fb 2023 Game #15: 12/15/23 - 7PM EST at #1 South Dakota St. (FCS Playoffs Semifinals)

[jimbo]

And that’s that. Great job SDSU! I’ll be rooting for you.

 

And can we get a little love for Cortland State? Div 3 natties!! Beat a powerhouse program, undefeated defending champs and all that. Great job Red Dragons! 

[Stonewall D]

10 hours ago, uofalbany said:

Confirmed.  We shoulda flew to SD from Idaho.

This is what happens when school bureaucrats are cheap.  Your team was worn out. You could see it on defense.  The seeding really helps these western schools.

[GreatDanes06]

FCS football seems to be Upper Midwest/West Coast football right now.

[Stonewall D]

9 hours ago, Clickclack said:

One of the upgrades needed for next season is at running back. Woodel is decent enough against low level competition but he's not good enough to be a lead back in playoffs etc. He's also very hurt right now but need an upgrade there. 

The refs ignored the targeting call on Woodel's fumble.  The SDSU player led with the crown of his helmet directly to Woodel's shoulder/ elbow.  The refs even saw it on the instant replay. The SDSU guy should have been ejected; the penalty should have been assessed.  Players suffer permanent injury because refs have a different standard in the NCAA playoffs.  Richmond had a star player's future wrecked on a similar play by NDSU several years back. Rules are there to be enforced for player safety. It's disgusting. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Stonewall D

[cwdickens]

26 minutes ago, Stonewall D said:

This is what happens when school bureaucrats are cheap.  Your team was worn out. You could see it on defense.  The seeding really helps these western schools.

If I am not mistaken, the NCAA covers the cost of the flight and accommodations, just like in the Basketball Tournament teams are flown home, in particular when a loss occurs or there is no game at the same location as part of the tournament.

[nysteve661]

5 hours ago, jimbo said:

And that’s that. Great job SDSU! I’ll be rooting for you.

 

And can we get a little love for Cortland State? Div 3 natties!! Beat a powerhouse program, undefeated defending champs and all that. Great job Red Dragons! 

Wow, just watched a 12 min highlights of game, what a game , back and forth.  North Central scored with a minute to go, 37-36 and decided to go for two to win it and were stuffed.  They were the SDSU of D3, 28 wins in a row, defending champs.  They avg over 50 points a game this season, including games with 71 and 83 points.  Great job by a fellow SUNY school!

[DanesRGood]

Great season! Proud of the team. 

[Eli]

SDSU forum is much more respectful than that trash that is Idawho. Can't wait to face them again in September, win or lose. Hopefully win. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Eli

[HOF2013]

12 hours ago, Stonewall D said:

The refs ignored the targeting call on Woodel's fumble.  The SDSU player led with the crown of his helmet directly to Woodel's shoulder/ elbow.  The refs even saw it on the instant replay. The SDSU guy should have been ejected; the penalty should have been assessed.  Players suffer permanent injury because refs have a different standard in the NCAA playoffs.  Richmond had a star player's future wrecked on a similar play by NDSU several years back. Rules are there to be enforced for player safety. It's disgusting. 

yep I saw that too but kept quiet!  They usually do not call it on an inside play I think.

[cwdickens]

The story caption was kinder than how the Times-Union had previously earlier yesterday:

UALBANY FOOTBALL

 

After harsh end, Danes to build

 

By Mark Singelais

Jim Franco/Times Union

UAlbany coach Greg Gattuso will try to sustain success after reaching the FCS semifinals for the first time.

With a nightmare of a finale behind him, University at Albany football coach Greg Gattuso was already talking about building on his team’s unprecedented 2023 season

“We’re looking forward to the future,” Gattuso said Friday night. “I cannot wait to get back on the road recruiting with what we’ve accomplished and we’re going to move forward.”

 

The Great Danes received a crash course Friday in what it means to compete against the very best in the Football Championship Subdivision. Making its first appearance in the semifinals, UAlbany was dominated from start to finish in a 59-0 loss to defending national champion South Dakota State before a crowd of 12,265 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, S.D.

