The University of New Hampshire football team closes out the regular season with an always-huge game against bitter rival Maine a week from Saturday on Nov. 23 in Wildcat Stadium.
Just how important that rivalry game will be – and what additional ramifications it may carry – hinges in large part on how things turn out this Saturday afternoon in upstate New York.
The Wildcats, coming off a 54-16 loss at No. 2 James Madison last weekend, take a 5-4 overall record and 4-2 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association into Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against UAlbany in Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. The Great Danes are 6-4 overall and also 4-2 in the league.
“We can’t dwell (on JMU),” junior defensive tackle Elijah Lewis said. “We have two games left and we can still make the playoffs.”
That’s the bottom line. For both teams.
If the Wildcats can knock off the Great Danes this weekend, the ante gets upped in a major way for next week’s finale against Maine.
Not only would UNH and Maine be vying for the Brice-Cowell Musket and Border Battle bragging rights on the team’s Senior Day, at least UNH would be playing for a spot in the Division I FCS tournament. If Maine picks up a win over Rhode Island this Saturday, the Black Bears will need a victory in the finale to make the playoffs, too.
For the moment, Albany, featuring one of the most explosive quarterbacks and offenses in the CAA and country, is all that matters. Just like New Hampshire and Maine, the Great Danes hope to win its final two games and make the playoffs.
UNH faced Albany quarterback Jeff Undercuffler, 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds, last year and he’s still only a redshirt freshman. Because of a new NCAA rule instituted for last season, he was able to play in four games that year and still retain the year of eligibility.
Undercuffler played the whole game last year in Durham and passed for a TD, but the Wildcats won, 24-10. Safety Evan Horn intercepted one of Undercuffler’s passes in Albany’s end zone for UNH’s final score of the game to seal the victory.
Last season, Undercuffler passed for four TDs and had five passes intercepted in his four games.
This year, he’s passed for a school-record 31 touchdowns, the best total in all of the FCS, and has thrown seven picks.
“He’s definitely better,” Lewis said. “If we give him time, he’s going to make his plays, for sure. We’ve got to be in his face at all times.”
Albany senior receiver Juwan Green has 1,306 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, which is best in the league.
“The quarterback’s smart,” Santos said. “He gets the ball out of his hand. He has a very quick release. He has a couple of dynamic playmakers on the perimeter who can go get it. I think in the last four games they’ve taken like 40 shots over 15 yards down the field. It’s a good challenge for us.”
On the ground, UAlbany has an attack led by junior Karl Mofor who leads the CAA in rushing yards at 92.1 yards a game.
On defense, senior Eli Mencer is disruptive from his end spot and leads the league in tackles for loss with 18.5 and is second in sacks with 10.5.
“We have two more games left, we’ve still got the playoff hopes, let’s run with that,” UNH senior running back and captain Evan Gray said. “Let’s stick with that. That’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to give back to this program. Get back to what we’re doing. That’s what I want to leave.”
■Albany has won three of its last four games.
■The Great Danes won at Delaware, 21-17, last Saturday.
■New Hampshire, Albany and Richmond are all 4-2 in CAA play.
■UNH senior punter Drew Sanborn was hurt in the JMU game and will miss the Albany game. Junior kicker Jason Hughes will do the punting. Hughes has hit 13 of his 16 field goal attempts.
■UNH freshman QB Max Brosmer has completed 140 of his 245 passes (57.1 percent) for 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
(Allen Lessels is the UNH Insider and can be reached at Allen.Lessels@unh.edu or on Twitter @UNHInsider)