FCS Bracketology - Pt. 10

For another week, the Blue Hens are left off the bracket.  I am stuck in the middle on this one, because I did not think they would play Towson that well, but I also thought that after a big win, they might sneak into the play-in round.  Apparently not, as Towson has held their ground there (barely) and Old Dominion has themselves a home game (Maine, JMU, and UNH are the other 3 CAA schools in the bracket).  5 conference foes in this and we play none of them in the final two games.  Delaware is going to need some help from somewhere to get back in the bracket.

Keeler Monday (Idle Week)

After a victory over Towson, the Hens have a week off before hosting Richmond for Homecoming.  Listen to Coach Keeler's CAA Teleconference audio at the link below.  The BlueHens.com press conference is also included.

• Coach K.C. Keeler - CAA Football Teleconference (10/31/11)
• BlueHens.com - Keeler Press Conference (Idle Week) (Below)

Post-Game - Delaware 35, Towson 30

Crazy amount of scoring to start off this game, and insane kickoff returns for a bad weather game in Towson, followed by a more defensive second half as the Hens fought hard against the Tigers for the victory.  Here's the rundown:

• Feisty Teams - Apparently, the Towson bench came about two-thirds of the way across the field towards the Delaware bench and tried to start something up, with the coaches and officials breaking it up before it gets out of hand.
• Quick Start - Michael Johnson gets things started off right with a huge return to the Towson 47-yard line.  A 14-yard run gained the Hens a first down right off the bat, but then Donnelly gets sacked and turns the ball over to the Tigers around midfield.  A few plays later, Terrance West runs 46 yards for a Tigers touchdown and Towson goes up 7-0 with 12:10 left in the first quarter.

GAMEDAY - UD Football vs. Towson

Someone please show up today for the Hens.  Delaware travels to take on Towson, who may just be the best team the Hens face this season.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00PM.  All of the game notes and the flipcard are available after the jump:

Preview - Delaware vs. Towson

Another busy day so just a few bullet points again for each team with predictions following them...

For the Blue Hens:

FCS Bracketology - Pt. 9

I was planning on arguing every week with where the Hens were placed.  After all, they were coming off a good season and had a fairly easy schedule for CAA standards.  All that has gone down the drain after the Hens have put up two straight awful performances.  Here's this week's bracket, with the Tigers, Delaware's next opponent, replacing the Hens.

Keeler Monday (Towson Week)

Listen to both Keeler and Towson's Coach Trainer's audio at the links below for more.  The BlueHens.com press conference is also included.

• Coach K.C. Keeler - CAA Football Teleconference (10/24/11)
• Coach Rob Ambrose - CAA Football Teleconference (10/24/11)
• BlueHens.com - Keeler Press Conference (Towson Week)

Post-Game - Rhode Island 38, Delaware 34

3rd-&-10.  Four of them on the final drive for the Rams.  The first one gets stopped, only to have a crazy punt situation give the ball back.  Then an offsides call.  And the last one was the killer field goal.  The big play and mistakes destroyed the Hens today.  Here's the rundown:

• Missing in Action - David Hayes has been suspended by the team for one game and did not make the trip to Kingston with the team.  I am debating whether this means less run plays for the Hens, a bigger work load for Pierce, or someone else getting a chance to step up.
• First Drive - The Rams start the game off at their own 28-yard line.  Bentsen is in at quarterback as Probst, one of the best in the conference, went down with a concussion last week.  A holding call sets URI back as they end up having to punt it away to the Hens.

GAMEDAY - UD Football vs. Rhode Island

Delaware needs to wake up with just four games remaining this season as they travel up to Rhode Island with Trevor Sasek back under center for the Blue Hens.  Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30PM.  All of the game notes and the flipcard are available after the jump:

Preview - Delaware vs. URI

Going old school with A-Love for some luck today.

Insanely busy today so just a few bullet points for each team with predictions following them...

For the Blue Hens:

FCS Bracketology - Pt. 8

After that loss, the Hens deserve to be dropped that far back.  Maine now gets in on the action as they also receive a play-in round game.  James Madison sits in the 7-seed, and New Hampshire is 9th, giving the CAA four tournament teams, but only two in the top 12.

Keeler Monday (URI Week)

Losing to UMass left tons of questions that Coach Keeler is going to need to answer this week.  His call to the CAAtc started off with the wind. Coach had debated on whether or not they wanted the wind right away and after he turned it down, it was a big help to his opponent in getting them off to a fast start. He talked about how it was a similar formula as to why they lost to Maine, with big plays being their downfall.  Keeler said that Sasek was not far enough along as to why he did not relieve Donnelly earier in the game.

Post-Game - UMass 21, Delaware 10

Disgusting game by the Hens today.   Not too much extra to add here because the game pretty much spoke for itself:

• Pros & Cons - TV game is always a bonus... but the downside is the awful announcing by the CSN crew.  I would take the effort sync the radio feed with the TV, but it is much harder than it sounds and I also started watching late so
• Delaware starts the game at their own 33, but right off the bat Donnelly is called for intentional grounding, which really backs the Hens up, and a few weak run plays later, Delaware is forced to punt.
• RIght off the bat, Pagel hits a receiver with a huge pass and it's 1st-&-goal for the Minutemen.  A big 3rd down play by Hernandez punched it home and UMass takes the early 7-0 lead with 12:00 remaining in the quarter.

GAMEDAY - Delaware vs. UMass

Delaware's shut out of William & Mary last week has this team riding high.  UMass plays very similarly to the Tribe, and it should be fun to see if the Hens can play such a sound defensive game for a second straight week.  Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30PM.  All of the game notes and the flipcard are available after the jump:

Preview - UD Football vs. UMass

Big victory for the Hens last weekend over the Tribe.  Now the Minutemen come in with a similar offense.  Will the game go the same way for the Hens this week or will UMass come to play and challenge the Hens this week?  Here are the quick hits for both teams and some of the facts about what is probably the last time these two teams ever face each other.

Keeler Monday (UMass Week)

Delaware finally pulled off a definitive victory this weekend, giving Keeler a reason to look forward to the press circuit this morning.  The audio links to both Coach Keeler's and Coach Morris' segment from the CAA Football Teleconference follow the summary and the BlueHens.com video will be embedded once it becomes available.

Coach Keeler started talking about how the details were lost in the game vs. Maine two weeks ago and the need to focus on them in the next game.  The preparation vs. William & Mary was more about the Hens than the Tribe, working on those fundamentals.  He also said it was "unusual" to get a shutout vs. Coach Laycock of W&M, but clearly was glad they did.

Worrilow named CAAFB Defensive Player of the Week

Paul Worrilow has been named the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week following the shutout against William & Mary. Here is the full description of his honor:

Paul Worrilow gets a hit on the W&M quarterback.

FCS Bracketology - Pt. 7

So much for a big CAA post-season presence.  Losses by James Madison and William & Mary hurt them enough to put the Dukes in a play-in game and send the Tribe packing.  Towson, Maine, and Old Dominion still aren't getting enough respect to earn a place in the bracket.  Only New Hampshire and Delaware appear to have survived (the two do not play each other this season).  Here is the bracket after this weekend's games:

The Morning After (William & Mary)

If you haven't already read the full game rundown, click here for the link.  Two more good pieces out there this morning from The News Journal, and a few others here too:

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: