass and UNH is more impressive then playing a DII and winning by 40.

[DetroitFlyer]

Albany was 1-3 OOC last year and steam rolled the NEC easily.

I'm still of the belief that Albany playing, leading and almost beating UMass and UNH is more impressive then playing a DII and winning by 40.

Division II.... Could not agree more. Still, 4 OOC games that few if any teams in all of FCS could win on the road does not seem like a great strategy to me.... There are a ton of FCS teams out there that Albany could play, probably home and home.... A 4-0 OOC record against FCS teams might not be out of the question. Heck play one or maybe two playoff conference teams if you wish to chase the "earned access" bs....

As for the NEC, the ususal characters are going to be tough in conference. I think sweeping ANY conference is very unusual.... I do not expect Albany to go undefeated in the NEC again this year, but who knows.... That is why we play the games. I certainly did not expect UD to lose to Morehead State last year.... I did not expect UD to go undefeated in OOC in 2006 and then finish last in the PFL....

Yeah, I know that Albany wants to be a CAA team or whatever conference succeeds the CAA.... Probably makes sense since the NEC will be going to the playoffs in 2010 anyway....

[danefan]

Division II.... Could not agree more. Still, 4 OOC games that few if any teams in all of FCS could win on the road does not seem like a great strategy to me.... There are a ton of FCS teams out there that Albany could play, probably home and home.... A 4-0 OOC record against FCS teams might not be out of the question. Heck play one or maybe two playoff conference teams if you wish to chase the "earned access" bs....

As for the NEC, the ususal characters are going to be tough in conference. I think sweeping ANY conference is very unusual.... I do not expect Albany to go undefeated in the NEC again this year, but who knows.... That is why we play the games. I certainly did not expect UD to lose to Morehead State last year.... I did not expect UD to go undefeated in OOC in 2006 and then finish last in the PFL....

Yeah, I know that Albany wants to be a CAA team or whatever conference succeeds the CAA.... Probably makes sense since the NEC will be going to the playoffs in 2010 anyway....

I agree with you on this schedule. Its overkill. Hopefully next year it will be better. Remember if the schedule had been what it was supposed to be Albany could have been 2-2 right now with wins over Hofstra and Fordham. Somebody screwed up the Fordham situation and UA got stuck playing all of the OOC on the road.

And as for your comment about wanting to the leave the NEC. AQ or not, you aren't going to compete on a consistent basis for NATIONAL TITLES with less then 63 scholarships. That's what Albany wants. As of right now the NEC won't be at 63 rides for another 25 years.xrolleyesx

[aceinthehole]

I agree with you on this schedule. Its overkill. Hopefully next year it will be better. Remember if the schedule had been what it was supposed to be Albany could have been 2-2 right now with wins over Hofstra and Fordham. Somebody screwed up the Fordham situation and UA got stuck playing all of the OOC on the road.

And as for your comment about wanting to the leave the NEC. AQ or not, you aren't going to compete on a consistent basis for NATIONAL TITLES with less then 63 scholarships. That's what Albany wants. As of right now the NEC won't be at 63 rides for another 25 years.xrolleyesx

Listen, the NEC max is 32 this year and UA doesn't even have the NEC max, whereas CCSU is using all 32 this year. Again, I don't think everyone knows the budget/Title IX issues at Albany and 63 schollys is probably not as easy as you make it seem.

I agree we need 63 (or at least 57) to really compete for a National Championship, but stop with the digs at the NEC. xnonox They have done more for Albany football than the AE front office has done for you!

Why doesn't Nero start a 63-scholly AE football conference?? xreadx

[WildcatFan]

Had to work today so I didn't know the outcome of the game. Decided to read through the entire thread and wait until the end to see the results. Wish I had just gone straight to the results - what a nail biter.

[danefan]

Listen, the NEC max is 32 this year and UA doesn't even have the NEC max, whereas CCSU is using all 32 this year. Again, I don't think everyone knows the budget/Title IX issues at Albany and 63 schollys is probably not as easy as you make it seem.

