Albany vs. Idaho odds, props, predictions: Great Danes eye first win out west in first FCS quarterfinal
No. 5 Albany (10-3) seeks its first-ever win outside the Eastern time zone when it faces No. 4 Idaho (9-3) in the FCS quarterfinal Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
Albany dismantled Richmond, 41-13, to advance to the quarterfinals. Idaho nipped Southern Illinois, 20-17, in OT to secure another home game this week.
Let's take a look at Albany vs. Idaho odds, props, predictions for this FCS quarterfinal matchup.
Albany vs. Idaho odds: Point spread, moneyline, total
Here are live odds for Albany vs. Idaho on the top sports betting apps:
Albany betting news: Great Danes in midst of deepest FCS playoff run
In program history, the Great Danes are 0-8 in games played outside the Eastern time zone after losing at Hawaii, 31-20, back in September. Albany has never advanced this far in the FCS playoffs, so perhaps it's appropriate that the Great Danes will travel 2,653 miles to play their first quarterfinal contest.
“We’d be lying if we said we don’t want to play (another) home game,” Albany head coach Greg Gattuso said. “If Idaho would agree to come here, then we’d play them, too, you know. We’ve really embraced only us, never them. We’re going to play wherever they send us. This team has traveled. If we end up going to Idaho, think about the travel this team has done and the success they’ve had. I’m not fearful of making a hard trip to play a game. It doesn’t worry me even a little bit.”
The Great Danes are led by QB Reese Poffenbarger, who threw for a pair of TDs and ran for two scores in the win over Richmond. Poffenbarger leads the FCS with 33 passing TDs and ranks seventh with 3,030 yards passing on the season. He's a big reason why Albany averages 30.5 points per game this year.
Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rookie of the year Griffin Woodell keyed the rushing attack against Richmond with 96 yards and a touchdown. Woodell leads Albany with 801 rushing yards this season.
On defense, edge linemen Anton Juncaj and AJ Simon have combined for 26.5 sacks this year. The Great Danes lead all FCS teams with 47 sacks and they only give up 16.8 points per game. Albany's defensive pressure has also helped produce an FCS-best 27 turnovers.
Two of Albany's three losses on the season came against FBS teams in Marshall and Hawaii.
Idaho betting news: Vandals face another tough defensive test
Second year head coach Jason Eck inherited a Big Sky team that was 4-7, and he's resurrected the program in short order. Idaho averages 417.2 yards of offense and 33.2 points per game, but the Vandals were held to a season-low 287 total yards by Southern Illinois.
Idaho needed a game-winning field goal by Ricardo Chavez in OT to beat the Salukis and advance to the quarterfinals. Now the Vandals take on another elite defense in Albany.
“We have a great Albany team coming out here,” Eck said. “Their defense, I think, is outstanding. I think they probably are a little scarier, a little better than Southern Illinois’ defense, which Southern’s defense did a great job against us.”
He added, “Our O-line against their D-line is going to be a challenge for us. We’re gonna really have to step up and play our best football. The D-ends, especially, are the best one-two combo of D-ends we’ve played.”
Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy missed the last regular season game -- a 63-21 win over Idaho State -- but returned in the win over Southern Illinois. McCoy was limited to 182 yards and no TDs. He was picked off once. The All-Big Sky first-team player had a solid regular season with 2,410 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. WR Hayden Hatten is one of two FCS players to register 1,000+ receiving yards the past two seasons.
Idaho ranks third in FCS in time of possession, and that could be critical in this quarterfinal matchup. The Vandals will have to do a better job of protecting McCoy, who's been sacked 31 times this season.
Idaho rates the edge on special teams as Chavez has converted 16 of 18 FG attempts. Jermaine Jackson has now returned punts for TDs in two consecutive games.
Albany vs. Idaho props
Here are winning margin (4-way) props for Albany vs. Idaho at FanDuel.
- Albany by 1-13 points (+260)
- Albany by 14+ points (+550)
- Idaho by 1-13 points (+175)
- Idaho by 14+ points (+220)
Albany vs. Idaho prediction
This is the first meeting between these two teams. The winner will likely face No. 1 seed South Dakota State (12-0) in the semifinals. Idaho struggled offensively against Southern Illinois, and you can expect Albany to apply just as much pressure on McCoy. Take the visitors and the points in what should be a tightly contested game
