UAlbany 16 UMass 28

[uofalbany]

Anyone think that this hard fought game might boost our ranking or not?

 

Damn, if we scored from the 1 yard line that time and hit the other field goal, we had a real good chance of winning that game.

 

Proud of the guys!!

 

I like our chances in the other ooc games!

[danefan]

I hope it does boost the ranking a little. Probably won't break us into the top 25, but it should give a little respect.

 

I think more than anything it gives the guys confidence. They needed to play well in this game and they apparently did.

 

Word from the game is that we could have won that game. And probably should have.

 

Time will tell, but now we all have to root for UMass to play well the rest of the season. And I think they will.

[danefan]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/recap?gid=200808300204

 

AMHERST, Mass. (AP)—Massachusetts’ tailback Tony Nelson rushed for 171 yards on 20 carries and added a two-yard touchdown catch in his first collegiate start to lead the Minutemen past Albany, 28-16, Saturday.

 

Albany had the Minutemen on their heels early, taking a 9-0 lead on a touchdown pass from Vinny Esposito to David McCarty and a fumbled punt return for a safety in the first quarter.

 

But Liam Coen threw a pair of 2-yard touchdown passes to Ian Jorgenson and Nelson in the second to give UMass a 14-9 lead at intermission.

 

Nelson broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage on the second play of the second half and raced 64 yards for a touchdown that put the Minutemen up 21-9.

 

Coen, UMass’ senior quarterback, completed 10-of-20 passes—but three of those completions went for touchdowns.

 

Josh Jennings had a game-high 13 tackles. McCarty had 24 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown for Albany (0-1)—his seventh straight game in triple digits—and caught four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

 

[Dane96]

Here is what I saw:

 

BTW, if they read this site...there is a young red-shirt freshman who was sitting with us: good luck with the Danes...and the UMass drunkards also wish you the best. You know who you are if you read this. Bob Ford is lucky to have your family involved with the program.

 

THE GOOD:

 

Our defense held up pretty well against a pretty good attack. Nelson is going to be phenomenal for UMASS. I think the game could have been a bit worse score-wise but Liam Cohen was flat. Part of it was timing...part of it was our D. We still need more pressure from the edge...and a few times we should have had Cohen dropped (or a receiver dropped) but we were so aggressive that they slipped us for big gains. I am fine with that because we needed to be aggressive.

 

Our O-line was ok...but not great. The left-side kinda fell apart a bit in the 2nd on pass protection...but they recovered. The run-blocking was pretty fricken amazing. Was kind of funny to hear Nguti scream "FINISH YOUR F'IN BLOCK OFF" on the sideline.

 

The running game was fantastic- Colin Simmons is an unreal change of pace back. He awed me a few times with his quickness and burst. Dave McCarty...unbelievable. At the end of the game he was near the sidelines and you can see how much bigger and stronger he looks. He absolutely throttled the UMASS tacklers. What looked like a short gain turned into Dave churning his legs and moving the pile. He is going to have a great year if he stays healthy. He is truly something special.

 

Punting- Chris Lynch had some beauties out there.

 

THE BAD:

 

Special Teams- other than Lynch's punt and some decent coverage on kickoffs and punts, I thought our special teams was terrible offensively. First, was a bad snap that the holder got down but it threw Glass off. It looked like he shorted the kick...but honestly...I dont blame him for it. However, it did turn the tide a bit. Second, it seemed like our walls took forever to set up. At one point Simmons actually had to jog slowly because the wall wasnt set up. Either he is that quick...or the formations took too long to set.

 

Penalties- absolutely killed us. Some may be unhappy that I am calling out one guy, but Nick Schultz really f'd up a bit today. Two off-sides, one of which cost us a 1st and Goal...and turned into us going for it on 4 and 2 and getting stopped. We were cruising and that error really cost us. Prior to that (I think it was prior), he gets another offside when were in the redzone. Then...he goes on down and cheap shots a UMASS player after a HUGE gain by our TE...our best downfield play of the game. Honestly...on the road in a tight match-up against the NO. 5 team in the land, I dont give a crap what the excuse was (guy bit you, called your momma a name, stomped your nuts...whatever); simply put...you are a Senior leader and you need to keep your composure. I know it is harsh...but it really did take us out of some big plays.

 

QB/WR play- Again, this may not rub some the right way...but I am calling it like I saw it...and like others who have played the game around me saw it: VINNY's numbers looked good...but the play wasnt really great today. He looked like a completely different QB that played Montana with poise. He missed a ton of open receivers...some seemed to be either his 2nd or 3rd check down...that were WIDE OPEN. One in particular was Jason Smith open in the middle of the field without a defender near 15 yards in any direction. A few times he should have dumped the ball out...and instead held it for huge losses. I will say this though: he had some unreal pressure on him from the blind-side in the 2nd half...but it really didnt matter at that point. He threw a really bad INT...and had the ball tipped one too many times at the line.

