Albany rallies in fourth quarter to beat Idaho 30-22 in FCS quarterfinals

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho Vandals preserved a narrow lead for most of Saturday’s postseason matchup at the Kibbie Dome.

Idaho held an advantage over the visiting Albany Great Danes for about 40 minutes of game time. Entering the fourth quarter, it seemed like the momentum was on Idaho’s side, and the Vandals were headed toward a historic accomplishment.

But the Vandals faded during a pivotal final quarter. The Great Danes surged, quieted the Kibbie Dome crowd and put an end to Idaho’s magical season.

Albany took its first lead of the game with 4:38 remaining. The Danes’ defense recorded a takeaway on the next Idaho possession, and fifth-seeded Albany scored another touchdown to put the finishing touches on a 30-22 win over the fourth-seeded Vandals on Saturday evening at the Kibbie Dome in the quarterfinal round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

“Any season that ends, especially a good season where you’re in the playoffs, it’s disappointing,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “But I told our guys, ‘You shouldn’t be hanging your heads.’ (Albany) is a really good team that was a few plays better than us.”

The Great Danes (11-3), who were making their first-ever appearance in the FCS quarterfinals, advance to face top-seeded South Dakota State next weekend in Brookings, South Dakota.

The Vandals (9-4) played well enough to win for much of the night, but slipped late and were denied a trip to the semifinals – it would have been Idaho’s third FCS semifinal appearance in program history.

“I just never wanted it to end,” Idaho senior receiver Jermaine Jackson said. “I loved being a Vandal every day. That’s what hurt the most, knowing it’s over.”

Albany’s defense – a top-10 unit in the FCS in most categories – settled in down the stretch, holding Idaho to just six points in the second half. The Danes outscored Idaho 16-3 in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t move the ball as well in the second half,” Eck said. “They made adjustments, started playing some new coverages to take away (Idaho’s passing game).”

The Great Danes trimmed the deficit to 19-17 early in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal. Idaho, which managed only one productive drive in the second half, went three-and-out on the next possession.

Albany took advantage, marching downfield and scoring on a 30-yard touchdown grab from Brevin Easton, who shredded the Vandals’ secondary for 228 receiving yards and three scores.

“He was just open,” Albany quarterback Reese Poffenbarger said.

Idaho needed only three plays to advance past midfield on the ensuing possession, but one of Albany’s top defenders came up clutch. Defensive end Anton Juncaj broke through for his FCS-leading 15th sack of the year, stripping Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy in the process. Albany’s Elijah Hillis was there to recover.

“It’s a shame that was (Juncaj’s) only tackle of the game,” Eck said. The Vandals allowed just one sack against the nation’s top sacking team, and it happened to be the play of the game.

The Great Danes milked the clock and moved the ball methodically on the next possession, then put the game away on running back Griffin Woodell’s 29-yard touchdown run.

Poffenbarger went 24 of 41 for 341 yards and three touchdowns. The Vandals defense, a top-10 passing defense nationally, hadn’t allowed 300 yards through the air in any game this season.

“They have a very good secondary and passing defense, but I thought we had a better passing offense,” Poffenbarger said. “Not even trying to be disrespectful. … They called a good game, but we had answers for it.”

McCoy passed 24 of 43 for 317 yards and a touchdown. He completed 9 of 20 passes for 113 yards in the second half.

Star Vandal receiver Hayden Hatten recorded 135 yards on 12 catches in his final appearance at the Kibbie Dome. Idaho tailback Anthony Woods rushed for 104 yards and a score.

Overall, Idaho was outgained 461-424.

The Vandals and Great Danes traded blows throughout an entertaining first half, which ended with the hosts leading 16-14.

Both teams entered the game boasting top-tier defenses in the FCS, and there were a number of defensive highlights early – both defenses played well against the run, and there were nine total tackles for loss before the break. But the first half was mostly headlined by offense.

Idaho’s passing game clicked and the team totaled 257 yards in the first half against 229 for the Great Danes, who were equally impressive through the air.

Both QBs piled up more than 200 passing yards and tossed long TD passes during the first half. McCoy, who had five passing plays of 20-plus yards in the first half, opened the scoring with a 36-yard TD strike to wide-open receiver Jordan Dwyer on the Vandals’ second drive of the night.

Poffenbarger answered with a precise TD throw. He escaped from the pocket and launched a pass deep to Easton, who beat single coverage for a 64-yard TD on the Great Danes’ fourth play of the series.

Idaho went up by nine points midway through the second quarter on a touchdown run from Woods, who took a direct snap and muscled into the end zone from 5 yards out. The score was set up by Jackson, who returned a punt 73 yards. Albany blocked the extra point.

The Great Danes responded with a seven-play, 65-yard scoring series. Poffenbarger spun out of pressure on a first-down passing play, then found receiver Brevin Easton all alone for a 39-yard TD.

The Vandals squandered a scoring opportunity at the end of the half. They drove 58 yards in about a minute, but Ricardo Chavez’s 52-yard attempt went wide right.

Chavez connected on a 45-yard field-goal attempt late in the first quarter to put Idaho up 10-7.

“That’s a really good defense, but I thought we had opportunities to score more,” Eck said.

The Vandals were making their fifth FCS quarterfinal appearance in program history. Idaho has reached the postseason in each of its two years under Eck.

“We took another huge step (this year),” Eck said. “For our seniors who are moving on, they got a lot to be proud of from what we’ve accomplished these past two years. For our guys coming back, this tells us that we gotta get to work. The path from being one of the top eight teams in the country to No. 1 in the country is still a big gap.

“For our returning guys, you want them to remember this feeling, remember the feeling in your stomach after this game. We gotta really attack this offseason and improve as a program.”