This weekend was a busy one for local college sports teams.

It was University at Albany coach Bob Ford's final home game. The Great Danes lost to New Hampshire, but that was only part of the story.

To the left is a picture page from Coach Ford's final game in the city of Albany.

Also in college football, RPI reclaimed the Dutchman Shoes, by beating Union, 31-28.

The Union/RPI rivalry didn't stop at football. The Skating Dutchmen extracted some revenge for their school, sweeping the Engineers in two game.

The Saint Rose women's soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 for an incredible ninth straight year, defeating Adelphi on Sunday. 

Also, the Saint Rose men's basketball team defeated Felician.

In college basketball, Siena nearly pulled off a huge upset against La Salle, a program that reached the Sweet 16 last season.

UAlbany lost its first game of the season, falling at Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Columnist Steve Amedio writes about the UAlbany women's basketball team, which is coming off possibly the biggest victory in school history, knocking off perennial power Marist.

Below is Ford addressing the crowd following his final home game after 44 years as the program's head coach. 

A wild sports weekend in the Capital District.

In addition to high school state competition, RPI and Union meet in the Dutchman Shoes football game, while also taking the ice for a home-and-home in men's hockey. (Update: RPI won 31-28 to reclaim the Shoes)

Siena is in Philadelphia to take on La Salle, at a soldout arena for homecoming.

The UAlbany basketball team is in Connecticut, to take on Quinnipiac.

Here at home, the UAlbany football team takes on New Hampshire, in coach Bob Ford's final home game.  

In addition to Ford's final home game, it's also Military Appreciation Day at UAlbany and below are the helmets the team will wear. 

J.S. Carras/The Record

The University at Albany men's basketball team won their home opener Tuesday night, against New
Jersey Institute of Technology.

Here is the game story, following a 71-65 victory for the Great Danes that bumped them to 2-0 overall, with a game at Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Siena dropped to 0-2, with a 77-66 loss at Vermont. Here is a link to the Siena write up and postgame video from coach Jimmy Patsos.

Also, Brien Bouyea checks in with the RPI women's basketball team.

Columnist Steve Amedio writes about Marist women's coach Brian Giorgis, who brings his Red Foxes to the SEFCU Arena Thursday evening, to take on UAlbany. The two teams are ranked in the Top 20, in the College Insider Mid-Major poll, with Marist at No. 3 and UAlbany at No. 17. 

In the end, the partial government shutdown will only delay the Liberty League football contest between RPI and Merchant Marine Academy.

The RPI Athletic Department tweeted on Friday afternoon that the Engineers will play the Mariners on Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. 

FB | Makeup game with Merchant Marine finalized for November 2nd in Troy. Kickoff at East Campus Stadium is 1pm. #RPIFB #d3fb #ITH
— RPI Athletics (@RPIAthletics) October 18, 2013

The game was supposed to be played on Oct. 5, on RPI's Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, but the government shutdown postponed the game and Merchant Marine's season.

The Mariners also were inactive last week, when they were supposed to travel to take on Rochester.

The Engineers (0-2, 3-2) play Rochester on Saturday at noon, at East Campus Stadium. 

TROY - There will be no homecoming football game at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this year.
Saturday's Liberty League contest against Merchant Marine Academy has been postponed due to the partial government shutdown.

The Engineers (0-1, 3-1) and Mariners (0-1, 3-1) were supposed to kick off at 1 p.m., from East Campus Stadium, but due to the stemming from the budget impasse in Congress, the game will not be held this weekend.

“Obviously it’s unfortunate and it is something that was truly out of our control," said RPI football coach Ralph Isernia. 

The last time a RPI football game was postponed was Sept. 15, 2001, due to the September 11 terrorist attacks. That game, against Coast Guard, was not rescheduled.

Instead of football, the nationally ranked RPI women's soccer team will face Clarkson at 1 p.m., instead of the regularly scheduled time of 5 p.m.

The football game has been tenatively rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2, in Troy.
Here is the school's release.

TROY >> The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football team is planning to play Saturday afternoon at East Campus Stadium on Homecoming Weekend.