 

Now...that being said, Vinny also made some great throws that simply SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT. We are talking wide-open receivers that either turned before catching...or didnt go down to get to a good low pass that was thrown where it needed to be on defense. That simply cannot happen at this level.

 

Coaching-- we were bewildered later in the game when down by 12 we went from a team with urgency (no huddle or quick huddle) to a team taking there sweet arse time running...running...running. Thankfully, the pulled a nice screen at one pt. Also, on the last drive that sealed the deal at about 4min to go...we called 3 of the same exact slant patterns. UMass just sat on the formation....and it was three in a row.

 

Now I love Coach Ford...and his crazyiness has one us big games...but I am not so sure about his 4th and 1 call on the goaline I tried to convince myself it was the right call until I saw one of UA's biggest supporters at half-time. His views were the same I had tried to suppress: We get TD and it is huge momentum...up 2. You kick the FG...and the kicker gets confidence and you are down 2. I dont agree with the call...but I wont second guess a man who has gotten us to this position. I also am not so sure about the onside kick to after scoring in the 2nd half to cut the lead to 5 with 8 to go in the 3rd. Now he has won big games making calls like this...and kept us in big games doing the same, but at that point UA wasnt allowing UMASS much offensively...and their special teams wasnt so special. I would have kicked that sucker down field and played D.

 

We almost got it though...but making that call is why I sit in the stands and he gets paid!

 

OVERALL I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF THE TEAM...THE COACHING STAFF...and THE FANS. Huge UA contingent today...in a near sold-out McGuirk (second-largest home crowd ever). Great atmosphere...was hard-hitting good football. It felt like good DI football. UMass was a bit flat however, we played our tails off and quite frankly...I dont think the players are happy with "moral victories"; we could have won that football game and I really believe if UA plays this well, while improving on some deficiencies, over the next three-games...they can beat 1 (if not 2) of the OOC teams from the CAA. I saw a tough, VERY YOUNG, and very QUICK UA football team today.

 

We are close to being there.

 

And bigtime KUDOS to UMASS fans who, as my UMASS alumni buddies said, were better than they ever saw today!

 

On to the next-game!

[Ruler 2]

Great breakdown Dane 96 and I agree with almost all of it. I didn't have a problem going for it at the end of the 1st half. Its a gimmie if we dont have a false start. A TD changes the momentum for real. We go in at half and know we can win as opposed to going in and being able to keep it close. The big run to start the second half killed us. Score a TD going in at the half and shut down UMASS on its opening possesion and it is a different ball game.

 

Someone has to throw out the onsides kick play. We did it against Dayton and gave them a short field as well.

 

We are better on O then I remember and our WR have to start making plays. I like our TE. He has great size and plays with intensity. I think we will be in good shape for Hofstra and New Hampdhire. After warching Delaware yesterday scare the hell out of MD I am a little worried. I really think we would be competitive right away if we had 63 rides. Look @ what we are doing with 32.

 

BTW the Gazzette is doing a better job of covering UA football then the TU.

[UAalum72]

Someone has to throw out the onsides kick play. We did it against Dayton and gave them a short field as well.

I didn't mind the onside kick as it came after the 15-yard penalty, so we didn't give them THAT short of a field

 

BTW the Gazzette is doing a better job of covering UA football then the TU.

I see the Gazette also gives its readers enough credit not to explain "formerly I-AA"

 

I was too far away to see the rare offensive face mask penalty.

 

Similar to the Delaware game, my count was six stoppages to help UMass players off the field, none for Albany that I recall.

 

We knew we had to play a near-perfect game to win, and we didn't. But a great effort.

 

If we get the two OOC wins we need to make the playoffs, we'll have to depend on the same voters who put UMass #5 to decide we're close enough to them to finish in the top 16.

[Dane96]

Someone has to throw out the onsides kick play. We did it against Dayton and gave them a short field as well.

I didn't mind the onside kick as it came after the 15-yard penalty, so we didn't give them THAT short of a field

 

The onside kick was afte the touchdown-- the 15 yard penalty was on on Marcuses catch in the seam. We did give them a short field-- they started at the 40ish.

 

Unless I am really mistaken, which is possible.

[UAalum72]

Someone has to throw out the onsides kick play. We did it against Dayton and gave them a short field as well.

I didn't mind the onside kick as it came after the 15-yard penalty, so we didn't give them THAT short of a field

 

The onside kick was afte the touchdown-- the 15 yard penalty was on on Marcuses catch in the seam. We did give them a short field-- they started at the 40ish.

 

Unless I am really mistaken, which is possible.

On the 35. Maybe he can't kick a pitching wedge to the ten from our 45.

 

Maybe too many beers?

 

A 1-10 M24 David McCarty rush for 24 yards to the UMASS0, 1ST DOWN ALBANY,

TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:07.

Herb Glass kick attempt good.

 

===========================

ALBANY 16, MASSACHUSETTS 21

===========================

 

A 1-G A30 PENALTY UMASS face mask 15 yards to the ALBANY45.