The Great Danes suffered the worst margin of defeat in program history, surpassing a 65-7 loss to Hofstra in 1990. It was an unceremonious ending to a season that saw UAlbany (11-4) win its first Coastal Athletic Association title (after being picked to finish 11th) and reach 11 victories for only the second time, matching the 1997 team in Division II.

“It’s a punch in the gut, so we’ll be back,” Gattuso said. “We want to try to be at this level, and that’s an eye-opener for our football team and for some of our coaches to understand what it’s like to compete at the highest level.”

Barring any unexpected departures, UAlbany will have eight offensive starters and four defensive starters back in 2024. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Reese Poffenbarger led the nation with 36 touchdown passes and redshirt freshman running back Griffin Woodell of Glens Falls won the CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Sophomore wide receiver MarQeese Dietz caught 45 passes after transferring from Old Dominion. He’ll step into a bigger role with wide receivers Brevin Easton and Julian Hicks departing.

The entire offensive line should return intact. They were unable to create any running room Friday for Woodell, who had six carries for four yards against South Dakota State’s top-ranked defense.

“One of the matchups we were worried about in this game was their defensive line,” Gattuso said. “We have a young offensive line. … We could not run the football and we know we’re going to be better as these guys are going to mature.”

The defense will lose senior linebacker Dylan Kelly, the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, and defensive end AJ Simon, who had 12 1 /2 sacks. Defensive end Anton Juncaj has a year of eligibility left after setting a program record with 15 sacks.

A UAlbany front seven that played well all year was smothered by South Dakota State’s offensive line. The Great Danes were held without a sack, seldom pressured quarterback Mark Gronowski and surrendered a season-high 220 rushing yards.

Gattuso made it clear he’ll go back into the NCAA transfer portal for reinforcements. The Great Danes did that successfully with players like Poffenbarger and second-team All-American cornerback Aamir Hall, who’s a junior.

“I’m not a person that loves the portal, in the sense of what it means and what it is for what we’re teaching kids,” Gattuso said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to be good at the portal because we’ve done a great job of identifying talent and bringing people in and we’re going to continue to do that. I’m excited about our future.”

UAlbany will try to turn this season into sustained success. They couldn’t after their last playoff appearance in 2019, which Gattuso blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept the staff from recruiting. UAlbany went 5-17 the past two seasons before this season’s turnaround.

“We’ve got to grow in many ways,” Gattuso said. “When you see (South Dakota State’s) crowd and you see the facilities and you see the players, we have to grow as a program and understand what it’s going to take. On our end, we’ve got to be able to prepare and play a better game in a tough environment like this. But there’s a lot to build off this year. I know this is a sour mark at the end of the year and it’s disappointing, but what these guys have done this year is remarkable.”

[GreatDanes06]

Well...don't feel upset now...lost to the National Champions

[Eli]

They are the new NDSU...gonna win like 50 games straight before someone knocks em off. 

[jimbo]

39 minutes ago, GreatDanes06 said:

Well...don't feel upset now...lost to the National Champions

And the Griz could only score 3 against them. Watched most of the game. Great goal line stop on that one play. 

[cwdickens]

From SDSU site: DEFENSE CARRIES JACKS TO TITLE REPEAT

[HOF2013]

Final standings for the 2023-24 season U Albany 5th.   Best ever.  The 23-3 victory by SDS [I think they could have scored a couple more times int he 4th but were running out the clock by running the ball a lot] maybe doesn't look as bad. SDS is loosing a LOT of players...

 

NCAA Football

2023 Season

GamesStandingsRankings

FBS (Division I-A)

FCS (Division I-AA)

FCS Media Top 25

Week 20W-LPFPVT

1South Dakota State

15-0140056-

2Montana

13-21343--

3North Dakota State

11-41252- 5

4South Dakota

10-31140- 1

5Albany

11-41125- 4

6Villanova

10-31105--

7Furman

10-31085--

8Idaho

9-41067- 4

Edited January 9 by HOF2013