Trevor Dugan
The University at Albany football team will be opening their 2022 season in Waco, Texas, where they will take on last year’s Sugar Bowl champion Baylor Bears.
The Bears ended last season with the No. 5 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and a 12-2 overall record. They will be the toughest opponent UAlbany has ever faced on the football field, and it will mark the first time in school history the Great Danes have gone head-to-head with a ranked Football Bowl Subdivision squad. But head coach Greg Gattuso says the team is looking forward to it.
"The team is excited to open the 2022 season at Baylor," said Gattuso. "We obviously understand the challenges we face playing a top-ten FBS team, but it will be a great experience for our Great Danes and for our fans."
Coming off of their 2-9 campaign last year, the Great Danes look to improve upon that mark. They will have to do so without Karl Mofor, the second leading rusher in program history, as well as 11 other departing Seniors. Fans will have to wait and see who rises to take Mofor’s role as lead back.
One thing the Great Danes will need to prepare for is the Baylor pass rush. The Bears recorded a Sugar Bowl record 10 sacks in their bowl game victory last season and will have two Senior defensive lineman returning for their final year.
UAlbany has faced FBS competition every year since 2015 (besides the seasonless 2020). This will be the fifth time in the last six seasons UAlbany football has opened the season against an FBS school. Their last win against the FBS came in 2016 when they defeated Buffalo 22-16.