--------------- 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 03:10 ---------------

 

Herb Glass kickoff 20 yards to the UMASS35, on-side kick, recovered by UMASS

on UMASS35

[Dane96]

Someone has to throw out the onsides kick play. We did it against Dayton and gave them a short field as well.

I didn't mind the onside kick as it came after the 15-yard penalty, so we didn't give them THAT short of a field

 

The onside kick was afte the touchdown-- the 15 yard penalty was on on Marcuses catch in the seam. We did give them a short field-- they started at the 40ish.

 

Unless I am really mistaken, which is possible.

On the 35. Maybe he can't kick a pitching wedge to the ten from our 45.

 

Maybe too many beers?

 

A 1-10 M24 David McCarty rush for 24 yards to the UMASS0, 1ST DOWN ALBANY,

TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:07.

Herb Glass kick attempt good.

 

===========================

ALBANY 16, MASSACHUSETTS 21

===========================

 

A 1-G A30 PENALTY UMASS face mask 15 yards to the ALBANY45.

--------------- 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 03:10 ---------------

 

Herb Glass kickoff 20 yards to the UMASS35, on-side kick, recovered by UMASS

on UMASS35

 

Gracias! Made a mistake on that one...and it was more like "cold medicine" not beers!

[ATL_DANE]

Congratulations to the Albany Football team. Albany did very well considering they had half the number of scholarship players and that UMass is ranked #5 in the country.

 

Its a damn shame that UA doesn't have the resources to compete despite overcoming tremendous challenges. I drive by half a dozen inner city public high schools on the way to the Atlanta airport with better football fields than New York's State University and yet UA remains competitive.

 

Its an inspiration to see such drive. Congrats again. I think NEC is going to get wrecked when we start league play.

 

 

ps

 

UB continues to progress nicely. Congrats on beating UTEP and representing SUNY. God, if we only got 1/10 the support that dump gets, we could be national champs!

[UAalum72]

Anyone think that this hard fought game might boost our ranking or not?

Nope. Still 57th in TSN poll, but we lost 2 votes (down to two). Unless they made a mistake with Hofstra again. UMass went up to 4th.

The Sports Network FCS Poll, 9/1

1. Appalachian State Mountaineers (62) 0-1 2,625 1

2. North Dakota State Bison (42) 1-0 2,555 9

3. Richmond Spiders (4) 1-0 2,406 4

4. Massachusetts Minutemen 1-0 2,226 5

5. Montana Grizzlies (1) 0-0 1,919 8

6. Delaware Blue Hens 0-1 1,856 9

7. Eastern Washington Eagles 0-1 1,870 7

8. James Madison Dukes 0-1 1,821 6

9. Northern Iowa Panthers 0-1 1,781 3

10. McNeese State Cowboys 0-1 1,761 10

11. Cal Poly Mustangs 1-0 1,664 14

12. Southern Illinois Salukis 0-0 1,451 11

13. Wofford Terriers 1-0 1,407 13

14. Youngstown State Penguins 0-1 1,148 14

15. New Hampshire Wildcats 0-0 918 16

16. Georgia Southern Eagles 0-1 868 17

17. Elon Phoenix 0-1 747 15

18. Western Illinois Leathernecks 0-1 659 25

19. Eastern Illinois Panthers 0-1 600 18

20. The Citadel Bulldogs 1-0 521 23

21. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 0-1 515 19

22. Central Arkansas Bears 1-0 507 22

23. Villanova Wildcats 0-1 491 21

24. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 0-1 378 20

25. Harvard Crimson 0-0 259 24

Others receiving votes: Furman 149, Sam Houston State 128, UC Davis 125, Montana State 113, Liberty 103, Northern Arizona 91, Delaware State 87, Fordham 76, Hampton 66, Yale 57, Norfolk State 48, Jacksonville State 47, Holy Cross 40, Weber State 38, Northwestern State 32, South Carolina State 30, Southern 28, Tennessee State 24, Colgate 20, North Dakota 19, Brown 15, Grambling 14, Lafayette 14, Florida A&M 13, San Diego 10, Coastal Carolina 7, Prairie View 7, Stony Brook 4, Tennessee-Martin 3, Tennessee Tech 3, Dayton 3, Albany 2, Morehead State 2, Alabama State 1, Hofstra 1, Jackson State 1.

 

 

As of September 1, 2008, at 02:07 PM ET

[MRSGDG]

Strong start not enough

UAlbany can't hold onto early lead against UMass

http://timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp...mp;LinkFrom=RSS

 

A little short: UAlbany suffers tough defeat to fifth-ranked UMass

http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?ne...65217&rfi=6

 

 

UMass football opens with 28-16 victory over Albany under the lights

http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2..._with_2816.html

[danefan]

Pics from UMass game:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/UMass74/UMassAlbanyGame083008#

[statefan]

UMass HC resigns to become Maryland DC:

http://umassathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-fo.../010909aaa.html