Post-Game - Delaware 27, Old Dominion 17

Way to scare the living daylights out of everyone!  The newest member to the toughest conference almost handed the Hens a huge blow to their season in the 4th game of the year. I'll give tons of credit to Coach Wilder for having the Monarchs ready to stick with the Hens throughout the game and taking advantage of many Delaware mistakes on the day.  Enjoy the stressful rundown:

• Early Turnovers - After stalling the Monarch's first CAA drive, David Hayes coughed up the ball around the ODU 20-yard line.  A second punt from Old Dominion gave the Hens the ball back, but Delaware stalled and was forced into a punting situation where a stray arm from Michael Atunrase prevented the ball from cleanly getting to Zaragoza, and Chris Lovitt of ODU picked up the fumble and ran it in for the Monarch's first CAA touchdown.  Old Dominion leads 7-0.
• Block That Kick - Old Dominion has had outstanding special teams in it's first two-and-a-half years back, and it showed up again when the Chris Burnette got in the way of a 48-yard Sean Baner field goal attempt, giving the ball back to Old Dominion just inside the Delaware 40.
• Reversal of Fortune - Luckily, the next play was an interception by Marcus Burley on a Thomas DeMarco pass, returning the ball to the ODU 49.  Following a few first downs, the Hens stalled on the opposing 23-yard line, leading to a 40-yard Sean Baner field goal (with plenty of height on this one).  Old Dominion still leads, 7-3, with just over two minutes left in the 1st quarter.
• End of the 1st Quarter - Old Dominion driving with the ball in Delaware territory, and a 7-3 lead in their first CAA game.
• Stuck in the Middle - What do you do when you're too close to punt, but might be too far for that field goal?  The Monarchs decided to go for it on 4th-&-4 at the Delaware 37, but the pass attempt was broken up by Travis Hawkins and the Blue Hens take the ball back with 13:48 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
• Take the Points - The Hens drove down to the Old Dominion 30-yard line, but three consecutive runs could not pick up another first down and instead of going for it on 4th-&-2, Sean Baner came on to make a 38-yard field goal.  Monarchs lead is now just a point, 7-6.
• Three-&-Out - The middle stretch of the second quarter saw three straight 3-&-outs by ODU, with two from the Blue Hens stuffed amongst them.  Nothing to see here.
• Cue the Ninja - Delaware started their drive with 2:25 on the clock, and ran with Andrew Pierce on the first play for only three yards.  This was followed by ten straight passing plays as Tim Donnelly went 8-10 on the drive, finishing with a 7-yard strike to Nihja White for the touchdown.  With 0:42 remaining in the first half, Delaware takes their first lead of the game, 13-7.
• End of the 1st Half - An uneventful few plays by the Monarchs and both team head to the locker room after two quarters of play.  Delaware 13, Old Dominion 7.
• Keeping it Close - Sean Baner sent a 25-yard field goal attempt wide right, and Thomas DeMarco helped capitalize on another Blue Hen mistake by leading the next drive down inside the Delaware 5, but they could not find the end zone and settled for a Jarod Brown 20-yard field goal.  Blue Hens still lead, 13-10.
• Running Issues - How many times have I mentioned Andrew Pierce or David Hayes so far? Once each, and not in a good way.  The running game is still struggling to find a foothold as we approach the end of the 3rd quarter.  Pierce is being seen riding a bike on the sidelines as Hayes has carried the workload here in the 3rd. Old Dominion has their own problems too, as Colby Goodwyn has the ball popped out of his arms by Leon Jackson and Paul Worrilow recovers for Delaware at the ODU 21-yard line.
• End of the 3rd Quarter - Delaware holds the 13-10 lead while sitting on the ODU door step to start the final frame.
• Extending the Lead - The Hens grab a 1st-&-goal after the fumble recovery, but cannot punch it home and have to settle for three yet again.  Baner makes the short kick this time around, giving the Hens a 16-10 lead over ODU.
• Upset Special? - All big upsets have a big play here or there, and the Monarchs went with the fake punt on 4th-&-6 from their own 23-yard line.  Jonathan Plisco ran for 15 yards and extended the Old Dominion drive.  An incomplete pass from DeMarco was followed up by three straight passes for first downs, and capped off with a 9-yard touchdown catch by Antonio Vaughan.  Old Dominion regains the lead, 17-16, with 9:50 remaining in the 4th quarter.
• Answering Back Quickly - Travis Hawkins returned the ensuing kickoff to the ODU 32-yard line, and Tim Donnelly responded to the energy boost by connecting with Rob Jones for a 32-yard score to put the Hens back out in front.  A two-point conversion pass to White pushed the margin to 7 (Hens now up 24-17) in just 17 seconds.
• Not Giving In - An ODU 3-&-out was followed by a stalled Delaware drive that would pin the Monarchs deep in their own territory with only 5:09 remaining.  DeMarco led the drive to his own 42-yard line, but he could not complete a pass on 4th-&-4 and gave the Blue Hens the ball in good position to run out the game with just over two minutes remaining and trailing by a touchdown.
• Icing the Game - The Monarchs were forced to use all of their timeouts to give themselves a chance to comeback in this game, but a 43-yard field goal from Baner would put the Blue Hens far enough from ODU that an upset now appeared out of reach.  Delaware is now up 27-17, with just 42 seconds remaining in the game.
• Last Ditch Effort - The Monarchs attempted a hook-and-ladder kickoff return, but a foward pass at their 5-yard line left them too far from the end zone to do anything on this final drive.
• FINAL SCORE - DELAWARE 27, OLD DOMINION 17

Good win for the Hens over the Monarchs.  Plenty more work to do leading up to Maine.

REVIEWING MY PREDICTIONS
My Over/Under for UD vs. ODU

• Total Points: 50.5 points - Only a TD away, I get the win here!
• ODU Total Yards: 359.5 yards - I knew the Hens were going to be the best defensive team that the Monarchs had faced thus far, but holding them to just 333 on the day is impressive compared to their average per game.
• Delaware Rushing Yards: 184.5 yards - With Pierce nursing a knee injury and Hayes unable to help ignite the run game, the Hens were held to just 80 yards on the ground.

Quick reminder here: The Over/Unders are what I would set the odds at.  Trying to pull a "Price is Right" is too easy, so if I am withing a reasonable range on any category (a touchdown on points, and 25-ish yards), it counts as a win.

Bold Prediction:  Tim Donnelly scores 3 touchdowns.
(I wanted to say "throws for," but this Hens team is so focused
on the run game that he'll probably punch one in.)
Too bad I didn't say scores instead.  He did throw for the only two Delaware TDs on the day, but the run game was awful and often lead to field goal attempts instead of touchdown drives.


Projected Score:  Delaware 34, Old Dominion 17
(Delaware's defense is much better than any that ODU
has seen thus.  The Hens will double up the Monarchs.)
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Sort of.  I got ODU's score right on the nose and came up a touchdown short on Delaware's end.  Can't ask myself to be closer than that.  I mean I can, but after the Hens made me sweat this one out, I'm owed the victory.

Game Articles

• Delaware Online - Hens top ODU 27-17 in CAA football opener
• Delaware Online - Hens crank it up late for CAA win
• Newark Post - Hens win on field, trail ODU off it
• BlueHens.com - No. 7 Delaware Overcomes Early Struggles...
• BlueHens.com - Video Recap of Delaware State Game (below)