I agree we need 63 (or at least 57) to really compete for a National Championship, but stop with the digs at the NEC. xnonox They have done more for Albany football than the AE front office has done for you!

Why doesn't Nero start a 63-scholly AE football conference?? xreadx

Listen, Ace. I don't make things up. I and many other Albany supporters have been told by officials that the money is there for 63.

Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on this issue, but the NEC hasn't done anything for Albany. Albany and Central and Monmouth have made the NEC what it is by playing tough OOC games. IMO the slow crawl increase rides is hurting NEC teams in the long run. Make it a full scholarship league and let the teams figure out how many they want to give away.

But I will agree with one thing: The America East hasn't done squat for Albany football.xpeacex

[aceinthehole]

Listen, Ace. I don't make things up. I and many other Albany supporters have been told by officials that the money is there for 63.

Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on this issue, but the NEC hasn't done anything for Albany. Albany and Central and Monmouth have made the NEC what it is by playing tough OOC games. IMO the slow crawl increase rides is hurting NEC teams in the long run. Make it a full scholarship league and let the teams figure out how many they want to give away.

But I will agree with one thing: The America East hasn't done squat for Albany football.xpeacex

I don't admit to know what is going on at UA, I'm just going by media reports. As an outsider, the media reports are that money is tight in the state budget, andt he SUNY leadership has not stepped up for the stadium. I'm not trying to dig at you (CCSU has many similar issues with our state), but the public story isn't as rosy as some fans make it seem. :)

But I certainly disagree with you that the NEC hasn't done anyting for Albany - especially after you agree that the AE has done squat. We have done a lot, or you could have gone Indy or to the Big South. It seems your AD supports NEC football (and I thank him for that).

[danefan]

[quote=aceinthehole;1113541]I don't admit to know what is going on at UA, I'm just going by media reports. As an outsider, the media reports are that money is tight in the state budget, andt he SUNY leadership has not stepped up for the stadium. I'm not trying to dig at you (CCSU has many similar issues with our state), but the public story isn't as rosy as some fans make it seem. :)

The money for the stadium is a crap shoot at this point. The money for scholarships is different. Its private money. In NYS you cannot use public funding for athletic scholarships. So whether Albany adds scholarships or not is not dependent on state funding.

As for the stadium money...we'll see in April. We're hopeful but these economic times aren't promising for anyone in NYS.

[aceinthehole]

I don't admit to know what is going on at UA, I'm just going by media reports. As an outsider, the media reports are that money is tight in the state budget, andt he SUNY leadership has not stepped up for the stadium. I'm not trying to dig at you (CCSU has many similar issues with our state), but the public story isn't as rosy as some fans make it seem. :)

The money for the stadium is a crap shoot at this point. The money for scholarships is different. Its private money. In NYS you cannot use public funding for athletic scholarships. So whether Albany adds scholarships or not is not dependent on state funding.

As for the stadium money...we'll see in April. We're hopeful but these economic times aren't promising for anyone in NYS.

I know. The CCSU outdoor renovations and football expansion are modest, at best. Its about $8 million that we already have saved from student fees. The state is not helping us at all.

We've been pushing for a new basketball arena (ours is like Partick at UVM) and it well overdue. But we need some private $$ to get it jump started (which is nearly imppossible for us), and then we still need the state to pony up some serious $$$. That project is going to be very tough.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

I know. The CCSU outdoor renovations and football expansion are modest, at best. Its about $8 million that we already have saved from student fees. The state is not helping us at all.

We've been pushing for a new basketball arena (ours is like Partick at UVM) and it well overdue. But we need some private $$ to get it jump started (which is nearly imppossible for us), and then we still need the state to pony up some serious $$$. That project is going to be very tough.

Good luck on that one when most of the people and legislature bow to the Sled Dog's altar in this state. I completely understand why the CCSU folks call them the Evil Empire on your forum!!