The Engineers may have to make a change of plans.

RPI (0-1, 3-1) is scheduled to host Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday, in a Liberty League contest. However, the government shutdown that went into affect on Tuesday, is threatening the game. As a service academy, Merchant Marine is affected by the changes happening and therefore can’t practice during the shutdown.

While this may eventually change the plans, Engineers coach Ralph Isernia and his team are preparing as if they will play on Saturday, as scheduled.

According to a RPI athletics spokesperson, if this shutdown is not resolved by Thursday, the game could still be played in Troy, on Sunday afternoon.

If no agreement can be made by Thursday, the game will be cancelled. The two teams have another open date, but Merchant Marine can’t play on Saturday, Nov. 2, due to exams at the school.

If the football game is cancelled, the RPI women’s soccer game against Clarkson will serve as the Homecoming game at East Campus Stadium.

For the first weekend of the season, most of the local college football excitement is happening outside of the Capital District.

Here are the game capsules Union, RPI and the University at Albany.

The Great Danes head south to take on its first ever FBS opponent, in Old Dominion.

Here is a link to live stats for the WPI/RPI game, which is a battle for the coveted Transit Trophy. 

J.S. Carras/The Record

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football team is off to a great start at 3-0.

Ralph Isernia (left) hasn't lost yet as the Engineers head coach. That doesn't mean he thinks the team needs to continue getting better. That's the premise of the story in Thursday's paper, which talks about how Isernia wants his team to keep getting better every day.

RPI kicks off Liberty League play, when they take on rival WPI on Saturday, for possession of the Transit Trophy. The game is at 1 p.m., at Alumni Field in Worcester, Mass.

The Engineers have possession of the trophy after a 39-17 victory last year at East Campus Stadiu.

Also of note, senior defensive end Arthur Kuyan was named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week.

Here is a link to game notes, live stats and the radio broadcast.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute kicker Andrew Franks has gotten off to a quick start this season.

Franks kicked five field goals in a 24-21 victory over Alfred last Saturday.

Here is Thursday's main story on Franks, who is from Carmel, Calif., and kind of ended up at RPI by chance.

Franks and the Engineers are 2-0, and host Castleton State on Saturday in Troy.

Below is Franks kicking in practice, with snapper Jim Krecek and holder Jessie Maynard.

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football team knocked off Norwich 20-7 on Saturday, in the season-opener.

The Engineers have now won 12 of the past 13 openers, losing only in 2011, against Alfred.

Here is a link to the game story.

Senior Jessie Maynard helped lead RPI from behind to pull out the win. The Engineers trailed 7-6, when Maynard fired a touchdown pass to Pat Hogan.

Maynard, who came in to replace fellow senior Brendan McGlynn (knee), iced the game, with a 91-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.

RPI wore its new white jerseys, shown below from running back Andrew Armato. 

Mike McMahon - The Record

Coach Ralph Isernia had the team sing the fight song following the game. Turns out that none of the players knew the words, when Isernia asked in the preseason. He thought this would be a nice way to bring back some school spirit.

“These kids have been through a lot," Isernia said. "And we wanted to bring back a sense of community, a sense of pride. This isn’t just the football team — this is for the school."

Mike McMahon - The Record

Another college football season is upon us. I still can't believe summer is over.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute kicks off the 2013 season, when they host Norwich. Here is a story on senior quarterback Brendan McGlynn, who gets his first career start today.

Also, the University at Albany is on the road today, looking for its first victory, when they take on Colgate. They are looking to even their record, following last week's loss at Duquesne.

Follow me on twitter @AndrewSantillo for updates on the RPI game.

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute baseball team has advanced to the Division III NCAA tournament. The Engineers are participating in the New York Regional, an 8-team double-elimination tournament at Falcon Park in Auburn.

Here is a link to the story on the team that ran in Wednesday's paper. RPI plays Cortland Wednesday evening, in a game that was supposed to start at 7:45 p.m., but play has already been shifted because of weather.

Here is a link to the Regional homepage, which has links for Live Stats, Twitter links, Radio feeds and everything else you can want. 

