A return and a setback: UNH football falls in first game since 2019
Mar. 7—Although football games are often determined by blocking and tackling, a different kind of block played a big part in Albany's 24-20 triumph over the University of New Hampshire in a CAA spring season opener at Wildcat Stadium on Friday night.
Albany's Jared Verse batted down Jordan Conn's PAT attempt following quarterback Max Brosmer's second touchdown pass to Sean Coyne. The blocked kick left Albany with a four-point lead with 6:48 to play.
The game marked UNH's first since Nov. 23, 2019. Last fall's FCS schedule was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic, prompting a delayed and shortened season that runs March through April.
The game was also UNH coach Sean McDonnell's first on the sideline since the end of the 2018 season. He took a medical leave of absence in 2019.
UNH's final possession began on the Albany 7-yard line with 1:07 left, but the Wildcats failed to score following two penalties and four incomplete passes. Had UNH made the point-after kick, a field goal would have been an option.
"We'd still be playing if we didn't get that blocked extra point," McDonnell said in the postgame press conference. "We'd be in overtime, probably. ... It would have been a field goal at the end instead of worrying about a touchdown on fourth and 17.
"We were sloppy tonight. We had penalties. We had offsides — all these things. It starts at the top. Obviously I didn't communicate well enough how important the little things are to win a football game. So we'll figure that out."
Ironically, it was a rough night for Albany in the kicking game. Linebacker Zedane Williams blocked a punt that J.J. Jerome recovered in the end zone for a UNH touchdown with 1:08 remaining in the first half; and a dropped snap from punt formation gave UNH the ball on the Albany 7 with 1:07 left in the game.
An illegal substitution penalty moved the ball to the Albany 12 before UNH ran a play, and, following two incomplete passes, an illegal procedure penalty moved the ball back another 5 yards. UNH's final two pass attempts also fell incomplete.
"You could tell no one had played football for a while," Albany coach Greg Gattuso said. "Some crazy things happened in that football game. ... Every time we felt like we were getting a grasp on the game, we made a big mistake. They made some mistakes too. Some of the penalties really hurt them.
"Everybody in the country practices sudden change. I'm so proud of the kids. They were very resilient down there and made some plays."
Albany entered the game ranked 13th in the FCS Top 25, one spot ahead of UNH.
The Wildcats led 14-7 at halftime, but Albany outscored UNH 14-0 in the third quarter. Albany quarterback Jeff Undercuffler tossed two of his three TD passes in the third. He connected with Tyler Oedekoven (10 receptions, 81 yards) for an 18-yard TD pass on the opening drive of the second half, and completed a 9-yard TD pass to running back Karl Mofor with 7:41 remaining in the quarter.
Undercuffler, who led the FCS with 41 TD passes in 2019, completed 23 of 36 passes for 192 yards. Brosmer completed 20 of 35 passes for 128 yards and two TDs. Neither quarterback was intercepted.
The Albany lead grew to 24-14 when Dylan Burns kicked a 37-yard field goal into the wind with 11:38 to play, but UNH came up with a big play on Albany's next possession. After forcing Undercuffler to fumble, UNH linebacker Oleh Manzyk returned the ball to the Albany 24. That set up Coyne's second TD catch followed by the blocked PAT.
"Anytime you can block a kick is huge," Gattuso said. "Blocked kicks are always the big turning (point) in games. They always come back and haunt you."
In addition to taking over deep in Albany territory on its final drive, UNH had a fourth-and-four play from the Albany 23 with 2:18 left. The four-point margin wiped out the possibility of a field goal attempt there as well, and the Great Danes took possession after a Brosmer pass fell incomplete.
"Just very disappointed in the way it ended," McDonnell said. "Leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
