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ELON, N.C. – With the 2017 Elon football season approaching, get to know the Phoenix's upcoming opponents with our preview series. Elon will close out the month of September by hosting Albany.
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ALBANY GREAT DANES
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Location:Â Albany, N.Y.
Home stadium:Â Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium
Conference:Â CAA Football
2016 record:Â 7-4
2016 conference record/finish:Â 4-4 (T-6th)
2016 Postseason:Â None
All-Time series:Â Elon trails 1-0
Head coach:Â Greg Gattuso (4th season)
Letterwinners returning/lost:Â N/A
Offensive/Defensive starters returning: N/A
Top returning offensive players:Â
• RB Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks (2478 carries, 1,401 yards, 5.7 ypc, 16 TD, 127.4 ypg)
• QB Neven Sussman (71-155 passing, 1,017 yards, 7 TD, 8 INT, 45.8 completion pct.)
• WR Jordan Crockett (19 rec., 373 yards, 3 TD, 19.6 ypc, 33.9 ypg)
Top returning defensive players:Â
• DL Malachi Hoskins (31 ua, 51 at, 82 total tackles, 11.0 TFL, 7.0 sacks, 11 QBH, 3 FF)
• DB Josh Wynn (36 ua, 45 at, 81 total tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR)
• DB Mason Gray (42 ua, 22 at, 64 total tackles, 1.0 TFL, 4 INT, 5 PBU, 3 FF, 1 FR)
2017 Schedule
Sept. 2 at Old Dominion
Sept. 9 at Morgan State
Sept. 16 vs. Monmouth
Sept. 23 vs. Villanova
Sept. 30 at Elon
Oct. 7 at Richmond
Oct. 21 vs. Maine
Oct. 28 vs. Rhode Island
Nov. 4 at Stony Brook
Nov. 11 at Delaware
Nov. 18 vs. New Hampshire
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A Glance at the Great Danes
Head coach Greg Gattuso enters his fourth season guiding the Albany program in 2017 and guided the Great Danes to their best season as a CAA Football member a year ago as the program posted a 7-4 overall record and a 4-4 conference ledger. In 2016, Albany was ranked for five weeks, peaking at #16 in the polls, and earned its first-ever victory over an FBS opponent. Albany checked in at #20 in Athlon's 2017 preseason rankings.
The Great Dane offense was powered by All-American and first-team all-conference running back Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks who finished fourth in the FCS with 1,401 rushing yards a year ago. He scored 16 touchdowns and averaged over 127.0 yards per game. Fullback Anthony Manzo-Lewis also picked up first-team all-league accolades after catching 16 passes for 237 yards and one score. With a back as talented as Ibitokun-Hanks, Albany did not throw the ball often, attempting just 207 passes and throwing for 1,357 yards and eight touchdowns last season. As a unit, Albany's offense churned out 291.4 yards per game, including 168.0 on the ground. The Great Danes averaged 24.9 points per game in 2016.
Albany's stingy defense surrendered just 18.8 points per game and allowed 364.5 yards per outing. The squad led tied for the national lead with 32 turnovers gained (17 interceptions and 15 fumbles recovered) and ranked fourth in turnover margin (1.45). Defensive lineman Malachi Hoskins is the lone returning all-conference player on the defensive side of the ball, but he ended his junior season with 11.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks. He added 11 quarterback hurries for a team that finished with 21 total for the year.Â
The Great Danes got off to a 4-0 start in 2016, picking up wins over Buffalo, Rhode Island, Holy Cross and Saint Francis before suffering a 36-30, triple-overtime loss to #6 Richmond. Albany dropped three of its next four games before wrapping up the season with back-to-back wins over #21 New Hampshire and Stony Brook.
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Matchup
Elon and Albany met for the first time ever in 2016 with the Great Danes picking up a 27-3 victory at Casey Stadium. The Phoenix trailed just 10-3 at halftime before a fumble return for a touchdown gave Albany a 17-3 advantage late in the third quarter. The Great Danes would add 10 points in the final 15 minutes to provide the final margin.
– ELON –