ALBANY — The road to postseason play gets tougher and tougher every season for the University at Albany football team.

Picked in the coaches’ preseason poll to repeat as Northeast Conference champ­ions, the Great Danes open the season with five straight road games, including three op­ponents ranked in the top 25: University of Massachusetts (fifth), Delaware (ninth) and New Hampshire (16th). The Great Danes don’t play their first home game until

Oct. 11.

“This is maybe our toughest schedule ever,” said UAlbany head coach Bob Ford on Tuesday during the Great Danes’ annual media day.

Ford’s 225 career wins rank first among active NCAA Football Championship Subdiv­ision (formerly Division I-AA) head coaches. Ford, the 2007 NEC Coach of the Year, has a 225-162-1 record in 39 seasons overall, including a 216-140 mark in 35 years at UAlbany.

“We’ve got four Division I-AA teams on our schedule that are not only better than us, but also are all full-scholarship programs,” he said. “Two of those teams have national titles. Plus, all of those games are on the road.

“That being said, it depends on the card you want to play. On the upside, you can say that you are playing four very good teams, and that will make you a better and tougher team. You can’t hide against those teams. You’ve got to stand and do battle for 65-70 plays, and in the process, you get better.”

Ford said playing so many outstanding programs so early in the year is a tricky proposition.

“I’m telling our guys that we’re going to be challenged, but that we have an opportunity to leave some kind of legacy,” he said.

Forty-eight letterwinners, including 12 starters, return from last year’s 8-4 team that compiled a 6-0 league record. The Great Danes earned a spot in last year’s Gridiron Classic, where they lost to Dayton, 42-21.

“We have a solid offensive line, a good

stable of running backs, led by David

McCarty, a little better receiving corps than last year and a solid quarterback,” said Ford. “Defensively, we are strong at linebacker and safety, but we have some question marks on the defensive line. In special teams, we’ve got an all-conference punter back in Chris Lynch.”

McCarty was sensational in 2007. The

LaSalle Institute product rushed for 1,503 yards, including a career-best 247 against Central Connecticut State.

“David has great balance and a compet­itive spirit. He probably has added nearly 20 pounds and has increased strength,” said Ford of the Sports Network All-American.

“You can’t judge what we’re

going to do this year by what happened last year,” said McCarty. “I don’t care about the rushing numbers of the amount of touchdowns I score as long as we win. We have to win some of those [non-conference] games in order to have a chance to make the playoffs this year. There are a lot of variables, but I feel we’re capable.”

This year, the winner of the NEC could earn a spot in the FCS playoffs, if the league champion meets certain other criteria, like beating at least a couple of ranked teams.

“We’re among the teams in the top tier this year,” said wide receiver Tim Bush of Saratoga Springs. “We were undefeated in our conference last year, and we’ll be on everyone’s plate because they want to knock us off. I think our tough schedule will make us better. In our mind, we feel we can win every game.”

Quarterback Vinny Esposito threw for 1,810 yards and 12 scoring passes in his first year as a starter. Bush and converted quarterback Dan Bocanegra will be his primary targets.

“Vinny is an accurate thrower who puts the ball in the right pos­ition,” said Ford.

The Danes have three all-conference offensive linemen returning but must replace both guards.

Defensively, the Great Danes must fill in several gaps on the defensive line, although All-NEC selection Tom Pandolf (37 tackles, three sacks) returns. Justin Brancaccio (63 tackles), and Mark Peretore (45 tackles) spearhead a strong linebacking group, while the secondary, featuring Dave

Casale and L.B. McCloskey, returns intact.

Lynch set the program’s single-season record by averaging 40.5 yards a punt a year ago.

“We have greater team depth, and a stable of quality athletes,” said Ford, whose Danes were among the national leaders in fewest turnovers last season. “But at the same time, we have more question marks than we’ve had in recent times.

“Our running attack is pretty good behind a scrappy group of offensive linemen. We need more productivity in the passing game and consistent play from our receivers. We will be a decent football team on defense.”

SCHEDULE

AUGUST

30 — at Massachusetts, 6.

SEPTEMBER

13 — at Hofstra, 7; 20 — at New Hampshire, 12; 27 — at Delaware, 6.

OCTOBER

4 — at Duquesne, 1; 11 — CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE, 1; 18 — at Sacred Heart, 1.; 25 — ST. FRANCIS (Pa.), 4.

NOVEMBER

1 — MONMOUTH, 1; 8 — at Robert Morris, 1; 15 — WAGNER, 1.

Home games in CAPS.