UAlbany football tries to refocus for Rhode Island

For the University at Albany football team, coming off arguably the biggest win in program history, the time-honored "24-hour rule" never seemed so relevant.

The Great Danes turn around from an upset of Buffalo — which was their first-ever victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision team — to take on perennial cellar-dwellar Rhode Island in the Colonial Athletic Association opener at 1 p.m. Saturday in Kingston, R.I.

The Great Danes took a day off after beating the Bulls of the Mid-American Conference 22-16 on Sept. 2.

[...] they held a light practice Sunday before going through their week of preparations for URI, which also played up — with much less success — in its opener.

At a glance, this contest looks like the mother of all trap games.

In the preseason coaches' poll, the Great Danes again were picked to come in 11th, followed by — you guessed it — URI.

Sophomore linebacker DaSharnte Thompson also might miss the game after hurting his right knee during Tuesday's practice.

Sussman liked the idea of jumping into league play this early, saying it would "get a headstart on what we're going to play all year."

[...] Gattuso would have preferred opening the league schedule later, when his young players have more experience.