UAlbany Football Blanked by Princeton in Rain-Soaked Homecoming

University at Albany quarterback Kai Colon was embraced by former Princeton teammates who surrounded him after Saturday’s matchup in New Jersey.

That was the only warmth the Tigers extended to Colon during a dreary and disappointing homecoming.

Princeton shut out UAlbany 22-0, marking the Great Danes’ first regular-season blanking in nine years. The loss was UAlbany’s second consecutive and its worst performance under first-year head coach Tom Perkovich, dropping the team to 2-3.

“Got our butts whooped today, plain and simple,” Perkovich said in a video provided by UAlbany athletic communications. “We couldn’t find a rhythm, couldn’t find a way, and we’re just not great in the red zone. We came up short every time. All three phases were subpar. We need to go back to the drawing board and adjust quickly.”

In 2017, UAlbany was held to 6-0 at Elon, then coached by Curt Cignetti, who now leads defending FBS national champion Indiana. The Great Danes were also shut out 59-0 at South Dakota State in the 2023 FCS semifinals.

Colon, who started at Princeton last season, went 12-of-20 for 111 yards against his former team. He threw one interception on a risky pass picked off by Casey Etienne Jr. at the Tiger 3-yard line with 31 seconds left in the first half.

Backup quarterback Aidan Semo added another interception at the Princeton 8 with 49 seconds remaining.

There was no scoring until the second quarter. Princeton sophomore quarterback Ty Ciongoli made his college debut off the bench and marched the Tigers 80 yards in eight plays, hitting Joey Wassler with a 5-yard touchdown pass on third down for a 7-0 lead with 6:46 left in the half.

On UAlbany’s next possession, Semo was stopped for no gain on third-and-1. On the following play, punter Gavin Myers fumbled the snap and Princeton recovered at the Great Dane 19. The Tigers converted the error into Kai Honda’s 14-yard touchdown run for a 13-0 lead with 4:04 left in the half.

In windy conditions, UAlbany’s RJ Kocan missed a 40-yard field goal wide left at the end of a 57-yard drive in the first quarter.

UAlbany outgained Princeton (1-1) 288-265 in total yardage.

“We did put some drives together at times,” Perkovich said. “It was feast or famine. The turnovers are killing us, and we can’t finish in the red zone. That’s something we need to fix.”

UAlbany’s Tavahri Groves caught six passes for 81 yards but was helped off the field early in the fourth quarter after a hard hit on a fourth-down incompletion in the end zone.

Drew Buckley led UAlbany with nine tackles.

The Great Danes return home to face Delaware State next Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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