ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The road doesn’t get any easier for the UAlbany football team following a disappointing conference opener last Saturday.
The Great Danes lost 24-6 to the University of New Hampshire, and are getting thrown right back into the fire. Their next three Coastal Athletic Association opponents were all picked to finish top-4 in the league.
It’s a brutal, four-week stretch that will include a bye next week, and starts with Stony Brook Saturday in a battle for the Golden Apple Trophy. The Seawolves are the defending trophy holders after defeating UAlbany in Stony Brook, 24-6, last season.
This year’s rendition of the rivalry turns to Tom & Mary Casey Stadium, hopefully giving the Great Danes a little boost they desperately need. A loss on Saturday would drop them to 1-5 overall, and 0-2 in league play.
With two nationally-ranked opponents waiting in the wings after the bye, the difference between going into a much-needed break with a win, versus a loss, is massive.
“It could be everything,” said interim head coach Jared Ambrose. “It could be the thing that turns our season. Balansama Kamara said as soon as we were walking in from the field in New Hampshire, “We got Stony Brook next week, Coach. Then we got a bye; we can get this thing rolling.” So, the guys believe. It would be crucial for us.”
“We can get a lot of good momentum out of this,” added sophomore running back Jojo Uga. “Just getting a win in the conference, we go [to] to 1-1, get a bye week and then the next couple opponents are just good opponents. That can give us a lot of momentum.”
And the significance of this game runs even deeper. This is UAlbany’s Hometown Heroes Game. Retired United States Army Col. Jack Clark came to speak with the team after Thursday’s practice. Clark’s son, Todd, a CBA graduate, was killed in Afghanistan in 2013. Jack Clark presented Guilderland native Brad Igweike with the Lt. Col. Todd J. Clark Award for exemplary leadership.
Igweike will lead the Great Danes into Saturday’s clash with Stony Brook, which is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m.