STONY BROOK - What an incredibly good game, but a tough play that ended it for the University at Albany.
The Seawolves scored the last 21 points of the game, to advance to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
Stony Brook (9-3) will face Sam Houston State (11-0) next weekend.
UAlbany (8-4) had a 28-10 lead, but let the game slip away, something they'll probably never forget.
Dan Di Lella who set program-records for passing touchdowns (25) and yards (2,548), threw an interception with less than a minutes to play, in the end zone.
“That last play was not the right
decision and it cost us the game,” he said.
The Great Danes should feel good about the season, but it's certainly a tough way to bow out.
UAlbany coach Bob Ford coached the second half with a torn MCL, after being involved in a collision with receiver Ryan Kirchner, on the sideline.
“I think I can put it into
perspective,” Ford said. “We had a great, great season.”
The Great Danes left for Pittsburgh Friday morning at 9 a.m. and will stop in Rochester to have a walk through at St. John Fisher College.
Fisher Offensive Coordinator Dave Parks is a 2003 graduate of UAlbany and another assistant coach, Colin Disch, is a 2007 graduate of UAlbany.
The team will arrive around dinner time and kickoff is 12 p.m. on Saturday against Duquesne (2-1).
I talked to defensive lineman Eddie Delaney, quarterback Dan Di Lella and coach Bob Ford for a story about beginning the Northeast Conference season that will appear in Saturday's paper.
Below sophomore running back Andrew Smith talks about how he'll be back on the field on Saturday.
Below is the video preview compiled by the UAlbany sports department
University at Albany junior quarterback Dan Di Lella talks about starting the season, his first career start and what it will take to beat Maine tonight.
University at Albany media guru Brian DePasquale has sent out the Great Danes first game notes for the season.
If you're wondering, the biggest question coming into the year was replacing the quarterback, and UAlbany has junior Dan Di Lella listed as the No. 1 QB.
Red-shirt sophomore Andrew Smith is listed as the No. 1 tailback.
Some interesting notes:
Di Lella's most yards passing in a game was 7 last season against Duquesne. UAlbany fans are hoping he breaks that on his first pass in 2010.
The Great Danes are 6-15 in night games since joining the FCS level. They open the season with two night games (Maine, Stephen F. Austin) and play Central Connecticut later in the year.
UAlbany has four starters returning on the offensive line.
Kicker Herb Glass needs just five field goals to move into second on the program's all-time list. Glass has 18 career field goals. Jason Fralicker (2006-07) has 28.
Ford has 241 victories (most among active FCS coaches) and is just nine wins - quite possible in 2010 - from 250 for his career.
The Great Danes open the season on the road for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons.
UAlbany actually leads the all-time series with Maine, 2-1. The Black Bears have made five NCAA FCS postseason appearances and are just outside the Top 25 at the beginning of the 2010 season.
We'll have our preview for the team in Thursday's edition of The Record. The team opens that night against Maine.
ALBANY - University at Albany fifth-year defensive lineman Trevor Anderson knows that the accolades are coming his way and he doesn't mind.
Anderson was named preseason All-Northeast Conference last week and was a first team All-NEC selection after the 2009 season.
After working hard over the summer, the Warnersville native believes he can have his best season yet.
"I’ve taken a lot from what I’ve learned over the years and I’m ready to put it all together and see what happens,” he said Tuesday before the Great Danes' walk-thru on University Field.
While he came into preseason camp a little heavy, according to coach Bob Ford, Anderson knows that while people are expecting big things from him, he is harder on himself to be great.
“I expect that out of myself,” Anderson said. “I’m not trying to sound too cocky, but I know what I can do.”
Anderson is expected to lead a defensive unit that should be strong up front with him and Eddie Delaney.
“We’ve been a very good run stopping defense in the past and this defensive line had a lot to with that,” Delaney said. “As a d-lineman, I’m really excited to see what we’re going to do on the field this year.”
Ford said if Anderson and Delaney both play to their potential they will make things awfully tough for opponents.
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One big question for the Great Danes is how to replace quarterback Vinnie Esposito.
The two options seem to be junior Dan Di Lella and ultra-athletic redshirt-sophomore Andrew Smith from Guilderland.
While Ford said the position is a work in progress, he added “We are going to line Drew Smith up in a multitude of positions, quarterback being one of them."
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If you've missed any of our preseason stories here are links
Andrew Santillo is a sports reporter at The Record in Troy, New York. Originally from Niskayuna, Andrew graduated from Ithaca College in 2005 with a degree in journalism. He currently resides in Albany.
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