Final: Maryland 14 Delaware 7

[Blue Hen Nation]

The score reflects a close game, but we were never really in it. Congrats Terps! :(

[Blue Hen Nation]

All things said, we did the FCS proud.

[Tribe4SF]

Hens look solid everywhere except QB. Schoenhoft is a giant step down. I thought the UD offensive line looked fine, which was really the only other question mark on the team.

[Jerbearasu]

All things said, we did the FCS proud.

agreed! Great job Delaware! Wish u coulda left with a W but you at least showed them u belong!

[mistersykes]

I was impressed with UD's showing. I felt like the teams were pretty evenly matched. I wish y'all could have come out with the win. Oh well, it bodes well for the Blue Hens' season, methinks.

[PaladinFan]

Great show. UD's defense looks to be quite stout. Looking forward to seeing the Blue Hens pull into Paladin Stadium.

[ChickenMan]

There were two major concerns for UD going into the season.. the OL and the QB. The OL played very well vs a pretty good Maryland front and gave every indication that they will be more than adequate. As for the QB.. questions remain.. UD was obvioulsy very conservative by design through the first half and much of the 3rd quarter so it was hard to get a read on Schoenhoft who appears to have some ability but is obviously still a work in progress. The defense was expected to be strong and they played very well vs the Terps.

What I took out of this games was.. if the QB play developes the Hens should be a contender in both the CAA and the FCS once again.

[YoUDeeMan]

As someone said, the game taught us one thing that we didn't know: our line will do fine.

Our center was dominating their nose guard.

Our defense is good, but misse some opportunities.

But, our QB makes some questionable throws. As my sig has said for several months...he throws some odd balls.

[93henfan]

What I took out of this games was.. if the QB play developes the Hens should be a contender in both the CAA and the FCS once again.

Agreed. Our defense should dominate a few games this year and we'll be sitting there twiddling our thumbs in the second half hoping the O will score some points.

[Ivytalk]

Congrats to the Hens! They hung in there and acquitted themselves well. I still see an 8-4 year for them.

[CID1990]

That was a very good showing by Delaware. I watched the end of the game on TV and was impressed with them. Congrats UD.

[IndianaAppMan]

Nice showing, UD! Looks like yet another year contending for the CAA title, and potentially the national title! xthumbsupx

[DFW HOYA]

That 4th and 1 at the 19 would have been huge if converted.

[Rob Iola]

I like our QB's ability to run the ball - especially lowering his shoulder and taking the DB's helmet off midway thru the 1st, instead of simply running out of bounds...

[Cobblestone]

All things said, we did the FCS proud.

From what I could see you guys put up one helluva defense. Good job!

[Appguy]

I watched the whole game, Keeler shoulda kicked the field goal when they went for it on the 20 and didnt get it, it was way to early to go for it and woulda made it 7-3 game

[Tod]

Just got back from work and this is the first thread I saw. Damn good game, BlueHens!!! As usual, the Hens are for real. Wish you could have pulled it out, but a good showing is always a good thing in this kind of game.

xthumbsupx xthumbsupx xthumbsupx

[UMass922]

From what I could see you guys put up one helluva defense. Good job!

The running game looked pretty good, too.

[RadMann]

It was great seeing the game in high definition. It was a very winnable game for UD, but a good showing either way.

[aust42]

The score reflects a close game, but we were never really in it. Congrats Terps! :(

What do you mean "we were never really in it?" We were in it the whole game and missed out on a few opportunities to tie the game at times. Our O-line did a great job in protecting the QB and opened some lanes up for the running game. Our D played great today and kept us within striking distance the entire day. It pees me off to see KC call a pass play that throws short of the 1st down markers on 3rd and short situations. Too many missed 3rd down opportunities. But I'm just an "arm chair QB" beotching.

It was a very winnable game for Delaware. We'll be tough this year.

[Jaxhen]

What do you mean "we were never really in it?" We were in it the whole game and missed out on a few opportunities to tie the game at times. Our O-line did a great job in protecting the QB and opened some lanes up for the running game. Our D played great today and kept us within striking distance the entire day. It pees me off to see KC call a pass play that throws short of the 1st down markers on 3rd and short situations. Too many missed 3rd down opportunities. But I'm just an "arm chair QB" beotching.

It was a very winnable game for Delaware. We'll be tough this year.

