Having the longest trip of the FCS playoffs? That’s nothing for the UAlbany Great Danes, considering they had the same distinction during the regular season.

They made the 4,900-plus mile flight to Honolulu to play Hawaii in September, so the 2,650 or so miles to face Idaho isn’t so long (relatively, of course).

Those types of numbers, though, reflect the length it’s taken for both programs to come together for the first time and in a playoff quarterfinal Saturday night. UAlbany has advanced to the final eight for the first time, while Idaho is making its fifth appearance, but the first since 1993 following a move to the FBS, then a drop back to the FCS.

Following is a capsule preview of the UAlbany at Idaho matchup:

No. 5 Seed UAlbany (10-3) at No. 4 Seed Idaho (9-3)

Kickoff – 10 p.m. ET Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho (ESPN+)

Series – First meeting

Coaches – UAlbany: Greg Gattuso (49-60, 10th season; 146-92 overall); Idaho: Jason Eck (16-8, second season)

3 Players to Watch – UAlbany: QB Reese Poffenbarger (223 of 387, 3,030 yards, 33 TDs, 10 INTs; 150 rush yards, 5 TDs), LB Dylan Kelly (148 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries), DE Anton Junjac (53 tackles, 20.5 TFL, 14 sacks, 3 forced fumbles); Idaho: QB Gevani McCoy (205 of 311, 2,593 yards, 14 TDs, 8 INTs; 190 rush yards, 2 TDs); RB Anthony Woods (190 carries, 1,050 yards, 15 TDs; 14 receptions, 1 TD), CB Marcus Harris (47 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3 INTs, 9 pass breakups)

Notable – McCoy received the 2022 Jerry Rice Award as the national freshman of the year and Poffenbarger was the runner-up. Whose offense will play keep-away the best? Idaho ranks third in the FCS in average time of possession (34 minutes, 16 seconds) and UAlbany is ninth (32:30). Poffenbarger leads the FCS in TD passes, while Griffin Woodell has come on strong for the CAA tri-champion, averaging 98.3 rushing yards in the last four games and scoring a TD each time. The Great Danes, behind Juncaj and fellow DE A.J. Simon (12 sacks), lead the FCS with 47 sacks, and will throw size and pressure at McCoy (the Vandals have surrendered 31 sacks). The hosts from the Big Sky are coming off the first double-digit comeback win of Eck’s two seasons, 20-17 over Southern Illinois in overtime. In the Eck era, they’re 12-0 with 150+ rushing yards and 4-8 when below the mark, although it includes the SIU win. Hayden Hatten is one of just two FCS players with 1,000+ receiving yards in each of the last two seasons (also Mercer’s Ty James). The special teams are strong with Ricardo Chavez (16 of 18 field goals, 48.1-yard punting average) and Jermaine Jackson (punt return TD in each of the last two games).

Up Next – The winner will play No. 1 seed South Dakota State (12-0) or No. 8 seed Villanova (10-2) in a national semifinal on Dec. 15 or 16.

Prediction – UAlbany 24, Idaho 20