Post FCS playoff Game Thoughts

[Ruler]

First off, as Danefan stated in another post I couldnt be prouder to be a former UA player after yesterday's performance. Just an outstanding effort.It is the best Albany team I have seen in years, if not ever. I compare our players to the level of competition they are playing. WE HAVE OUTGROWN THE NEC!!!!!!

 

I give props to Chuck as he has built a very good team(I know he has the advantage ...more on that later) in a short time. Man were they fast on Defense. i looked at that shovel pass to Smith at the end and against any other team, he walks in and we win. They closed fast. Our wideouts werent as fast as their defense. Some former coaches from UMASS were standing near us during the game, Joe Tricario for one was at the game..he is a .former Albany, SBU & now UMASS coach . He couldnt believe how good both teams were. He flat out stated that both Albany & SBU would have beaten his UMASS squad. So hats off to our players and coaching staff.

 

The game itself, I knew 28-10 would not hold up. The D played unbelieveable and were on the field for an unbelievable 40+ minutes. They were beginning to tire and you could see it. No, I dont agree with the pass from the 3 with 45 seconds left. i do agree that we should have gone for the win. If we got stuffed, kicked the FG and went to overtime I believe we would have lost anyways. That back was getting stronger as the game went on and we were tired. They were all over us on D and we struggled to get time to throw and were having trouble running on them. No way we keep #30 out of the endzone in OT. But hey, you never know.

 

Just an unbelievable atmosphere and I must of seen 15 guys that I havent seen in 10 years. Great crowd, great game, just a great experience. Tough loss but that was as close to bigtime football as we could hope for. Several knowledgeable SBU fans near us are simply pissed we didnt go to the Big South with them as they think the world of Ford and our program. It was surprising to hear but the SBU faithful are actually rooting for us to get up to speed. they want to play us every year.

 

Now, I have been waiting a long time to say this and I speak for myself as well as MANY MANY MANY former players as of yesterday: The current administration (coaching staff & team excluded of course) SHOULD BE F#!KING ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!!! The UMASS coaches who have all coached for Ford are sick over what is going on in Albany's Athletic Dept. To a man, not one of them will drop a dime until they know EXACTLY what is going on from the President, AD, and everyone involved at the top of the decision chain. Let me quote a very influential player and a super wealthy guy "I wont go to another outing or function until I know where this rudderless ship is headed!" There is truley a revolt going on and to a man feels Coach is getting screwed. Some believe they are purposly doing this so Ford retires and they can fold the program! Never thought of that. To be fair to the 'powers that be" several former players think its just a matter of time before we break ground but people are concerned.

 

What we witnessed yesterday could be a fairly common occurance in Albany if done right. Build the facility, schedule "named" opposition such as an Ivy, a Patriot League team with name recognition, and a CAA named team as well as bring SBU back on the schedule. This included with a Home Coming game we would def see 6,000 people 4-5 times a year. The players will just get better if they put the God Damned thing up already! If we make the NCAA's and get a home playoff game we will pack the house. We finally have the press working with us and need to keep the momentum going. Notice i didnt mention a money game with an FBS team.

 

Ther NEC has to go end of story. While its obvious the Big South is better than the NEC and we made a huge blunder by not going when we had the chance as they really arent that far ahead. We just went toe to toe with their best and probably should of won. Besides SBU & Liberty the rest of the Big South is awful. Would anyone really care that we are playing Presby or Gardner Webb instead of Wagner or St. Francis??? We fu#ked up with this decision and I blame the administartion for that.

 

Anyway, as for next season we will be at 40 rides. We need to get a JUCO QB as I dont think Leathly will be able to get the ball with consistency to our stud recievers. Cole, Kirschner, and Hutcherson are gonna be outstanding again next year we just need a qb to get thenm the ball.

[jpg_91]

I think that anyone at the game yesterday has to concede that there is no way we get an invite into the CAA over Stony Brook if they ever want to expand. I think that our best case scenario would be a push for America East football again. Get UA, Stony Brook, Maine, New Hampshire, CCSU into a common conference. Then you can go after Bryant and RI and see if a true Northeast conference can gain some steam. With UMass going FBS and RI heading to the NEC, the CAA become predominantly a southern league so travel costs will continue to grow for teams like Maine and NH. The true stumbling block in my opinion is getting the NCAA to offer a new league automatic bid status but I am sure something can be worked out by people smarter than me. Another major incentive to this plan would also be if the NCAA dropped the counter number down to 50. Of course all of this makes too much sense to me so I'm pretty sure it will never happen but what does everyone else have to say about this?

[danefan]

I think that anyone at the game yesterday has to concede that there is no way we get an invite into the CAA over Stony Brook if they ever want to expand. I think that our best case scenario would be a push for America East football again. Get UA, Stony Brook, Maine, New Hampshire, CCSU into a common conference. Then you can go after Bryant and RI and see if a true Northeast conference can gain some steam. With UMass going FBS and RI heading to the NEC, the CAA become predominantly a southern league so travel costs will continue to grow for teams like Maine and NH. The true stumbling block in my opinion is getting the NCAA to offer a new league automatic bid status but I am sure something can be worked out by people smarter than me. Another major incentive to this plan would also be if the NCAA dropped the counter number down to 50. Of course all of this makes too much sense to me so I'm pretty sure it will never happen but what does everyone else have to say about this?