I agree. We were definitely in this game to the very end. We had the ball with a few minutes left in the 4th quarter trailing 14-7 with a chance to go down and tie the game or take the lead.

[Hoyadestroya85]

UD isn't going down in my poll as of now..
holding a I-A team to 14 points is nothing short of incredible.. Good Job Hens!

[APPStrongNC]

good job hens. living in acc country it was nice to see a good close game with a acc team.
rock it hens....
good job.....
now lets go cowboys

[ngineer]

No such thing as a 'good' loss, BUT the score was impressive. I thought UD would be competitive in this one, picking them to lose by 10. Good job Hens.

[Rob Iola]

No apparent injuries, a solid and athletic effort by the D (and the O line), glimmerings of a decent running attack, WRs who can stretch the field laterally and vertically, and a strong-arm at QB.

Now if only we could stop telegraphing our throws, not field punts (and INTs) at our 2, and maybe block on FGs, we'll be alright this season...

[Lulu]

Intercepting a fourth down pass on the 2 insteadof just knocking it downxconfusedx and getting possesion on downs around the 40 cost UD 7 . Damn good game though it seems UD 's got D.xthumbsupx

[blackfordpu]

Great showing Hens, for a while there I thought you were going to pull it out.

[elcid96]

Great showing today. I have Del #1 in the next poll.

[aust42]

Intercepting a fourth down pass on the 2 insteadof just knocking it downxconfusedx and getting possesion on downs around the 40 cost UD 7 . Damn good game though it seems UD 's got D.xthumbsupx

Two huge mistakes by the Hens. D-back intercepts it on the 2 yard line instead of batting it down and taking over on downs at our 37 yard line. And a fair catch at the 3 yard line instead of letting it go into the end zone on another defensive stand. We still managed to get a couple of 1st downs on those possessions but we should have had much better field position both times.

Our defense will keep us in a lot of games this year. We could have won this dang game.

[uofmman1122]

Argh! I watched the last interception and was really bummed.

I thought Del. was gonna march down and tie the game.

[FCS Go!]

I watched almost the entire game and I thought that Maryland had the better athletes/talent on the field but the Hens outplayed them and were probably better coached. Nice job on both sides of the ball for UD.

[Grizaholic17]

Congrats to Delaware. Listened to some of the game, and Delaware put up a fight. I expect great things from them this year/

[ScottyDoesKnow]

What I find most hilarious at this point in time is how the Middle Tennessee State fans can feel good about possibly beating Maryland just because Delaware played them close. HELLO! Are you in there, Blue Raider fans? UD would kick your @ss two ways to Sunday! Just because Maryland's offense struggled against an FCS school doesn't automatically make MTSU better just because Suck University of Middle Tennessee is in a higher division. That's incredibly vain thinking. Delaware's defense was sensational, but Maryland was able to pull one out there @sses to get the win.

I can't wait to watch MTSU fans realize how freakin' sorry and pathetic their team is this year after Maryland puts a beatdown on them at home just like a young and inexperienced Troy State did a few days ago. MTSU is below Maryland AND Delaware and won't win four games this season. I have said it, and so it shall be.

[93henfan]

Postgame K.C. Keelerisms:

“This is not like a moral victory. I don’t believe in moral victories. We had opportunities and we let them get away. We’re greatly disappointed."

“This was not a payday for us,” Keeler added. “We play a home game, we make more money than playing this game down here. When we scheduled this game, I thought our program would possibly be in a position to beat a solid ACC school.”

“I told the players I was proud to be their coach and every Blue Hen out there watching was proud of them, but we did not come down here to see if we could compete. We came down here to win a football game and we didn’t do it. That’s not okay. We made some mistakes and missed some opportunities. But I was proud of our intensity and our ability to play to the end.”

[Nebuta]

Delaware had some mental mistakes (Love fair catch and the INT, both inside the five) which is to be expected on the first game of the season. Delaware did manage to get a first down after each of those drives, but kicked away setting up short sides of the field. Leading to MD's 2 touchdowns.
UD should be proud of the defense. They were solid all day going up against 9 returning offensive starters)
Smith looked very impressive against MD defense with , especially when UD had their backs to the endzone getting tough yards on goalline Defense.

Delaware will be fine this year, not all teams will be as tough as the defense Smith ran on this week.

