Albany State hosts Kentucky State in long-awaited 2026 football home opener

ALBANY — David Bowser has coached Albany State through four games, four road trips and four unfamiliar stadiums.

Saturday, he finally gets to hear what his football team sounds like at home.

The band will be playing. Fans will line the route for the Ram Walk. Bowser hopes both sides of Albany State Coliseum will be filled with gold when the Golden Rams face Kentucky State at 1 p.m. on Family Weekend.

After a month on the road, it has all the makings of a celebration.

There is just one problem.

Kentucky State is coming to win the football game.

The Thoroughbreds arrive in Albany at 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SIAC, carrying the confidence of a program that reached the NCAA Division II playoffs last season. Albany State is 2-2 and also 2-0 in the conference after surviving Allen University 32-28 Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

So beneath the band, the tailgates and the long-awaited return home is something considerably more important: an early-season matchup between two unbeaten teams in conference play.

“I am so excited to finally get to come to the Coliseum in front of the home crowd,” Bowser said. “We practice there, but it’s not the same thing. I’m looking forward to Saturday with the crowd, having the band and being with the alumni.”

Bowser’s excitement hasn’t made him overlook who is coming through the other tunnel.

He voted Kentucky State No. 2 in the SIAC preseason coaches poll. Four games into the season, nothing he has seen has changed his mind.

“They’re very talented, very patient and very athletic,” Bowser said. “They’re a complete football team.”

Albany State, however, may be beginning to discover what kind of team it can become.

The Golden Rams have won two straight after opening the season with losses to Florida A&M and Johnson C. Smith, and their offense produced its best performance of the season against Allen.

Redshirt freshman Jayden Threatts exploded for 228 rushing yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, while quarterback Jeffery Davis completed 13 of 19 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Albany State piled up 465 yards of offense.

Special teams joined the act. Cameron Watts returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown, and Jonathan Rodriguez kicked two second-half field goals.

Now Albany State gets to find out whether that performance travels home.

Kentucky State presents a considerably different challenge.

Quarterback Denim Johnson delivered the winning touchdown pass on fourth down in the Thoroughbreds’ 21-17 victory over Saginaw Valley State, and Bowser sees playmakers throughout the Kentucky State offense. Receivers Darius Cyprian and Jaden Hale and running back Tristan Thomas are among the players who have his attention.

But what stands out most to Bowser is what surrounds them.

“They’re well coached, and I like the way they play,” Bowser said. “Their offensive line is huge and very athletic. Their defense does a great job against the run. They’re a more experienced team.”

That last part could matter Saturday.

Albany State is still developing depth, particularly along the defensive front. Senior defensive end De’Avery Weeks, whom Bowser considers an all-conference and potential All-America-caliber player, has been limited since suffering an injury in the season opener at Florida A&M. He has returned but has yet to play an entire game.

“The depth has to be ready,” Bowser said. “Those guys have to grow up fast.”

Evan Wynn has taken on a larger role in getting the defense aligned and improving communication, while Ricky McCrary has emerged as one of the unit’s leaders.

Yet Bowser’s greatest concern Saturday may have less to do with Kentucky State than with his own team.

Albany State committed 10 penalties for 121 yards against Allen. The Golden Rams held the Yellow Jackets without a third-down conversion in 11 attempts, an extraordinary defensive number that was partially undermined when Allen converted four times on fourth down.

Bowser traced those extended drives back to mistakes.

“You can’t have double-digit penalties against Kentucky State,” he said. “We have to play with emotion without playing emotionally.”

That may be the balancing act Saturday.

Albany State wants emotion. Bowser wants the noise. He wants the band, the alumni, the students and a Coliseum packed in gold after his players spent the first month of their season living out of suitcases and playing in somebody else’s stadium.

He just doesn’t want that emotion spilling over between the lines.

“Our kids have been on the road for four weeks,” Bowser said. “This is the first time since last year they’ve had a chance to put on a show at home. It’s a great opportunity to pack this thing out.”

For four weeks, Bowser has been trying to build his first Albany State team on the road.

Saturday, the Golden Rams finally get to show Albany what they have built.

And waiting across the field will be one of the SIAC’s best teams.

Home finally arrives.