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ALBANY N.Y. – It was a CAA reprise for Colgate, and 25th-ranked Albany escaped with a 24-17 victory.
 
The second road opponent from the tough Colonial Athletic Association produced another hard-fought defeat for the Raiders (4-4). Just like at Delaware back in September, Colgate fell behind early, rallied, and then lost again on the game's final drive.
 
Albany used a 26-yard quarterback scramble from Will Fiacchi to the Colgate 2-yard line, and then Fiacchi bootlegged it in on the next play for the winning score with 16 seconds remaining. Fiacci scored two touchdowns and threw for another.
 
Colgate had rallied from a 10-point deficit to force a 10-10 halftime tie. After the Great Danes went ahead 17-10 in the third quarter, Colgate forced a fumble and drove 43 yards to tie the game at 17 with 10:57 remaining.
 
The Raiders won the turnover battle 3-0 against the nation's top turnover margin team coming into the game.
 
Colgate had one more possession with the game tied, but Albany's defense forced a 3-and-out and the Great Danes drove 66 yards for the winning score.
 
The Raiders return to Patriot League play next Saturday at Fordham.
 
Bottom Line
• Albany 24, Colgate 17

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate drops to 4-4.
• Albany improves to 6-2.
 

Facts & Figures
• Colgate's defense picked off two interceptions and forced a fumble, turning those plays into 10 points.
• Albany entered the game leading the nation in turnover margin at +2.43 per game, but Colgate won that category 3-0.
• James Travellin rushed eight times for a season-high 55 yards. He also scored his fifth touchdown of the season to take over the sole team lead.
• Demetrius Russell was Colgate's leading rusher with 13 carries for 68 yards. John Wilkins added 16 rushing yards and his fourth TD of the season.
• Colgate freshman Bret Mooney drew his second straight start and finished with 69 passing yards and zero net rushing yards. Mooney was sacked five times by Albany's talented defensive front.
• In addition to Mike Armiento's 15 tackles (more on that below), Chris Morgan and Kyle Diener came away with interceptions.
• Kris Kent forced a fumble that was recovered by Pat Afriyie. That's two weeks in a row Afriyie has been on the spot for a fumble recovery that sparked a Raiders touchdown drive.
• Diener also posted a sack and another tackle for loss. The Raiders finished with two sacks and three additional tackles for loss.
 
Replay Reversal
• With Time Warner Cable Sports televising Saturday's game, the Raiders were the beneficiary of a replay reversal in their favor.
• Colgate linebacker Kyle Diener appeared to intercept an Albany pass attempt that fluttered into the air after Afriyie hit quarterback Will Fiacchi during his release.
• The play was initially ruled incomplete, but a brief replay review reversed the call.
• Colgate took over at the 50 and drove for a tying field goal just before halftime.
 

Similar Results vs. CAA
• Earlier this season, Colgate lost a 28-25 heartbreaker at Delaware.
• The Raiders fell behind that CAA foe on their home field and rallied to take the lead before losing on Delaware's final drive inside the closing seconds.
• Colgate tied the game twice Saturday but never could grab the lead.
 
Turning Point
• Tied 17-17, Colgate's defense forced an Albany field goal attempt from 33 yards with 4:42 remainnig.
• Patrick Toole's kick was wide left, and Colgate took over at its own 20.
• But the Raiders couldn't pick up a first down and punted to Albany at its 34-yard line.
• The Great Danes drove 66 yards for the winning score on Will Fiacchi's 2-yard run with 16 seconds left.
 
Special Teams Play of the Week
• Colgate's special teams play deserves its own category.
• This week, the Raiders pulled off another successful fake punt – their second of the season.
• Facing fourth-and-2 at the Albany 47, punter Nikko Armiento took the snap and raced around left end for a 3-yard gain.
• Return specialist Morgan nearly returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for a touchdown. It would have been his second kickoff return TD in as many weeks.
• Morgan's runback was similar to last Saturday's 93-yarder at Yale in that he hit the pile of defenders, spun loose, found green and took it to the house.
• But a holding penalty at the Colgate 20 nullified the return.
 
Records Watch
• Safety Armiento set a career high with 15 tackles.

• Armiento's previous best game was 12 last season against Bucknell.
• Jonah Bowman connected on his 11th field goal of the season, a 38-yarder just before halftime that tied the score 10-10.
• Bowman has pulled within two made field goals of the Colgate season record of 13 set by Lane Schwarzberg in 2002.
• Schwarzberg was 13-of-17 that year to set Colgate's record for best field goal percentage at 76.5. Bowman this season stands 11-of-12 (91.7 percent).
• Earlier this season, Bowman broke Schwarzberg's record for consecutive made field goals in a season when he connected on nine straight before missing Oct. 18 at Yale. Bowman has made his last two since that lone miss.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "It was a hard-fought game and our kids battled. We couldn't get much going on offense all day. Albany's defense was pretty physical with us and we struggled to protect the quarterback. Albany is a good team.
"Our kids did a nice job of giving themselves a chance to win in the fourth, and I'm proud of them for that. We've got to find a way to come up with points after the missed field goal. That was our chance, and we let it get away."
(On winning the turnover battle) "Last year, we turned it over against them five times. We wanted to improve in that area and the defense did a great job getting three."
(On coming from behind) "We've got to find a way to start. The last two weeks, we've come out slow and then tied it up by halftime, given it back in the third and tied it in the fourth. It would be nice to get ahead instead of always playing catch-up. We have to work on starting each half a little quicker."
(On their defensive front) "It's a tough defense for a freshman quarterback to face. They smelled a little blood in the water and gave a lot of pressure looks. They confused him (Mooney) and made him play a little slow, which is what you do to a freshman quarterback.
"That won't be the last we see of it."
(On the fake punt) "When you look at our fake punt, it's a great offensive play – a play right out of our offense. It's hard to defend and we took a shot to change momentum there.
"We worked on it all week and Coach Ryan Knowles had them ready. They executed it."
• Colgate tailback James Travellin: (On his game) "I was following my blocks like I'm taught. I got a few more carries this week and tried to make the most of them. We have a bunch of great backs and great chemistry.
• Colgate linebacker Kyle Diener: (On his interception) "I knew I had it and they reviewed it; we got it.
(On the defense forcing turnovers) "That was a focus of this week, but it wasn't enough."
• Colgate quarterback Bret Mooney: (On his game) "We fight hard as a team; every single game this year we've played four quarters. We just have to start finishing, and that's on me and everyone on our team.
"This is a tough loss, but we've got to come back Monday and be ready to go next week. I made mistakes, the team made mistakes, but we're always fighting and that's all you can ask. We've just got to pull out Ws. We can't keep coming close; we've got to pull out the wins."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Saturday's crowd at Bob Ford Field was 4,952.
• This was Colgate's first loss in New York after a recent 4-0 homestand. It also was Colgate's first loss wearing the new gray helmets.
 
Up Next
• Colgate returns to Patriot League play next Saturday at 12th-ranked Fordham. The Rams won this week at Lehigh, 48-27, to improve to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in conference. Kickoff from the Bronx is 1 p.m.