Albany

Not only did the University at Albany football team qualify for the NCAA playoffs for the first time in eight years, they’re also going to get to play on “The Bob.”

That’s their affectionate term for Bob Ford Field, their home surface named after the patriarch of the program who led the Great Danes from 1970 to 2013.

Coincidentally, UAlbany will play an opponent coached by a Ford disciple.

The Great Danes (8-4) learned on Sunday they received an at-large bid to the Football Championship Subdivision tournament and will meet Central Connecticut State (11-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Casey Stadium.

It’s UAlbany second appearance in the FCS playoffs and first since 2011, when they lost at Stony Brook in the first round.

“I really tried to not worry about who we were going to play,’’ UAlbany senior defensive end Eli Mencer said. “I was really more worried about whether or not it was going to be a home game or an away game. To have a home game, that’s big.”

They’ll face Central Connecticut, the Northeast Conference champion led by former UAlbany assistant Ryan McCarthy. He spent a dozen years working for Ford and served under current UAlbany head coach Greg Gattuso in his first season in 2014.

“We know they’re going to be coached up,’’ Gattuso said. “I know a bunch of guys on the staff … There’s a lot of ties between UAlbany and Central Connecticut and between the staffs, so it’ll be a challenge. I’m sure they’re going to be fired up, just as we are going to be fired up to play this football game.”

The Great Danes gathered at SEFCU Arena to watch the selection show on ESPNU. When “UAlbany” popped up on the big screen, the players responded with enthusiastic applause, but almost none got on their feet.

It was the reaction of a team confident it was going to get into the 24-team field after beating Stony Brook on Saturday to clinch second place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

“We kind of knew last night we locked up that second spot in the conference,’’ senior offensive guard Griffin Clancy of Saratoga Springs last night. “We controlled our own destiny going into that game, and we were definitely able to do that.”

It was a far cry from three years ago, when the Great Danes were heartbroken to find out they were one of the last two teams left out of the playoff field.

Less certain on Sunday was whether the Great Danes would get a home game, though UAlbany athletic director Mark Benson remained confident. NCAA rules require any school bidding to host a first-round game to guarantee at least $30,000.

“We felt like if we could make the playoffs, we needed to do whatever we could to reward our team and our fans with a home game,” Benson said. “I thought we put a very strong bid in to host in the first round.”

It gives Clancy a chance to play one more game in front of his home area fans, just a year after the Great Danes finished in last place in the CAA.

“It’s huge,’’ Clancy said. “It’s so rewarding, the amount of hard work and how much everybody’s put in to change our culture around this program. Everybody knows there’s growing pains along with having a program change, but everybody stayed the course and now we have a chance to do something nobody’s ever done at UAlbany.”

UAlbany vs. Central Connecticut When: Saturday, 1 p.m. Where: Casey Stadium, Albany Radio: 104.5 FM See More Collapse

They'll look for the program's first Divsion I playoff victory against Central Connecticut. UAlbany beat Bryant, from the same league as Central Connecticut, 45-3 on Sept. 7.

"We've played NEC teams, so we feel we have an advantage,'' Mencer said. "But it's still going to be a good game."

The winner of Saturday’s game will go on the road to play fifth-seeded Montana State on Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jeff Undercuffler said the Great Danes are capable of making a run in the tournament.

“You shouldn’t play Division I college football if you don’t think you can win a national championship,’’ Undercuffler said. “I think that we’re definitely in the right spot right now. We’ve just got to stay focused.”

msingelais@timesunion.com • 518-454-5509 • @MarkSingelais