Week 2: Rhode Island

[haggyland]

 

 

 

Why not give Brunson a few snaps?

Sideline observation of Sussman: when he spits on the sideline he quickly rubs it clean with his foot.... you are welcome.

Any word on if he's been able to hit the ground with his spit?

Multi-tasking.... meant Brunson again....

[haggyland]

.

Edited September 11, 2016 by haggyland

[Eli]

Lol @ announcer saying URI is going to draw up a 28 pt. play. ?

[Clickclack]

While this has been a great second half, have to wonder what they do with QB. Almost think you have to start Crook considering how big a sack of **** Sussman was on the field.

Edited September 10, 2016 by Clickclack

[uofalbany]

1-0 in the CAA

I'll take it

[UAalum72]

1-0 in the CAA

I'll take it

First Place! All week!!

[uofalbany]

Nicely put, 72

[UAalum72]

Nicely put, 72

Actually two weeks, since they can only tie us next week.

[uofalbany]

Who was at qb for that 30 yard reception down the middle? That was a nice throw.

[Clickclack]

Who was at qb for that 30 yard reception down the middle? That was a nice throw.

Crook...

[UAalum72]

Who was at qb for that 30 yard reception down the middle? That was a nice throw.

Hadda be Crook

 

PASSING C-A YDS TD INT

DJ Crook 4-7 55 0 0

Neven Sussman 2-9 7 0 1

[uofalbany]

Love Saturdays after a UAlbany football win!

[UAalum72]

Times-Union article

[jimbo]

Listened to most of the first half while out in the Finger Lakes attending a memorial service for a dear friend. Observations: Superman became Susan. Hank's is the real deal. 105.7 stream stunk. Glad URI is in the CAA. 2-0! Crusaders coming to town. Let's get a HUGE crowd and kick some HC butt!! Where oh where is there a QB?

[haggyland]

Some thoughts after a trip to URI:

 

1) All week I thought I was going to Smithfield, RI (home of Bryant), and I only had a 2.5 hour drive. When I plugged Meade Stadium into the GPS I got greeted with another half hour of travel time...d'oh!

2) My travel error meant I listened to most of the first quarter on URI radio...typical homer stuff. Parking around URI was free and when I went to buy tickets there was a UA player will-call near the box office. My friend and I were decked out in purple and gold, and we were called over to the will-call as we entered the building. I informed the gent I wasn't on his list, but he comped me two tickets anyhow...damn it feels good to be a gangster.

3) We walked to the far side of the field (from the box office), and climbed a central staircase under the bleachers to an opening at the 50 yard line. We were 40 rows back in a set of old wooden bleachers that extended another 15 rows behind us to the press box, and we sat in the scorching sun.

4) '72 says URI changed sidelines this year. If so, big mistake...they may be closer to the student section when they are in front of the older stands, but there is no shade, and on a day like Saturday where the sun was shining and there was no breeze, everyone baked in the sun. Games in cooler weather won't have much of a temperature difference, but the URI players were left to roast, especially when compared to the UA players.

5) Half-time comes and we seek a respite from the heat. We head to the other side of the field (I had been denied entry when I arrived), and we walk past a wood-fired pizza vendor and a local restaurant that has set up a vendor booth, who is selling lobster sliders and oyster shooters, among other things....gotta love the Ocean State. The opposite side of the stands from the wooden erector set side includes some stands with seats, steel bleachers, and air-conditioned concessions on the outer rim of the stands to the basketball arena that is attached to the football stadium.

6) I get a $5 footlong (it is actually $5.25, and it is a hot dog, but whatever), and we get a seat in the third row, behind the UA bench...in the shade! This is when I become cognizant of the advantage the "basketball side" has, and I wonder how URI staff can handicap their own team in this manner.

7) With a great vantage point to the action I don't realize how badly Sussman is struggling. There is one play-action pass that is called perfectly by the OC, and executed perfectly, but it ends in an incompletion when Sussman does his best impression of our placekicker and misses an obvious target with a ball that sails way wide.

8) I can see the ball is not moving well on offense but Gattuso is a former defensive player, and there are no major injuries to that unit, so I am following their actions more closely than those of the offense. Another poster mentioned a "vanilla" offense. I find the description apt, and I find that most of the excitement is generated on the other side of the ball...and then the defensive excitement gets amplified ten-fold!

9) After a few years of watching vanilla offense and hamstrung defense (through injuries and adjustments to talent level) in the CAA, we all get treated to a display of defensive excellence. I can't remember the last UA "Pick 6" I have seen. If it happened as a member of the CAA it either wasn't a game-changer or it didn't elicit a memory, and I can only draw back to NEC days for a reminder of the excitement that play-type generates. Anyhow, in the span of a few minutes I see two "Pick 6"s that have me happy to be wearing purple that day.

10) Crook comes into the game, and knowing that he had the job once and lost it, and thinking it has more to do with the game getting out of hand than it does with Sussman struggling (again, he is so "vanilla" to watch I pay more attention to the defense), I start watching Brunson on the sidelines. I remember the rave reports of his arm, and I want to see how he carries himself. He is energetic and enthusiastic, but I want to know if he can hit the open man with a hard throw from a quick release. He gets into the game, and hands the ball off once, and then gets into victory formation.

11) The ref's microphone doesn't work but the UA defense seems to be getting called with excessive celebration calls (which could also be called young college kids enjoying themselves.)

12) In the fourth quarter the URI bench is screaming about UA having 12 men in the huddle, and then I am pretty sure they call a time-out in the last minute, down 28, forcing a punt...stay classy, Kingston, RI!

13) From the perspective of a fan that has seen some poor defense, the fourth quarter is easily one of the most entertaining quarters of UA football I have ever seen. With no offense meant to those that built the program, there is an extra excitement added when you hear the hit or see an interception against a team that plays in one of the best conferences in the "championship series" of college football, even if they are inept to the point that they let their players bake in a scorching sun.

14) URI, being in Kingston, and not Smithfield, RI, is only a 30 minute drive to Newport. So, I cross the Narragansett Bay in a heavy ocean-driven fog, and sit down to a nice Thai dinner where I watch some Twitter highlights of the defense, and refresh the balance on my sports betting account...

 

On to Holy Cross:

-It would be great to get to 3-0...we should be ranked going into the game.

-Need to see how the QB situation plays out. My early money is on Crook starting the game.

-Home opener + free shirts = Great atmosphere.

-I will be in the woods, and won't even get to listen to the game, so I'll cross my fingers for a balanced attack and another "W". I'll rest easier knowing that the team is at its full allotment of scholarships, and that it is mostly healthy.

-If you have to lose a player I guess it's better it is a wide receiver than another position. Harris is a great player, but until we get Sussman to the optometrist, or find another option at the position, Harris isn't going to wrack up much better numbers playing as opposed to being on the sideline. Maybe they can get a 2-for-1 deal and bring the placekicker.