Albany at Colgate thread

[Dane96]

This is eachus territorry

[Dane96]

Come on Danes...two more stops...come on.

Damn it...they had that QB in the grasp.....would have been a long fg.

[danefan]

Thought that helmet was the ball!

Wow what a hit.

[Dane96]

I'd be shocked if they dont punch it in. IN fact, I think biddle goes for it twice here.

[Dane96]

I cant believe this...

[danefan]

Just about game.

Great game Colgate fans!

Gonna be a great season for both of us I think. Hopefully we'll see you in the playoffs

[Dane96]

Great game...Congrats Colgate.

Tough bus ride home...but nothing to be ashamed of. This team will have a great shot at the NEC title.

[TheValleyRaider]

EACHUS! From 1 yard out, Eachus plunges in for the TOUCHDOWN, and the RAIDERS WIN!

Albany 34
Colgate 37
Final-OT

[DC 'gater]

Yes!!! Thanks to all you guys for keeping the updates coming.

[danefan]

Great game guys.

I'm out of here for tonight. Lots to look forward to this year for both teams.

[TheValleyRaider]

What a game

Big tip of the cap to the Great Danes. Outstanding effort from them on all fronts. Keep your heads high Albany men, you've got a good team. I know at least this Raider will be pulling for you the rest of the way xsmileyclapx

I have to step out, but I'll say more tomorrow. For now, Gavin McCarney just said "Greg who?" Wow

[Dane96]

McCarney was a beast.

[Gater]

Great game, Albany. You guys are class all the way. Colgate played a really good game and needed some miraculous and timely plays to get the win. Just a great great game all around. I think you guys have about the best kicking game at this level. Good luck the rest of the way.

[Go...gate]

Thanks for all the updates. Congratulations to Albany on a great game. This is going to be a good series.

[ColgateTD]

Great win by 'Gate, especially in OT. Nice way to start the season. Good luck to the Danes - you've got quite a team!

[TheValleyRaider]

A few more thoughts on this, the morning after an exciting Week 1 victory :)

It's an unfortunate habit people have of overreacting to first game actions, though I'm usually guilty of finding silver-linings on the negative and over-emphasizing the positive (I know I'm not alone!). So I don't want to suddenly say the QB position is set for years to come after fretting about it all summer. That being said, McCarney was outstanding. Player of the game by a landslide. Not quite as good of a decision-maker on some of those read-options as Sullivan, but that's picking nits. He looks more dangerous passing the ball than Sullivan did. The Raiders have a nice looking bunch of receivers. Looney had a big night, Cason surprisingly only had 1 reception (but it was a big one), and Mputu made a few nice plays. O-Line did a pretty good job with protection against a tough Albany front, though the lack of push up the middle was disconcerting. Still, they ran for 280 yards against a good rush defense

As for the defense, I'll stay positive and say they had a strong second half. I think they benefitted greatly from the offense getting the run game in gear and chewing up the clock. They looked lost and on their heels during that 2nd quarter. The most disappointing aspect of that was that most of it came in the passing game. Albany is a good running team (with a veritable stable of running backs), and the defense held them to 93 yards rushing. With their top PL competition being the passing offenses at Lehigh and Holy Cross, the pass defense concerned me. The 2 picks were nice, especially coming as they did deep in our territory. While they played better in the 2nd half, the defense benefitted from some timely drops and bad throws as well. Hopefully they can tighten up some of that before next week. I was as surprised as the Albany guys to see Leathley come in, especially in the 2nd half when it was clear Di Lella was having a good game. Maybe Ford wanted to switch up QBs to get some momentum back?

Specials were a mixed bag, at best. Lots of youth there, and it showed. Kickoffs were unimpressive, but the coverage in general looked alright. Kickoff returns had a few nice runbacks. Punting wasn't too impressive, a few line-drives and/or short kicks that gave Albany good field position. Punt returning was an adventure, like fielding a punt inside your own 5? I thought Uglietto had an alright game overall. I know he missed the late FG, but it certainly had the distance. He nailed his other attempt and drilled all 4 extra points. For a freshman kicker in his first game, I'll take it. Specials were hurt by the comparison with Albany's kickers, who were outstanding. Huge legs on both of them, big kicks all night

Other random miscellaneous thoughts: The crowd looked and sounded good. Home side had a big crowd, but I wonder what the Albany side looked like. They sounded loud on the video, but they're also right below the press box. Attendance was listed at 6748, which befits a nighttime season opener against a nearby opponent. Not a huge fan of the new uniforms, a bit too minimalist for my taste, though the most objectionable part were the gray side panels. I like Albany's LSU-style. Clean, classic, does the job. Two games against the Danes, two close battles. Given their proximity and strength, I'm glad Albany is a team we will see frequently in the years to come. Good luck the rest of the way, and looking forward to 'Gate visiting the new place in 2012 xthumbsupx