West Virginia will be doing all it can to move on from its 34-12 home loss to Penn State from Saturday, and its first opportunity to do so will be against the University of Albany Great Danes.
Of all FCS teams the Mountaineers could have scheduled to play in Week 2, Albany is one of the toughest options. The Great Danes finished last season 11-4, falling in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs to undefeated champions South Dakota State.
Winning was not a huge challenge for Albany last year. Two of the Great Danes’ four losses came to FBS programs in Hawaii and Marshall, with the others coming to New Hampshire on the road by one touchdown and South Dakota State in the FCS Playoffs. The Great Danes established themselves as offensive powerhouses, averaging 28.4 points per game.
For the 11th consecutive year, Greg Gattuso sits at the helm for UAlbany as head coach. Albany’s run to the FCS National Semifinal was the furthest it had gone in program history, and Gattuso was recognized thoroughly for his role in the run, receiving FCS Coach of the Year honors from the American Football Coaches Association.
Before his time at Albany, Gattuso found success at Duquesne, where he built a football powerhouse that went 97-32 in 12 years under Gattuso, including a 66-7 conference record with seven undefeated seasons in conference play.
Despite his strong reputation and performance last season, though, Gattuso has not had it easy at Albany thus far. The Great Danes have only finished with a winning record four times under Gattuso, who has amassed a 51-61 record with the team including last weekend’s win over Long Island.
Nevertheless, Gattuso’s squad is one to look out for in the FCS this season, ranking No. 13 in the FCS. For West Virginia, though, the Great Danes have no business causing significant trouble on Saturday.
Albany held its opponents to 20 points per game last season, with Marshall and Hawaii scoring 21 and 31 respectively in their wins over the Great Danes. Last weekend, the Long Island Sharks scored 21 on Albany despite going 4-7 last season and having no real rushing threat in the game.
Sophomore quarterback Luca Stanzani ran the majority of the offense for Long Island last weekend, and yet Albany struggled to hold the passing game in the biggest moments, allowing three passing touchdowns despite holding him to 179 yards on 20/31 completions. If Garrett Greene can take advantage of Albany’s lacking defense in these situations while establishing a strong run game, it should be a long game for the Great Danes.
As for Albany’s own offense, the personnel is lacking from last year. Both of Albany’s top receivers from last year as well as their quarterback are gone, leaving the keys to Myles Burkett in the passing game with receivers Seven McGee, who caught five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, and MarQeese Dietz, who caught 45 receptions for 515 yards last season.
Albany’s offense lives in the run game this year, with all receivers other than McGee being non-factors against LIU. Griffin Woodell leads the team in rushing after going for 939 yards and eight touchdowns in 183 carries as a freshman. Woodell had 20 carries against LIU and rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Overall, despite coming off a historic season, the Great Danes should not serve as much of a threat West Virginia. Regardless, the team has weapons in the run game and a solid special teams reputation after making two field goals in the win over LIU. Albany also shocked the Sharks last week with a touchdown off of an LIU fumble.
West Virginia takes on Albany at home at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and the game can be watched on ESPN+.
