Getty Baylor enters the seasons with high expectations after last year's success.
Baylor takes on U Albany on Saturday, September 3.
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The game (7 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch UAlbany vs Baylor live on ESPN+ right here:
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UAlbany vs Baylor Preview
Baylor comes into the season with high expectations and kicks off against Albany on Saturday.
“I feel like we’re in a good spot but there hasn’t been a bunch of stormy weather, thunder and lightning and all that, and that’s when you really kind of get to see how well, how this house was built,” Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said via Sports Illustrated’s Inside The Bears. “And so we’ll see with the leadership part. I’m hoping that all the work that was done previous is for our best now.”
Albany looks to prove that it’s no push over as an FCS team. The Great Danes boast one of the best pass defenses in the FCS.
“Watching them, they’re really talented,” Albany head coach Greg Gattuso said via the Times Union’s Mark Singelais. “But it’s a great experience for our kids and I can’t wait to see how they perform.”
The Baylor Bears meanwhile look to build on last season’s Sugar Bowl win. Aranda doesn’t expect it to be an automatic improvement with key losses from last year’s squad.
“For our young people, it’s how they respond,” Aranda said via Inside The Bears. “I can remember when I first started out coaching, you want to prove yourself, you want to show that you belong and all this and it’s just such a natural thing. But when you’re older, you look at that and you just go, ‘man, there’s going to be failure,’ there’s going to be something that’s not going to go 100 percent right, so how do you respond in the moment? How do you rise from this particular fall? And so those are the things you’re looking for this week, young person wise, we can really attach to that ‘how we rise,’ because I think that’s going to say a lot about who we become.”
Albany Key Players
Old Dominion transfer Reese Poffenbarger takes over at quarterback this seas on for the Great Danes after Jeff Undercuffler left for Akron.
Wide receivers Jackson Parker and Roy Alexander could help Poffenbarger succeed early. Tight end Thomas Greaney can also make plays.
Great Danes linebacker Jackson Ambush led the team in tackles last year. Fellow linebacker A.J. Mistler can also make plays.
Albany has a strong crew of defensive backs. That includes Christian Lewis, Isaac Duffy, and Larry Walker Jr.
Baylor Key Players
Bears quarterback Blake Shapen takes the reins for the offense this season as the new starter.
Baylor has a tough defensive line again with Cole Maxwell, Dillon Doyle, Gabe Hall, and Siaki Ika.