reeder

The good news was the defense played well. A lot of new faces getting involved on both the defensive line and the secondary. The not so good news: Undercuffler had happy feet a lot. Most of the time there was pressure but a few times it looked like he was just anticipating the pressure before it actually got to him. In my opinion, the offensive line continues to struggle - no holes for Mofor and no time for Undercuffler. I did notice Parris Heath was out of uniform so he’s probably injured, I also don’t see that Kevin Singer played so he might be injured as well - they were both talked about as starters coming into the season. Special Teams struggled again. Two bad field goal attempts - couldn’t tell if the issues were bad snaps or issues with the hold but we’re not good enough to have mistakes like that. We also can’t give up punt returns for touchdowns. Lastly, we have no return threat - our strategy is to just fair catch the ball. The punter, Ralls, struggled in the spring but he’s had a very good first few games - so that’s the one special teams bright spot. So, on to Syracuse.

Well, I’m not surprised at the outcome - NDSU is a much better team. We need better offensive line play. Most of Undercufflers passes were short / quick routes - it’s hard to throw it deep or have longer developing routes when he has no time. A previous post mentioned making reads - you can’t make reads when you have no time. Also hard for Mofor to run when we can’t create holes. Our defense also continues to struggle against the power running game. I’m not sure why NDSU didn’t just line up and run right at us. The good news is we might have found a playmaker in Roy Alexander. Hope to get a win against URI - they looked really good against Bryant. Also, apparently Coach Gattuso made a comment about NDSU being classless for throwing a pass late in the game. He said something similar a few years ago about Villanova. I’m sure he’s trying to protect the players but these comments aren’t helpful.

I did get the email at 1:30 but it went to junk mail. I just found it (at 3:45) and tried to log on but it looks like it’s over.

He did a great job and he hope he ends up on his feet. Coach Gattuso had a comment saying he understands his decision around education so maybe this is more than a football decision - I don’t think he has the size to play FCS. The good news is we have depth at linebacker.

I watched most of the Rhode Island / Villanova game and the URI win wasn’t a fluke - I think they were the better team. They have a QB transfer from Maryland / Tennessee and a running back transfer from UMass. The QB is big and mobile - probably a better runner than passer but he threw well on the run, especially short passes. Their offensive and defensive lines are big. Secondary is really athletic with some transfers as well. The biggest difference compared to last year is that last year (last several years), the URI offense was a lot of throwing 50/50 balls downfield. This year, they have a new OC and they’re offense is very similar to Villanova’s and ours (more run options). Summary is that they’re better than last year and this will be a tough game. We can’t afford the penalties and we need some big plays - not sure where those will come from but here’s hoping that we find a few.

It’s also difficult to pass against this press coverage. Similar to last year - he’s dependent on his receivers creating space and they’ve not done that yet. It’s harder to throw the underneath pass like he did against New Hampshire because the defenders play so tight and it’s also harder to throw the longer pass because their corners are physical and athletic.

This should be a good game. I didn’t watch the Maine vs Delaware game last week so don’t know how they lost by so much. That said, I think Fagnano was one of the best quarterbacks in the CAA last year and looked really good in beating us. Also, the Maine defense is always really good - it’ll be a test for Undercuffler and the wide receivers as Maine plays a lot of press defense with the corners so the wide outs have to get open and beat the man to man coverage. speaking of wide receivers, anyone know what happened to Chris Potts? He was listed as a starting WR as well as punt returner but I don’t think he played at all last week.

Cam Healy is transferring https://www.instagram.com/p/CL8F4-6ps-a/?igshid=j8wyf627f7xy

I’ve seen estimates of $20 to $30 billion going to NYS as a part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus. I’d imagine there would be some money appropriated to help all the SUNY schools.

In my opinion; assuming the covid situation is improved, there’s probably a pretty good chance that basketball get pushed back to January with a conference only schedule (I think that’s when conference play usually begins anyway). I also think there’s a good chance all fall sports moving to spring with a limited schedule. That said, I think spring football presents some issues - primarily, a spring season makes it difficult for the players to recover and be ready for a fall 2021 season so does that season become a spring one as well? In terms of facilities, I think the athletic department can figure this out. We have the track and field stadium (not sure what it’s called now) that’s only used for two or three events each year. You also have the lacrosse field that has brand new turf and hasn’t been used in a year or two. Lastly there’s the PE gym - not an ideal space but basketball and volleyball games can still be played there. You’d need to figure out how to let students have access but that can all be figured out. I think the challenge for the athletics department might not be facilities but how to handle scholarships going forward. The NCAA has said that student athletes won’t lose a year of eligibility for participating in sports this year so we’ll potentially have a lot of fifth and sixth year seniors in 2021. Not sure how those scholarships are reconciled with new recruit scholarships - I don’t believe the NCAA will allow more scholarships.

Heath is on the roster. I didn’t look at it in great detail but i don’t see any new names. Which players are new (unannounced previously).

This is a throwback Thursday picture - maybe from last year? The players aren’t back on campus yet.

High School teammate was V’Lique Carter (transfer from Pitt).

I’d say it’s about right for us. We lost a lot of productivity and have a lot of unknowns - especially the offensive line and wide receivers. That said: 1. I think Villanova might have the most talent in the conference. I think they return almost all of their starters from last year and JMU lost a lot of key players. 2. In my opinion, UNH is overrated every year but this year they don’t play Villanova or JMU so that might help them. 3. Delaware wasn’t that bad last year but their starting QB missed a lot of games and they lost some close games. They’re building great facilities so they’ll get great players but I don’t remember anything that warrants them being ranked so high. 4. I think we have the potential to be good but with so many unknowns, it’s too hard to say. Also, the schedule will be a challenge with Monmouth, UMASS, JMU and Villanova in consecutive weeks.

Wasn’t sure where to but this and didn’t want to start a new thread.

I don’t know about the RFP but President Rodriguez and his staff just completed a series of Alumni meetings in Florida and the topic of athletic facilities came up. There wasn’t a specific answer but he did say the recent discussions had three phases. Phase 1 was new seating in SEFCU, phase 2 was renovating the pool area to give more space to the varsity athletes - not sure what that means and i don’t remember the third phase. There was a UAlbany overall presentation and discussion and it sounded like the athletic facility meetings just occurred so I don’t know how defined everything is but sounds like there are some ideas and someone (Benson?) has priorities.

From footballscoop last week: Albany (FCS – NY): Special teams coordinator / co-defensive coordinator / outside linebackers coach Joe Bernard has been promoted to defensive coordinator and corners coach Curome Cox has been elevated to co-defensive coordinator, source tells FootballScoop. We understand that there are no open positions on the staff at this time.

I always thought the offensive and defensive analyst positions were interesting. They’re not actual coaches and don’t get paid much - can’t coach a position or in a game. They’re similar to grad assistants or assistants to the assistant coaches. The role does get you visibility and exposure. Mike locksley, Steve Sarkisian... I do worry about who will become our DC. The offense struggled under Coach Bernard and so has the Special teams since he became their coach. I know he was co defensive coordinator but I’d hope they get a more established DC.

$60 million is a lot of money. For perspective, our endowment is only $71 million, our football stadium was $24 million and I’d guess good minor league stadiums are probably less than $30 million. What can they possibly build for that much money? $60 million would probably satisfy our wishlist for football and basketball. That said, congratulations and good for them.

Looks like Jose Lopez hasn’t signed yet - or he’s going somewhere else.