Wildcats Edged in Opener by UAlbany

Friday, March 5

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

0-1 , 0-1

UAlbany

1-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Albany (NY)

New Hampshire

Sophomore Max Brosmer threw a pair of touchdown passes to junior Sean Coyne on Friday night.

Photo by: China Wong

3/5/2021 11:55:00 PM | Football

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore quarterback Max Brosmer (Roswell, Ga.) and junior wide receiver Sean Coyne (Portsmouth, R.I.) teamed up for a pair of passing touchdowns and the defense fueled a late comeback bid, but it was not enough and the University of New Hampshire football team fell to the University of Albany, 24-20, Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.

It was a chilly, windy opener – the temperature was below 30 when the game started - of a six-game regular season for both teams. All games will be Colonial Athletic Association contests.

It was UNH's first game since Nov. 23, 2019 and it marked the first game for head coach Sean McDonnell since Nov. 17, 2018. McDonnell was sideline for medical reasons for the 2019 season and Ricky Santos filled in as interim head coach.

UNH plays its next game Saturday, March 20 against Delaware in Wildcat Stadium.

The Wildcats came into the game ranked No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll and Albany was No. 13.

The UNH defense held the Great Danes to 224 yards of offense and sacked Albany quarterback Jeff Undercuffler four times. The Wildcats had 186 yards of offense.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Zedane Williams (Springfield, Mass.) and sophomore defensive back Randall Harris (Walled Lake, Mich.) led the Wildcats with nine tackles each. Williams also blocked a punt that sophomore running back J.J. Jerome (Monroe, Wash.) recovered in the end zone for a TD.

Brosmer completed 20 of 35 passes for 128 yards and the two scores.

Jeff Undercuffler was 23 for 36 passing for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He led FCS with 41 touchdown passes as a redshirt freshman in 2019.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats are off next weekend and return to action with a home game against Delaware on Saturday, March 20 at noon.
All three Wildcat home games this year will be on NBC Sports Boston.
UNH hits the road for games at Villanova on Saturday, March 27 and at Rhode Island on Saturday, April 3.
The Wildcats face Stony Brook at home on Saturday, April 10 at noon.
They close out the regular season with a game at Maine on Saturday, April 17.
The FCS will play a 16-team tournament to determine a national champion.

FALL SEASON

The Wildcats open the 2021 fall season at Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 4.
They meet Towson in their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 11.

1^st QUARTER

Brosmer hit Sean Coyne (Portsmouth, R.I.) with a 4-yard pass for the season's first score with 7:59 left in the quarter. Sophomore Jordan Conn (Woodbridge, Conn.) kicked the conversion.
Undercuffler passed to Mike Gray for a 23-yard score to tie the game.

2^ND QUARTER

Williams blocked an Albany punt and Jerome recovered in the end zone for a touchdown with 1:08 left in the half.
Conn kicked the conversion for a 14-7 UNH lead.

3^RD QUARTER

Undercuffler connected with Tyler Oedekoven (18 yards) and Mofor (9 yards) to open a 21-14 Albany lead.

4^th QUARTER

Niko Kvietkus (Southington, Mass.) sacked Undercuffler and forced a fumble that was recovered and returned 13 yards by Oleh Manzyk (Feasterville, Pa.) to the UAlbany 25-yard line to set up a touchdown.
Brosmer hit Coyne with another TD pass from 18 yards out.
It was their second scoring connection of the game.
Conn's kick was blocked and UNH trailed 24-20 with 6:48 left.
The Wildcats advanced inside the Albany 20-yard line but were stopped with less than three minutes to go.
They had a final chance inside the 10-yard line after the Great Danes mishandled a punt, but the UAlbany defense held again for the win.

'CAT NIPS