We won't get a CAA offer over Stony Brook,but there is no reason we both can't get offers.

 

AEast football is not the answer, IMO. Tht ship has sailed with URI going to the NEC and UMass to FBS. They would have been key affiliate members.

 

The best course of action now is to immediately and publicly join with SBU and Fordham and push Maine and UNH to push the CAA to invite us.

 

It's simple and benefits everyone involved. Frankly I'm dumbfounded that it hasn't happened yet.

[GreatDane87]

Hereare my thoughts that I posted in some of the other threads. You guys are right, it is time to move on but to do so, we need to lobby the administration that the time is right. Build the stadium, put fans in the seats and that is the start....remember friends, there are 18 other sports out there that need you as well.....see below!

 

 

Good Morning Fellow Great Dane Fans and Supporters....

 

I, like many of you, sat watching my computer or listening to the game call on radio. The game featured mostly positive moments. During those tiumes, I found myself screaming or banging on my desk. It was a great game to watch as it was football at the finest sense....mixing in all aspects of the game. The Great Dane players should be proud on getting to this point and the way they played and acted both during the finest moments and then through the end.

 

Albany has a great history of providing a fine education. When I attended the school, it was mostly New Yorkers and the athletes were local talents since the programs were at the division 3 level. Well, it is not like that anymore. The education is well regarded across the United States and in some cases, features the best prgram you can find and the sports programs are beginning to make a name for themselves. Not every school, especially those that do not have the funding in place can be a Michigan or Notre Dame or Florida in terms of sports. As a mid major, Albany is doing pretty well for itself. Look at the championships. Go to the athletes weight room and see the banners. And now the football team gets one too. Where it also shows is that the talent is now coming outside of the boarders of New York and reaching across our country and now, even the world. That is a testiment to our coaches who play two roles, first as salesman to 17 and 18 year old kids and then as coaches and teachers once they arrive on the campus. These scholar athletes deserve quality facilities to go along with their quality education.

 

There must be something that we can do as a community of alumni and supporters to convince the administration of this fine university that an investment in college athletics is a wise one. It is time for the university to stop fighting with the community and allow the two to join together to strengthen our fan base and attendance at events. Our success in football is wonderful, but here are 18 other sports out there that need support (and upgraded facilities) too. New facilities that can be used by the community should be welcomed not protested!

 

There are few situations where Albany is not in the conference championship discussion. While that conference is the America East....remember that our friends at Stony Brook are right there with us. The only difference, they have facilities. Look at the football stadium, the baseball stadium. Our athletes deserve that.

 

Over the past month I have read many opinions from you all...the passion shows for sure....lets use that passion to impress the administration to do something new. There is a new president coming to the university....we need to get to him or her early so that they know how important athletics is at UAlbany. I am not only an alumni but a proud parent of a UA athlete. The time is right to go to the next level! LETS GO DANES!

[Michigan_Dane]

I agree, we push NH and Maine to pressure the CAA to accept both SBU and Albany. I do think that needs to be a short lived push. Too much time has passed already. My view is that within a year if there is no movement in the CAA then we join SBU in the Big South. Time to go!

[Ruler]

The question that begs to be asked is: How the hell do we begin the process?

 

There is absolutly no pressure we can put on the CAA as they are the best conference in the country year in and year out. i dont think we have any leverage. I think the best we can do is either press the NEC to move to 57 rides or go Big South.

[danefan]

It was a tough playoff loss for the Great Danes, a program I admire for many reasons. They do things the right way and if coach Bob Ford isn't the classiest coach in college football, I don't know who is.

 

The one thing I cannot take anymore is references to UAlbany's 36-scholarship limitation. It has been referenced by Ford and staff writers at least three times this year. Why? Yes, UAlbany has 36 scholarships, while the top FCS schools have 63. Sure, that is significant, but it should not be an excuse when you lose or should not be touted as doing more with less when you win. As they say, you can't have it both ways.

 

The reason for a 36 limit is two-fold. You play in a conference that sets that number, and secondly you (the school) choose to play in this conference, so there really should be no griping. Your depth chart may suffer, but since each team starts 22, you should be fine when the first-stringers are out there. If you don't like the rules set forth by the conference, you can make other decisions. And in the 31-28 loss to Stony Brook, we saw that Albany can play with "63" schools out there with few problems.

 

One can only hope that an 8,000-10,000-seat stadium is in the works and possibly a move to a better conference could be forthcoming. The NEC has served the Danes well, but why not play in a conference that allows 63 scholarships? With possibly Rhode Island and New Hampshire looking to leave the southern-based Colonial Athletic Association, maybe UAlbany, Rhode Island and New Hamphire could reform an NEC that allows 63 scholarships. That might propel Stony Brook to leave the Big South and come back to its Northeast roots. Unlike UAlbany, their SUNY brothers left the NEC because they didn't like the 36 limitation.

 

Great season, tough ending, but stop using the numbers as an excuse, the program is too classy for that.

 

— John Furgele, Delmar

 

 

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/UAlbany-football-needn-t-use-numbers-as-excuse-2342711.php#ixzz1fb3A6qE6

 

I don't think anyone has used the scholarship disparity as an excuse, but everything else is spot on.

 

Glad to see others taking notice and voicing opinions on the NEC.