Albany Great Danes
Northeast Conference
Coach Bob Ford has built the Albany program and now gets to see them make the next step in college football. Coach Ford joined the program back in 1970. It was not until three years later that football went from a club to a varsity sport. Since then Coach Ford has led Albany to success at multiple levels of the game. In 1999 Albany made the move to what is now the FCS. Despite the Great Danes success, they are in the Northeast Conference, which did not have an automatic bid to the playoffs until the field expanded in 2010. Thus, Albany is making their first appearance in the FCS playoffs this season and Coach Ford deserves a ton of credit for what he has done for the university.
2011 Record: 8-3, 7-1
Last Playoff Appearance: none
Coach: Bob Ford (246-156 at Albany, 246-156 overall)
Big Wins: 10/8 Duquesne (38-10), 10/29 at Wagner (24-0)
Bad Losses: 9/3 at Colgate (34-37), 11/5 Bryant (17-31)
Strengths:
The balanced Albany offense has been tough for most NEC opponents to stop. Quarterback Dan Di Lella is not particularly flashy, but he is very efficient and effective. Di Lella is an accurate passer and has done a fine job of keeping the turnovers down. He has quite a few receiving threats on the team as well. Cole King and Ryan Kirchner have been the most effective this season, but Kevin Chillis and Nick Hutcherson are also more than capable of having big games. Even running back Drew Smith is a dangerous pass catcher out of the backfield. But there is not much Smith cannot do. He is the Great Danes workhorse on the ground and can break big runs or pound the ball in the end zone. Smith has even thrown three touchdown passes this season. And for a running back who threw just three passes that all went for touchdowns, the opposition needs to keep an eye on him when Albany runs a trick play. The backfield also has Dillon Romain and Omar Osbourne, both who are fine backups to Smith and can change things up for the offense even more.
Weaknesses:
The Albany defense is quite experienced and has all the pieces to be successful, but they have given up too many points this year to some not so great offenses. And that often leads to losses. What they do have are a couple fine linebackers in Jon Morgan and Dave Plungas. Those two lead the Great Danes in tackles just about every game. Morgan is a big hitter who gets all over the field and makes plays. Eddie Delaney is the leader of the defensive line and is easily the most consistent pass rusher on the team. Cornerbacks Leon Saddler and Duane Harper and free safety Justin Hassan have also made some big plays in the secondary. Overall the defense has been pretty effective against the pass, but susceptible to the ground game. Colgate’s Nate Eachus, Maine’s Pushaun Brown and Bryant’s Jordan Brown all had huge games in victories over Albany and a good running back will likely be the cause of the Great Danes exit from the playoffs.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Drew Smith, RB, 1,052 yards
Passing: Dan Di Lella, QB, 2,325 yards
Receiving: Cole King, WR, 538 yards
Tackles: Jon Morgan, LB, 97
Sacks: Eddie Delaney, DE, 8.5
Interceptions: Justin Hassan, S, 2; Leon Saddler, CB, 2
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 190.73 (27th in nation, 4th in conference)
Passing Offense: 230.73 (39, 2)
Total Offense: 421.45 (21, 1)
Scoring Offense: 34.18 (16, 1)
Rushing Defense: 151.45 (60, 4)
Pass Defense: 195.91 (37, 4)
Total Defense: 347.36 (43, 3)
Scoring Defense: 22.45 (35, 2)
Turnover Margin: .73 (24, 2)
Sacks: 2.09 (53, 2)
Sacks Allowed: .82 (10, 2)
