Scouting Report: Albany State vs. Newberry College

ALBANY — On paper, Albany State and Newberry College don’t look like teams destined to collide in December. One plays in the SIAC, a league often dismissed by outsiders as lacking national punch. The other comes from the South Atlantic Conference, home to bruisers like Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne and a reputation for playoff seasoning. One wins with speed and layers of athleticism. The other wins with balance, discipline, and fourth-quarter composure.

But here they are, two teams that have told the rest of Division II the same thing: Don’t underestimate us.

On Saturday at the Albany State Coliseum, the Golden Rams and Wolves will meet in a national quarterfinal — a first for Albany State in more than a decade and only the second time Newberry has ever reached this round. To get here, each had to win in ways that defined them. Albany State leaned on its “Dirty Blue” defense to survive Benedict. Newberry went on the road and knocked off West Florida, twice a national finalist in the last decade.

This is a matchup dripping with contrast. And playoff football loves contrast.

Newberry: The Wolf That Doesn’t Blink

Start with the visitors. Newberry has played 12 games this season. They have lost once. They have played seven one-score games. They have won all seven. The Wolves are built from the inside out — line play, veteran quarterback, a defense that can give up 400 yards and still make the stop that matters.

Graduate quarterback Reed Charpia has been around long enough to qualify as a fixture. In two playoff games, he has thrown for 704 yards and five touchdowns. Against West Florida, he opened the game with an 83-yard strike on the first snap and then closed it by marching the Wolves down the field for the game-winning score. He doesn’t get rattled. He simply makes throws.

Newberry’s most electric weapon is Quez Spells, a running back in title only. He’s part slot, part return man, part alarm bell for defenses. He has scored long touchdowns on the ground, through the air, and on kickoffs. Albany State’s corners haven’t faced a player quite like him this season.

But the Wolves are not a finesse team. They will run power. They will test gap discipline. They will hit the check-down if you drop too deep and hit the go route if you cheat too high. Their entire operation is built on forcing the opponent to play their tempo — and their tempo usually ends with the other team sweating out a tight fourth quarter.

Albany State: The Emerging Power

Albany State is a different creature altogether. The Golden Rams look comfortable now in stages they once merely hoped to reach. They’ve beaten Benedict three times — three — in six weeks. They have climbed to 12 wins, the most in school history. They have spent the last month eliminating opponents who were supposed to be tougher, deeper, or more established.

The Rams win with athletes. They win with speed. They win with a quarterback playing the best football of his career at precisely the right time.

Isaiah Knowles is the face of this offense. His arm talent was never in doubt — this is a quarterback who threw six touchdown passes against Kentucky State in September — but what Albany State has now is a passer who understands tempo, who sees defenses, who plays the position with a veteran’s patience. In the fourth quarter against Benedict, pinned at his own 11 with a one-point lead, Knowles didn’t panic. He completed a third-and-nine dart, took a shot down the sideline to his most trusted receiver, then pushed the ball across midfield. A few plays later, he was in the end zone himself.

And then there is Jamill Williams, the receiver who has become Knowles’ security blanket, big-play engine and momentum shifter all at once. Williams caught a 41-yard touchdown in the playoff win over Benedict and nearly doubled it on two more deep shots. If he gets behind Newberry’s secondary, the Wolves will have a problem that no scheme fixes.

Behind them, the Golden Rams lean on running backs Tiant Wyche and  Roderick McCrary, grinders who excel at finishing drives and tilting the line of scrimmage. Neither is flashy, but both are reliable — and in December football, reliable travels.

But Albany State’s true calling card remains its defense. Fast. Violent. Relentless. Benedict managed just 46 yards passing and one scoring drive of consequence. Albany State obliterated everything Benedict tried vertically and hurried every throw horizontally. The Golden Rams forced mistake after mistake and made every yard feel earned. If that unit shows up Saturday, the Rams will like their chances.

The Common Opponent Test

There is one shared data point: Kentucky State. Albany State overwhelmed the Thorobreds 49–21, scoring seven touchdowns and pitching a second-half shutout. Newberry beat Kentucky State 45–24 but needed a late push after KSU pulled within one score.

Read into that what you want — Albany State looked more dominant, but Newberry remained unbothered in a playoff game that tightened. Both outcomes say more about identity than superiority.

Style vs. Style

So what happens Saturday?

If Newberry controls possession and turns this into a 24-20 grinder, the Wolves’ experience in tight games matters. If Albany State turns it into a track meet — explosive plays, tempo, Knowles throwing in rhythm — Newberry won’t be able to hold on.

This game feels like one where the first script will matter: which team makes the other uncomfortable first? And which team can adjust?

Quinn Gray will eventually weigh in on all of this. He’ll talk about discipline and preparation and the way his team responds to moments. And he’ll likely say something about respecting Newberry’s toughness. That’s his nature. He doesn’t sell hype; he sells belief.

But belief only goes so far in December. Execution carries you the rest of the way.

Either Albany State continues its historic march toward the national semifinals, or Newberry proves once again that it is the most composed team in Division II.

It’s a contrast. It’s a clash. And for Saturday in Albany, it’s exactly what playoff football should look like.