[Rob Iola]

Great showing today. I have Del #1 in the next poll.
Appreciate the sentiment, but I think you gotta go with Richmond after their convincing win over a tough Elon squad...

[Griz0383]

UD's D was impressive! Big and physical! Congrats and the Hens were one of the few bright spots in FCS vs FBS match ups!

[BlueHenBoy]

It seemed that Schoenhoft would never look off the recievers, he always went for the first option, we got lucky there CB's didn't have the hands of a WR.

[DTSpider]

I hate how the broadcast crew mentioned that Shoenhoft transferred from Ohio St on every other play. UD's defense was very good tonight. UD should win a number of games this year. Maryland had a ton of opportunities but didn't put points on the board, they could really struggle this year.

On another note, it was great to hear so many good things about the CAA. They even commented that on how even though UD was impressive, that they were predicted to be 4th in the conference. They specifically mentioned Richmond as a team to watch out for, but that could have just been because Richmond is playing UVA on ESPNU this week.

[furman94]

UD kept it closer than I though the would. I can't wait till the come to Greenville!

[Aho_Old_Guy]

Postgame K.C. Keelerisms:

“This is not like a moral victory. I don’t believe in moral victories. We had opportunities and we let them get away. We’re greatly disappointed."

“This was not a payday for us,” Keeler added. “We play a home game, we make more money than playing this game down here. When we scheduled this game, I thought our program would possibly be in a position to beat a solid ACC school.”

“I told the players I was proud to be their coach and every Blue Hen out there watching was proud of them, but we did not come down here to see if we could compete. We came down here to win a football game and we didn’t do it. That’s not okay. We made some mistakes and missed some opportunities. But I was proud of our intensity and our ability to play to the end.”

I agree with Coach Keeler. ****** this moral victory crap. Players step on the field to win. The game is not played for a moral victory. Whether you lose by 1 point or lose by 31 points --- you lose.

A school will not recruit top-notch talent with "We went into FBS Land and secured a moral victory in a 7 point loss ..."

You recruit those players by telling them:

1) "We will schedule games against the top schools in the nation with every intention of pounding them on their own turf";

2) "Our goal is to compete and win a true national championship. We can do this with or without you. We would be honored for you to join us";

3) "Our coaching and training staff will make you the best athlete you can be and our school will give you the best education possible"; and

4) "Our Babes are hot". xsmiley_wix

[Casey_Orourke]

The score reflects a close game, but we were never really in it. Congrats Terps! :(


If you say that you was never really in it then the Maryland football team must be horrible. But I think it is more of a case that the Hens are really that good...

[89Hen]

If you say that you was never really in it then the Maryland football team must be horrible. But I think it is more of a case that the Hens are really that good...
It was some of both, but if Maryland plays like this in two weeks against Cal they are going to get smoked.

[SteelCurtain]

Watched this one. UD looked very tough. Very impressed with their D and o lines. Your QB will be fine. Your D though is very impressive. By far the best team at this Div. I have seen this year. You are number 1 in my book until proven otherwise.

[FCS Go!]

It was some of both, but if Maryland plays like this in two weeks against Cal they are going to get smoked.

I agree. UD looked good here and there but couldn't quite put it together on offense when they needed too. Maryland looked pretty bad as far as consistency on both sides of the ball and their kicker was horrible. They did put up almost 275yds rushing though.

It looks like the Hen defense is much better and if the QB can get on track I think they'll have another good year despite their schedule. I hope to see them first hand @ JMU or @ Richmond.

[ChickenMan]

It was some of both, but if Maryland plays like this in two weeks against Cal they are going to get smoked.

I think Maryland is much like UD.. a very solid squad that can be pretty good.. if they get good QB play. But both teams will need significant improvement in that area if they are going to get to where they want to be.

[93henfan]

I think Maryland is much like UD.. a very solid squad that can be pretty good.. if they get good QB play. But both teams will need significant improvement in that area if they are going to get to where they want to be.

I saw a lot of similarity between the two teams as well. Both looked like they were ready to explode, but just didn't get a spark from the signal caller.

Schoenhoft, as stated previously in this thread, has the potential to be a great QB once he gets comfortable in KC's system and starts to look off his receivers.

I have no other other real concerns other than O-line depth. The starters were a pleasant surprise, but I fear that getting to the sixth, seventh, or eighth man might cause a severe dropoff. Hope I'm wrong.