Durham N.H.- The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (2-0, 2-0) took home the win on Saturday against the University of Albany Great Danes (0-2, 0-1) in what was described by former TNH Sports Editor Cameron Beall as a “jersey game” with the Danes in their “blackout” jerseys, and the Wildcats with their “blizzard” white out uniforms.

With all the hype from the uniforms throughout the week, it was easy to forget the importance of this Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matchup. Until Saturday night, UNH had not been victorious over UAlbany since 2018 when they won 24-10 in Durham. 

The final score in New York’s Capital region was 28-23 in favor of UNH. Although it seems like a close game the ‘Cats maintained control from start to finish. 

Their momentum all started a little over ten minutes into the first quarter when UNH sophomore quarterback Max Brosmer found red-shirt first-year wide receiver Joey Corcoran on a two-yard fade in the back left corner of the endzone (4:22) to put UNH up 7-0. 

It stayed that way until Brosmer and the ‘Cats offense put together a methodical six-minute, 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a two-yard rushing touchdown from junior running back Dylan Laube in the second quarter. This was his first of three trips to the endzone this game and proves why he is the real story of this Wildcat offense. 

Laube racked up a whopping 202 yards and three touchdowns, an insane stat line. Laube made up almost two-thirds of the ‘Cats total yards. For those reasons, he was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week. 

Following the star running back’s second touchdown, the Great Danes converted a crucial 3rd and long to set them up for a successful field goal as time expired in the first half to make the score 14-3 UNH.

An uneventful start to the second half of play switched gears after five minutes when UNH sophomore safety Aaron Oroh recovered a muffed punt. The very next play it was none other than Laube who took the ball up the middle for a 9-yard rushing touchdown to put the Wildcats up 21-3 with 9:48 left in the third quarter.

The score going into the final 15 minutes of the game was 21-10 due to a 15-yard touchdown rush from graduate-student running back Todd Silbey.

Throughout the fourth quarter, you could sense the heart rate of UNH fans rapidly increasing as the score changed three times, with UNH retaining the lead the entire game.

Wildcats Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Garrett Gillick spoke on the defense following the game.

“To me, it was 55 minutes of excellent football with the exception of the one drive before the half where they (UAlbany) made some plays on offense,” coach Gillick said. “I was also a little frustrated at the end because I just don’t think that the kids don’t understand how important it is to finish the right way. I was using an MMA analogy to really tap somebody out and we didn’t do that.”

This was shown towards the end of the fourth quarter when the ‘Cats First-year quarterback Resse Poffenbarger rocketed a 29-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Thomas Greaney to bring the Great Danes’ deficit down to just 5 points (2:47). 

Shortly after on the Wildcats next drive Laube took matters into his own hands and took the ball 37 yards to the end zone extending the Wildcats lead once again. Poffenbarger found Greaney one final time on a 10-yard touchdown pass but there was simply not enough time for UAlbany to complete a comeback. 

“As I told the kids, I was extremely happy that we won,” coach Gillick said, “I think they played hard, we did a lot of the right things but there were some things we need to work on.” 

This win by UNH not only gives them a 2-0 start to the season but also moves them a slot in the FCS top 25 at 25. The Wildcats will now switch gears to this Saturday when returning to Durham to take on North Carolina Central University (2-0). 

NC Central is on a five-game winning streak (including their final three games of last season) which is something that coach Gillick has in the back of his mind when preparing for this talented team as he mentioned that “We’ve got our work cut out for us.” On the other hand, he saw the positives in starting their season strong against two CAA teams before game number three kicks off this weekend. 

“The competition level in our conference is second to none. So having played Monmouth and Albany the first two games set us up for a chance to get off on the right foot this season and start the season 3-0,” coach Gillick said. 

UNH vs. NC Central kicks off this Saturday at 6 p.m. in Wildcat Stadium. If you can’t make it to the game, you can find it broadcasted on FloSports.

Photo Courtesy of UNHwildcats.com