No. 5 Seed UAlbany (11-3) 30, No. 4 Seed Idaho (9-4) 22
Quick Synopsis – UAlbany quarterback Reese Poffenbarger and wide receiver Brevin Easton connected for three touchdown passes, including a 30-yarder with 4:38 left to erase a 19-17 deficit. The CAA tri-champion outscored Idaho 23-6 over the final 36 minutes, 55 seconds.
Game Ball – Easton’s nine receptions, 228 receiving yards and three scores all represented personal highs in his two seasons at UAlbany. The senior went over 1,000 yards for the season.
Key Stat – Idaho left points on the field due to its outstanding kicker Ricardo Chavez having a rough performance: He was just 3 of 6 on field goal attempts and had an extra point attempt blocked.
Up Next – UAlbany will travel to No. 1 seed South Dakota State (13-0) for its first-ever FCS semifinal on Dec. 15 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
Brevin Easton caught three touchdown passes from Reese Poffenbarger, including a go-ahead 30-yard score with 4:38 remaining as 5th-seeded UAlbany rallied past #4 Idaho, 30-22, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA FCS playoffs on Saturday night. The Great Danes (11-3) advance to the semifinals for the first time ever, where they will meet #1 South Dakota State next Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Poffenbarger finished 24-of-41 passing for 341 yards and 3 TD’s, while Easton made nine receptions for a career-high 228 yards and 3 TD’s.
Trailing 19-14 entering the fourth quarter, UAlbany got a 22-yard field goal from John Opalko to close within two with 11:07 to go. The Great Danes then put together a 12-play, 85-yard drive, capped by Poffenbarger’s 30-yard TD pass to Easton in the corner of the end zone to move on top, 23-19.
On the ensuing possession, UAlbany’s Anton Juncaj recorded his school-record 15th sack and forced a fumble that was recovered by Elijah Hills. After converting a key fourth down, freshman Griffin Woodell broke loose for a 29-yard TD run to extend the Great Danes’ advantage to 30-19 with 46 seconds on the clock.
Idaho booted a 49-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining to pull within eight, but UAlbany recovered an onside kick to seal the victory.
UAlbany fell behind 7-0 midway through the first quarter but responded quickly. Poffenbarger connected with Easton on a 64-yard strike to tie the game with 7:28 left in the opening period. The Vandals were able to build a 16-7 advantage before the Great Danes dialed up another big play. Poffenbarger escaped pressure and found Easton with a 39-yard TD toss to cut the deficit to 16-14 with 6:55 to go in the second quarter.
Woodell ran for a team-high 98 yards on 21 carries and caught seven passes for 19 yards. Dylan Kelly paced the UAlbany defense with seven tackles.