Scouting Albany

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TICKET TIME


The home opener is just four days away, so it's time, past time really, to buy your tickets NOW for the Columbia home games and BUY EXTRA! Get your friends and family to come and make it an outing.

DON'T FORGET that if you buy season tickets, you also get passes for the Athletic Director's pregame tent for ALL six home games!

AND you get a 10% discount coupon for the Lion Store which sets up shop in a great trailer right in front of the stadium each week.


Leading Off: Big Showdown

One of the most important games of the year in the Ivies, and possibly the most important, takes place in just two days when the Brown Bears head to Harvard Stadium for a fight with the Crimson.

The game kicks off under "Friday Night Lights" at 7pm.

The winner has a pretty great shot at winning the whole damned thing in the Ivy League.

The wisdom of having such a vital game so early in the year is worth debating, but for now I'm excited to be able to follow this game the night BEFORE the full slate of other games, (including Columbia's contest), comes in to distract me.

Brown hasn't beaten Harvard at Harvard since 1998, but this year the Bears look to have a great chance.

Brown's 21-20 win over a super Stony Brook team on Long Island should give everyone pause, especially since 5th year returning QB Kyle Newhall-Caballero had an interception free game.

Meanwhile, Harvard looked a bit flat in a loss at Holy Cross last week.

Other than home field advantage, I'm not sure what the Crimson can really rely on for this game.

I'm still waiting for an opening betting line, but it should come out soon.



Albany's Bob Fod: Face it, he's smarter than you




Scouting Albany

I'll admit that in preseason, I was shaking in my boots about the Great Danes after Phil Steele emphatically picked Albany to win the NEC and ranked them higher than Penn and Harvard.

Reality has set in now and I'm a lot more confident about Columbia's chances after getting a closer look at the team on the field.


Strengths

First and foremost, Albany's best asset is its COACHING!

Head Coach Bob Ford has been in charge of this program since before they used facemasks, (seems like it), in 1970. He is a legend in FCS football, period. I don't care who he puts on the field, I don't want to be up against him in a close game late in the fourth quarter and nobody should either.

But speaking of the on the field talent, it's hard to gauge just how good this Albany team is even with two games under its belt.

I do think Albany's 6-5, 225-pound QB Dan Di Lella is a potentially dangerous threat and the passing game has been generally ahead of the running attack so far this year.

A certain strength is senior DE Eddie Delaney who will do his best to harrass Sean Brackett all day. Delaney has help this year from LB Kyle Jordan who is playing way above his size as he comes in at just 5-11 and 200 pounds.

WR Ryan Kirchner was highly touted coming into this season, but he's been out of the thick of things so far. He could break out Saturday.


Weaknesses


In the Great Danes' two losses, the team has had trouble running the ball and stopping the opposing teams' running attack.

Bad combination.

Coming into the season, Albany was rightfully crowing about RB Andrew Smith, but he has been pretty quiet in the stat book so far.

Smith is a big runner, receiver, and they usually let him throw a pass or two in the game from that 1995 Kordell Stewart "slash" position.

(Speaking of Kordell... this Saturday's game will be the 17th anniversary of his Hail Mary pass to beat Michigan in the Big House on 9/24/1994.


The problem is the Great Danes have taken on a tough Colgate team with RB Nate Eachus and a very good Maine team at home. So, it's to be sure the running game is underperforming right now.

But at this point, they have a lot to prove.

Another weakness is this is a long damn trip for Albany and I do expect some effect from that in the early going.