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HAMILTON – Albany scored its first 17 points off Colgate turnovers and then staged a fourth-quarter goal line stand to hang on for a 37-34 thriller over the host Raiders.

Colgate (0-2) had rallied from a first-half horror show – four turnovers and a 17-point deficit – to crawl within three points at 30-27 as the clock passed the 5-minute mark of the final period. And the Raiders owned first-and-goal at the Albany 3-yard line, ready to cap off a huge comeback.

But the Great Danes (1-1) stiffened, stopping Colgate three times from the 1. The last attempt by tailback Demetrius Russell was from about one foot away.

"We should be able to make half-a-yard," Raiders head coach Dick Biddle said. "We're a running team, so we've got to be able to make the play. There's no reason to kick a field goal in that situation.

"We went for the win and didn't get it. You've got to give them credit."

First-Half Miscues
Albany forced four Colgate turnovers in the opening 30 minutes:

-- First play from scrimmage, Gavin McCarney's pass is tipped and intercepted by Tramaine Wilson, setting up an easy Albany TD drive.

-- Ensuing Colgate drive, McCarney on first-and-goal reaches for the end zone but is hit by the Danes' Mat LaDucer. The ball goes out of bounds in the end zone for a touchback. Albany answers with a field-goal drive and 10-0 lead.

-- In the second quarter, Raiders tailback John Wilkins is tackled after a 7-yard gain by Albany linebacker Christian Dorsey. Wilkins injures his knee and is lost for the season. Two plays later, Great Danes quarterback Will Fiacchi hits Kevin Chillis for a 51-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead.

-- Later in the period, trailing 24-7, Colgate is driving when McCarney completes a pass to Ryne Morrison. The Raiders wideout is streaking upfield when he is stripped of the ball inside the Albany 20.

Colgate's defense did recover from that miscue to force a quick three-and-out, and the Raiders were able to score with 14 seconds left in the half.

McCarney found Nat Bellamy for a 3-yard touchdown pass that cut the deficit to 24-14.

"We knew we just needed to keep executing on offense," said Bellamy, who posted five receptions for 67 yards. "They weren't doing anything that we didn't know how to handle, so we just had to keep playing our ballgame and stop beating ourselves."

Albany regained control with a 12-play march to open the second half. Omar Osbourne rushed 35 times for a game-high 252 yards, and his 15-yard gallop through the middle made it 30-14 with 10:02 left in the period.

New Life on Defense
After an exchange of punts, Jimmy DeCicco answered with a 40-yard sprint down the right sideline to keep the Raiders handy at 30-20. On the ensuing drive, Colgate defensive end Andrew Nairin stepped in front of a Fiacchi screen pass and picked it off to put the Raiders in business entering the fourth quarter.

"I saw their guard go out and knew it was a screen," Nairin said. "We learned in practice to find the guy who was going to catch it, and I kind of just got in the right place at the right time.

"Coach said we needed big plays. We need to find playmakers and make big plays. Again, I was in the right place at the right time."

Russell powered over from the 1 five plays later to pull Colgate within 30-27 with still 14:55 showing.

The sophomore tailback from Tampa, Fla., came off the bench to carry 15 times for 60 yards and two touchdowns, but all he could think about after the game was his fallen teammate.

"John Wilkins is like a brother to me," Russell said. "I hope we can get him back, but it's my job to step in and I did that to the best of my ability."

Albany drove once again into Raiders territory, but for the second straight time Colgate's defensive unit made the stop. On fourth-and-1 from the Raiders 28, Mike Armiento and Austin Dier caught Osbourne in the backfield for his only negative play of the game – a 3-yard loss that kept the momentum in Colgate's corner.

"We called a corner blitz; we knew they were going to run that play," Armiento said. "I had to get to the wall and stop him and that's what I ended up doing. It was a good thing my teammates were there to help me bring him down."

Armiento finished second on the team with eight tackles.

Home Streaks Erased
Colgate's big chance at going in front for the first time began with consecutive McCarney completions to Russell for 7 and Dan Cason for 10. Russell then popped for 29 yards and Colgate owned first down at the Albany 23. When McCarney carried around right end for 13 more – with a personal foul penalty tacked on – Colgate had reached the fateful Albany 3-yard line.

No question the Raiders missed Wilkins' 233-pound frame as a scoring option -- he had 76 yards and a TD on just 11 carries before his injury -- but McCarney said the offense still should have converted those tries from the 1.

"Demetrius and John have been rotating in and out all preseason, but that's our bread-and-butter play," McCarney said. "Around the goal line, it's big-on-big and they just stopped us. We had scored on that same play to start the quarter and they just beat us inside and stuffed it on the fourth down."

The Great Danes gained some breathing room to their own 19-yard line, and then Osbourne burst through the line for 36 yards. Presley Beauvais went the final 45 one play later to ice the game with 1:34 showing.

Colgate answered with a 76-yard drive to cut it back to 37-34 with 18 seconds left, but the Raiders couldn't recover the onside kick and saw their four-game winning streak in home openers snapped. It also was Colgate's first Andy Kerr Stadium loss since 2011.

"We really shot ourselves in the foot in the first half, but the kids came back and we had a chance to win it," said Biddle, who was coaching his 200th game for the Raiders and now stands 133-67 at Colgate. "John's out but Demetrius stepped in and did a nice job. He will continue to get better.

"We had a chance to win at the end. That's all you can ask."

Both Teams 500-Plus
McCarney shook off the first-play interception to complete 25-of-31 passes for 303 yards. It was his second career 300-yard passing game after the 377 he totaled in last year's win over Georgetown.

"You're not going to have a great chance of winning when you turn the ball over four times in one half," said McCarney, who also rushed for 95 yards. "As the game went on, we obviously improved offensively and can take something from that. But those plays right there at the end – we just didn't get it done."

Both teams topped the 500-yard mark in total offense, with Colgate holding a 586-518 edge. The Raiders had the ball for 31:36 and converted eight of 12 third-down tries, but the two missed scoring opportunities inside the red-zone proved decisive.

Cason and Kevin O'Connell again led the Raiders receiving unit with six catches apiece. Cason finished with 78 yards to O'Connell's 68. Chillis caught five for 112 to lead the Great Danes.

Defensively, Kris Kent paced Colgate with nine total tackles, while Cameron Buttermore, Eddy Sihavong and Josh Ford all had seven. Albany's Dorsey was the game's high tackler with 12.

Colgate visits New Hampshire next Saturday. The Wildcats (0-1) led 13-0 at Central Michigan at the half but lost on a last-play field goal, 24-21. Kickoff is noon.