Minutemen corral Hens
AMHERST - The poll numbers don't look too promising for Joe Biden.
With Election Day less than a month away, Biden's beloved University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens will be sinking in both the Sports Network (No. 16 coming in) and FCS Coaches' (No. 14) polls after falling to the University of Massachusetts yesterday, 17-7.
A self-professed "half-baked halfback" during his college days at Delaware and a vocal supporter of the program since, Biden's Blue Hens met their match this week in a UMass defense that swarmed like piranhas.
UMass, which had struggled defensively through its first four games, held Delaware to just 167 yards of total offense.
"We just kept saying, 'Three and out, three and out. Let's go,' " said middle linebacker Josh Jennings, who had a career-high 16 tackles.
UMass, which had come up with just nine three-and-out defensive stands in the first four weeks, posted seven yesterday in shutting down Delaware.
The biggest defensive play came four minutes into the fourth quarter when free safety Jeromy Miles stepped in front of Mark Duncan to pick off a Robby Schoenhoft pass and brought it back 52 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.
"I just read the quarterback's eyes," said Miles. "I just jumped the route and took a chance."
The game was a critical Colonial Athletic Association showdown between teams accustomed to success. Both have won national championships within the least decade, UMass in 1998 and Delaware in 2003. The Minutemen were national runners-up in 2006, losing to Appalachian State. Delaware duplicated that outcome a year ago.
But both squads entered this game at 2-2, knowing that in all likelihood a third loss would be the last one they could sustain and still qualify for the playoffs. UMass's losses had come on the road against James Madison (currently ranked No. 1 in the FCS) and Kansas State (No. 7).
"We played aggressive today, and turned in one of the best defensive efforts since we've been around here," said fifth-year coach Don Brown.
"They definitely had the upper hand all day long," admitted Delaware coach K.C. Keeler.
Offensively, UMass moved the ball almost at will, but had trouble finishing. The Minutemen put up 459 yards of total offense, led by Tony Nelson's 163 yards on the ground (on 23 carries), but managed just 10 offensive points. They were hampered by four turnovers, three interceptions, and a fumble, all deep inside Delaware territory.
On their opening drive, the Minutemen looked crisp, going 86 yards on just five plays. Liam Coen went 4 for 4 on the drive, culminating with a 40-yard TD strike to Jeremy Horne (8 catches for 114 yards).
Delaware answered right away with a grinding drive of 15 plays for 79 yards over 9 minutes 9 seconds. The crescendo came on an 8-yard TD pass from Schoenhoft to Robbie Agnone.
Coen (18 of 32 for 228 yards and a touchdown) struggled with the giveaways, one coming on a tipped ball in the end zone.
The play that most epitomized UMass's frustration, though, did not directly involve its heralded senior signal-caller.
Early in the second quarter, Coen threw the ball behind him on an overhand lateral to the left side to wide receiver Joe Sanford, who slung it diagonally across the field to the right side. Delaware defender Fred Andrew jumped high for the apparent interception, but Nelson jumped even higher to rip it out of Andrew's hands. But falling down at the Delaware 8-yard line, Nelson coughed up the ball. It was ruled a fumble, and Charles Graves returned it 33 yards.
In time, though, UMass broke through. With 12:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, Armando Cuko nailed a 38-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
A few minutes later, Miles's interception return put the game away.
UMass has won 16 straight games at home. Yesterday's game drew a crowd of 16,422, the largest regular-season attendance since 1974.
UMass returns to action next Saturday at Northeastern.
Biden's Blue Hens head closer to Washington, playing at home against Maine. 