Photo Contributed

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute quarterback Mike Hermann had orginally reached a free-agent agreement with the Oakland Raiders, but now he's headed to their AFC West rival.

Hermann will head to workouts with the San Diego Chargers later this month, where the two-time Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year will be fourth on the depth chart, behind  Philip Rivers, Charlie Whitehurst and Brad Sorensen.

Jeff Couch/The Record

In what has been a big few days for local football players, CBA grad Joe Vellano and RPI's Mike Hermann have signed free agent contracts with NFL teams.

Vellano and Hermann join UAlbany players Drew Smith (Buffalo) and Jon Morgan (Detroit), as four players with local ties have now signed free agent deals.

Vellano, who played at Maryland, signed a deal with New England, while Hermann has inked with Oakland.

J.S. Carras/The Record

The NFL Draft kicks off tonight in New York City.

The first round takes place Thursday evening, with the draft stretching to Friday and Saturday. Over
the weekend, a few local products hope they hear their names called or their phones ring with interest from NFL teams.

RPI quarterback Mike Hermann (right) impressed scouts at a Pro Day at Stony Brook, back in March, and his size (6-5, 260) is big league. He hopes to get a chance with a NFL team. 

The most recent local player to be drafted was former Albany Academy standout Dion Lewis, who was chosen in the fifth round by Philadelphia, in 2011, after a college career at Pittsburgh. Lewis, who was The Record's 2006 Offensive Player of the Year, was traded to Cleveland two weeks ago. 

University at Albany running back Drew Smith (below) hopes he can either be chosen in the late rounds or find himself to a team as a priority free agent. Also, CBA grad Joe Vellano could be chosen in the late rounds.

AP

 Below is video of Hermann talking about his chances, on Wednesday, before he gets in a workout. 

The game is just two days away.

Check out my story on the annual Dutchman Shoes, one of the longest rivalries in college football and the longest in New York State.

Union and RPI meet for the 110th time, on Saturday.

The home team has won the past four meetings, including last year's 38-28 Dutchmen victory, at Frank Bailey Field.

Here's what the teams are playing for.

Mike McMahon/The Record

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute men's soccer team is headed to the big dance.

The Engineers (9-5-6) take on Christopher Newport, on Saturday evening, on the campus of Swathmore College (just outside of Philadelphia), in the Division III NCAA tournament.

Here is a link to my story, which ran in Thursday's paper. 

Here is the bracket.

Here is a link to the school's release, which has access to watching and listening to the game.

RPI Athletics

While I was out of town this weekend, at a wedding, there was a lot going on for the first weekend of November.

The UAlbany football team got hammed, losing 30-0 to Wagner on Saturday. The loss makes it very difficult for the Great Danes to win the Northeast Conference and earn the bid to the NCAA tournament. Here is a link to the story from Brien Bouyea.

The loss should also knock UAlbany out of the Top 25. I just cast my ballot for The Sports Network poll and didn't include the Great Danes, who I previously had at No. 16.

This is a big week. College basketball starts with UAlbany and Siena playing home games on Friday evening. Also, Saturday is the big Union/RPI football game, for bragging rights and possession of the Dutchman's Shoes.

Make sure to check back here many times this week as there will be plenty of updates.

For the third consecutive year, I am voting for the Top 10 in the ECAC Lambert Meadowlands poll. I will be voting for both the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) and Division III.

Here are my rankings for this week

The number in (xx) is where the team is located on the poll, if different from my ballot.

FCS
1. Lehigh
2. Stony Brook (T3)
3. Old Dominion (2)
4. New Hampshire (T3)
5. James Madison
6. UAlbany
7. Towson (9)
8. Richmond (7)
9. Harvard (8)
10. Delaware (RV)

Division III
1. Hobart
2. Wesley
3. Widener (T2)
4. Johns Hopkins
5. Cortland
6. Salisbury (7)
7. St. John Fisher (10)
8. Waynesburg (8)
9. Trinity (6)
10, Utica (RV)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute senior quarterback Mike Hermann talks about the team's big Liberty League showdown with Hobart.