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Tried a few times last night to post something, but kept getting stymied by the performance issues the site was experiencing.

Very impressed with the Albany effort and execution yesterday! xnodx Wish I was privy to the gradings done by the coaches because I got the impression that Albany was very sound fundamentally. They never seemed out of position and they attacked the ball with a vengeance. I got the impression that the Danes knew they were fighting for their playoff lives because they knew they couldn't sneak up on Delaware.

I don't know what the outcome would have been, but I really think the Danes made a horrific tactical blunder to end the first half. Why do you call that timeout with about 47 seconds left to kick the field goal? We all thought you would go for it or fake the FG after the TO. If the FG was the plan then why not run the clock down as far as possible before kicking it? You left time on the clock that UNH took full advantage of to score before halftime. Being down 17-14 had an entirely different feel than 17-7. And even worse if you had made the long FG and virtually run out the clock for a 20-7 lead!

UNH seemed to have enough to get themselves ahead and hold the lead. It's a young team that is still learning and growing. The offense looks great at times and mediocre at times. The defense looks improved against the run, but no so much against the pass. I recall making a comment to YorkCounty during the first half about how we were going to find out a lot about our team as the game progressed. Thankfully, UNH overcame the adversity and prevailed.

One thing I do know is that Chad Kackert, Mike Boyle and Scott Sicko are becoming very special players for UNH and if they continue their production, they should be in the mix for some all conference recognition.

Wish we were playing again next year as I feel UNH has plenty in common with Albany. And the Snow Belt schools need to stick together!! xnodx xnodx

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

I don't understand Fordie's special teams calls sometimes.

Example:
4 and goal at UMass with 8 second left in the half and you go for it.
49 yard field goal attempt here?
Fake punt on the 40 yard line?

Already posted a comment about that FG. Calling the TO was the really funky decision.

Most of us (folks I was with) were surprised with that fake punt as we thought Ford would have faith in his defense. There was another scenario that was near mid-field with fewer yards needed that seemed like a better time not to punt.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Clearly the play of the game was the TD throw by Toman late in the first half. What a great throw. UNH completely stopped the Albany running game, but as I suspected, struggled with the passing game. Albany seemed almost unwilling to throw the ball down the field. Also, that fake punt was a very foolish call, IMO.

Additionally, two horrible calls in Albany's favor made this game closer than it should've been. The PI call on Klein and the late hit call were both, in my opinion, awful. Virtually no penalties all day on Albany, it seemed. Happy to escape and Albany looks good, though.

I don't know about completely stopping the running game when McCarty had 130 yards rushing (albeit only a 3.3 yard average).

I didn't have a great angle on the PI call, so I can't comment. But I did have a terrific view of the late hit because I was in the end zone. It was an awful call. The Albany player was still in bounds and running hard when he was hit. It wasn't a dirty hit by any means and it wasn't like Ware really blasted him, he just hit him to knock him out of bounds. Makes you wonder if the refs were told to watch #4 on UNH after the late hit at URI!

And according to YorkCounty who really does watch the line play closely, there was an obvious hold on the Albany OL that wasn't called. It wasn't that far away from us in the west end zone and Albany was going in toward the east end zone. He had a great view and said it was a complete take down by the Dane. The play resulted in a fairly long completion on the UNH sideline and a Dane first down to jump start a drive.

Most CAA games are called very well so it was a little surprising to see some of the calls and non calls yesterday.

[danefan]

Already posted a comment about that FG. Calling the TO was the really funky decision.

Most of us (folks I was with) were surprised with that fake punt as we thought Ford would have faith in his defense. There was another scenario that was near mid-field with fewer yards needed that seemed like a better time not to punt.

Apparently Ford didn't call the fake punt but it was the kid who calls the cadence on punt team. Ford usually tells the guy to take a look at whether you can run the fake and if you can take. The kid thought he could take it and did. Fordie took the blame in the post-game article saying something along the lines of "I coach him and therefore its my fault."