Post-Game - Delaware 21, William & Mary 0

Complete game shutout by Dan Carpenter the Delaware defense as the Hens blank the Tribe in Newark.  Well managed game by the offense, relying on the run game and keeping the passing simple.  Also a key win to help shake up the polls.  Crazy amount of parity in the CAA.  Here's the game rundown:

• Waste of Position - A lackluster opening drive leads to a punt that gets blocked (and after all that hype about having a punter with two feet).
• Bobby Russo for Six- After a punt by the Tribe leaves the Hens to start from their 2-yard line, Delaware works the run game and a few short passes successfully to get them over mid-field.  After a pass interference moves the Hens to the W&M 29-yard line, Tim Donnelly connects with a wide open Bobby Russo for a Delaware touchdown, his first of the year.  6:57 left in the 1st, Hens lead 7-0 after a 98-yard drive!
• Wide Right - William & Mary started off their drive well, but stalled once they got inside Delaware's territory.  A _____ Kuhn 44-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right and the score remains 7-0, Blue Hens, with _:__ remaining in the 1st quarter.
• Shanked - Delaware goes 3-&-out and a 53-yard punt leave the Tribe to start at their 13-yard line. William & Mary cannot do anything with it and have to punt, but ___ shanks the ball way right and Delaware takes over at the W&M 24-yard line. A pass play put the Hens at the 8 as the 1st quarter comes to an end.
• End of the 1st Quarter -Delaware 7, William & Mary 0
• AP Breaks Through - A short run, followed by a shovel pass, left the Hens with 3rd-&-goal from the 4, and Pierce finally punches it home!  13:43 left in the 2nd quarter, and Delaware leads the Tribe, 14-0.
• Timely Defense - Grimes easily gains a yard on 4th-&-1 to continue the drive around mid-field, but just as the Tribe enters the red zone (where Delaware has allowed a score on all 12 opponent trips), Travis Hawkins picks off the Paulus pass and returns it to the Hens 21-yard line.  However, the Hens go 3-&-out and have to punt it back to W&M with 7:33 left in the 1st half.
• No Offense - Another drive by William & Mary stalls and the Hens take over yet again.  Delaware was driving into Tribe territory, but Donnelly's pass to Rob Jones was picked off by Jake O'Conner to give the ball back to W&M.  However, the Tribe cannot do anything offensively and punt the ball back to the Hens with just over 2 minutes left in the half.
• Take the Lead to the Locker Room - After a first down, Delaware elects to just let the clock run out and take the lead into the half.
• End of the 2nd Quarter - Delaware 14, William & Mary 0
• Halftime Stats - Nothing really standing out in differences for either team, but Andrew Pierce's 73 yards pushes him to 9th all-time for the Hens in rushing.  The Hens have also yet to be penalized (I sense a jinx coming on).
• Penalty & Recovery - William & Mary start the half with the ball at their own 25, and on 4th-&-11, they punt it away, but Leon Jackson knocks down the punter and gets called for a 15-yard penalty to keep the drive alive.  Luckily, Andrew Harrison grabs an interception off a tipped ball and the penalty does not hurt the Hens.
• Turning the Tides? - Delaware drives down the field but is left with a 4th-&-1 just outside the red zone and they elect to go for it as Andrew Pierce picks up the 1st down and has the hens at their 21 yard line, but the following play sees ____ Hyde of the Tribe recover a fumble by David Hayes. 8:37 left in the 3rd quarter with the Hens still up 14-0.
• Punting Again - Another Delaware penalty keeps the William & Mary drive alive, but the Tribe can not manage to put a scoring play together and are forced to punt again with 5:16 left in the quarter.
• Driving with Ease - The Delaware drive begins from their own 9-yard line, but the running game has not had any trouble so far and gets the Hens out from their own end zone.  A nice pass by Donnelly, who has had a well-managed game so far, gets Delaware another first down, followed by another first down run by Pierce.  The quarter ends with a 2nd-&-6 from the W&M 26 coming up for the Hens.
• End of the 3rd Quarter - Delaware 14, William & Mary 0
• Side Note - Everyone was calling for a low scoring game today, but I hadn't heard one "this" low.  There's got to be another score or two out there.  Hens lead the yardage battle 264 to 161 after 3 quarters.
• Stealth Ninja - Tim Donnelly to Nihja White for another Blue Hens touchdown, this one an 11-yarder.  Sean Baner's 3rd XP makes it 21-0, Delaware, with 13:19 left in the 4th quarter.  A quiet day for White, but a big score to put the game just about out of reach barring a miracle.
• Garbage Time - The Tribe put in their backup quarterback, Brent Caprio, which is pretty much the white flag that this one is over.  A 4th-&-13 play came up short and the Hens take posession back with 10:50 remaining in the game.  The Hens were eventually stalled and punted back to the Tribe with 6:39 left in the 3rd quarter.  The Tribe then finds themselves in another 4th down situation (4th-&-3 here), and being in their own territory, decide to punt back to the Hens with 5:43 remaining.
• Trevor Sasek - With a comfortable lead and William & Mary conceding to the Hens, Delaware brings in Trevor Sasek to finish this game off.  He does gain a 1st down on the ground, but it is reversed by a holding call.  His only pass on this drive is dropped by White and the Hens punt back to the Tribe.  3:43 remaining in the game, Delaware holds a 21-0 lead.
• Closure - Raphael Ortiz now in for the Tribe (it's that bad), but he cannot do anything either and the Tribe punts back to Delaware again.  With 2:45 remaining, A short run by Pierce is followed up by a short burst by Hayes, and an 8-yard gain by Hayes for a first down to allow the Hens to take a knee and put this one to bed.
• FINAL SCORE: Delaware 21, William & Mary 0

This one really wasn't as close as the score made it.  William & Mary had a few decent drives, but either a turnover or a penalty prevented any scoring, and the one field goal attempt early in the game went wide right.  This was a big win for the Hens as JMU fell to Maine, giving two CAA teams ranked ahead of the Hens losses for the week.

Reviewing My Predictions
My Over/Under for UD vs. W&M

• Total Points: 39.5 points - Shutout dropped this way lower than expected.
• William & Mary Passing Yards: 144.5 yards - 139 in the air by the Tribe, a result of long drives that never resulted in scoring.
• Delaware Rushing Yards: 159.5 yards - 214 yards on the ground lead by 143 from Andrew Pierce.  So glad I was off on this one. I expected better from the Tribe's defense.

Bold Prediction:  Delaware wins the turnover differential.
(After four interceptions thrown last week, the Hens
will play much more conservative and the defense
will need to step up and make a play or two.)
Each team had two turnovers (2 picks by the Hens and an Int. & fumble recovery for the Tribe).  It was a conservative game by the Hens and the defense did step up, but I was expecting another pick or two from them.

Projected Score: Delaware 21, William & Mary 19
(Close, low-scoring, conservative game from both
teams.  The Tribe's missing players will hurt on defense
and Paulus won't be given the full playbook, so I'll
give the Hens the win, but BARELY.)
Delaware held up their end of the bargin, but the Tribe could not put points on the board.

Game Articles

• BlueHens.com - Delaware Defense Comes Up Big as...
• Delaware Online - Blue Hens blank Wm. & Mary, 21-0
• BlueHens.com - Football vs. William & Mary Recap (see below)

Keywords: University of Delaware Blue Hens, UD, The College of William & Mary Tribe, W&M, Football, Colonial Athletic Association, CAA, NCAA