Blue Hens Claim First FBS Win of CUSA Era in Thrilling 44-41 Overtime Victory

Photo: Ben Hershey on Unsplash

The University of Delaware’s football team earned its first FBS-level win as a Conference USA program with a wild 44-41 overtime win over the UConn Huskies.

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Delaware leads by four at the end of the first quarter.

The first quarter reflected what the rest of this game would be: a high-scoring, back-and-forth thriller to the very end. The two teams combined for 24 points in the opening quarter.

Delaware started the scoring off in the match by cruising 73 yards in seven plays to end with junior quarterback Nick Minicucci rushing three yards to give his team a 7-0 edge with 11:13 remaining in the first.

UConn would punch right back by lighting up the scoreboard with seven points when Cam Edwards ran 51 yards for a touchdown on the sixth play of the drive with 8:48 remaining on the clock.

Running backs with long runs became a theme, as on the Blue Hens’ next possession, senior Jo Silver dashed 70 yards on the second play of the drive to give his team a 14-7 advantage with 8:06 left in the opening quarter.

The Huskies would answer back with a drive that went 65 yards on eight plays to end with a 28-yard field goal to cut the deficit to four points (14-10) at the end of the first quarter. UConn’s quarterback Joe Fagnano had two long pass completions on this possession, a 24-yard one to tight end Javonte Vereen on the second play and a 31-yard one to wide receiver Skyler Bell, not too long after.

UD holds a four-point lead at the end of the first half.

The back-and-forth scoring continued into the second quarter, as the Hens responded with a long six-minute and 47-second, 12-play, 79-yard drive that ended with  Nick Minicucci rushing for his second touchdown of the day to put his team up 21-10 with 12:54 left in the opening half.

UConn didn’t let being down 11 points dampen their spirit as the team roared back with a 31-yard touchdown from running back Victor Rosa on the seventh play of the drive to tighten the score to 21-17 with 10:08 remaining in the second.

Two drives later, the Huskies would be back at it again with their other running back, Cam Edwards, scoring his second rushing touchdown of the game to slice the deficit to three points (24-21) with 7:17 left in the first half.

Delaware’s offense would wake up after those two touchdowns by their opponent, as UD flew 75 yards in three plays to end with Nick Minicucci finding senior wide receiver Kyre Duplessis for the 68-yard touchdown completion to head into halftime with a 28-24 edge.

UD led by three points at the end of the third quarter.

The second half started with three combined drives from both teams that ended with punts.

UConn had the first scoring drive of the third quarter, which started with 7:52 on the clock at their own 21-yard line. The Huskies went 79 yards in seven plays, ending with Joe Fagnano finding his receiver, Reymello Murphy, for the 10-yard touchdown to give their team a 31-28 lead with 5:05 remaining on the clock.

Delaware would grab the lead back with a long five-minute and five-second, 11-play, 75-yard drive. It ended with Jo Silver galloping for an 18-yard touchdown to give his team a 35-31 advantage at the end of the third.

The Hens force overtime with a game-tying field goal in the fourth.

UConn would start the fourth quarter with a five-minute and six-second, 75-yard, 10-play drive, which ended with Joe Fagnano finding tight end Alex Honig for a one-yard touchdown to take a 38-35 lead with 9:54 remaining in the game.

Three drives later, UD would go 52 yards in 11 plays for senior kicker Nick Reed to boot a 43-yard field goal as time expired to push the game to overtime with the score tied at 38.

Delaware takes home a wild 44-41 win in OT!

The Huskies had the ball first in overtime and took a 41-38 advantage with a 24-yard field goal.

UD responded by going 25 yards in four plays, ending with  Nick Minicucci scoring his third touchdown of the game and giving the Hens a 44-41 win over UConn.

Stats & Standouts:

The offensive standouts in the game for Delaware were quarterback Nick Minicucci,  wideout Kyre Duplessis, and Jo Silver.

Minicucci completed 23 of his 34 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown in the win. He also rushed for three touchdowns in the game.

Duplessis had nine receptions for 161 yards with one touchdown in the game.

Silver rushed for 179 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns in the win.

Team Stats
1st Downs	29	29
3rd down efficiency	5-13	6-15
4th down efficiency	1-2	3-3
Total Yards	521	512
Passing	346	265
Comp/Att	28/39	23/34
Yards per pass	8.9	7.8
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Rushing	175	247
Rushing Attempts	32	45
Yards per rush	5.5	5.5
Penalties	7-67	6-60
Turnovers	0	0
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Possession	27:35	32:25