Slumping Great Danes hit the road for non-conference tilt with Cornell

ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — The tone of the UAlbany football team last Saturday was one of frustration after a loss to Maine in their conference opener. Thursday, it was optimism; optimism that despite being in the midst of three-game losing streak, this team can still get on track. But they know they need to do so in a hurry.

Keep in mind that two of those losses were against elite programs: West Virginia out of the Big 12 Conference, and Idaho, the 10th-ranked team in the FCS.

Saturday’s showing against Maine was a disappointment, though, and the Great Danes would be the first to admit that. Quarterback Myles Burkett said that game was a wake-up call, and it’ll be interesting to see how the team responds to that.

UAlbany hits the road once again this week; taking on Cornell out of the Ivy League. The Big Red are coming off a massive win against Yale, and poses another tough test for Greg Gattuso’s bunch.

It’s a non-conference game for the Danes – their final one of the regular season – but that’s not diminishing from the importance of this game.

“We understand we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole here, and we have to go play a good game,” said Gattuso. “I think it’s really important to focus on one game, and stacking games after that. And I think [the players] understand that. We certainly didn’t play well enough to win last week, and we have to change that. It’s not a real complicated formula for us to be better than we were last week, and I think we’re already seeing signs of it.”

UAlbany sits at 1-3 overall on the year, and recently dropped out of the Stats Perform FCS Top-25 rankings. They’re in danger of losing four straight games for the first time since the 2021 season, but Gattuso is still encouraged by what he’s seen out of his guys.

“I feel good about us still. Call me crazy, but I like this team. [I’ve] spent a lot of time with them. They’re very enthusiastic. They’re hungry for knowledge, and they’re working really hard.”

Kickoff from Ithaca is at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

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