2018 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

The 2018 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Danny Rocco, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the CAA. Delaware received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, the Fightin' Blue Hens they lost in the first round to James Madison. The team played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.

2018 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATSNo. 24
FCS CoachesNo. 23
Record7–5 (5–3 CAA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSean Devine (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorChris Cosh (2nd season)
Home stadiumDelaware Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Maine $^   7 1     10 4  
No. 9 James Madison ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 16 Stony Brook ^   5 3     7 5  
No. 20 Towson ^   5 3     7 5  
No. 24 Delaware ^   5 3     7 5  
No. 19 Elon ^   4 3     6 5  
Rhode Island   4 4     6 5  
William & Mary   3 4     4 6  
New Hampshire   3 5     4 7  
Villanova   2 6     5 6  
Richmond   2 6     4 7  
Albany   1 7     3 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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CAA Poll

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In the CAA preseason poll released on July 24, 2018, the Fightin' Blue Hens were predicted to finish in third place.[1]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 James Madison 241 (21)
2 New Hampshire 206 (2)
3 Delaware 182
4 Stony Brook 169
5 Elon 168 (1)
6 Villanova 164
7 Richmond 127
8 Maine 81
9 Albany 78
10 Towson 74
11 William & Mary 55
12 Rhode Island 39

Preseason All-CAA Team

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The Fightin' Blue Hens had five players selected to the preseason all-CAA team.[1]

Award watch lists

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Award Player Position Year
Buck Buchanan Award[2] Nasir Adderley S SR
Buck Buchanan Award[3] Troy Reeder LB R-SR

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.Rhode IslandNo. 15CBSI Digital, CBS SportsLiveL 19–2117,945
September 83:30 p.m.Lafayette*
  • Delaware Stadium
  • Newark, DE
MASNW 37–012,781
September 153:30 p.m.Cornell*
  • Delaware Stadium
  • Newark, DE
BHAAW 27–1014,511
September 222:00 p.m.at No. 1 North Dakota State*ESPN+L 10–3818,883
October 63:00 p.m.at RichmondNBCS WAW 43–288,217
October 133:30 p.m.No. 5 Elon
  • Delaware Stadium
  • Newark, DE
NBCS PHILW 28–1619,209
October 203:30 p.m.at New HampshireNo. 24CBSI Digital, CBS SportsLiveW 38–1411,992
October 273:30 p.m.No. 10 Towson No. 21
  • Delaware Stadium
  • Newark, DE
FCS, FSGOW 40–3614,593
November 33:30 p.m.at AlbanyNo. 13UAlbany Live Events[4]W 21–163,182
November 101:00 p.m.at No. 12 Stony BrookNo. 11CBSI Digital/CBS SportsLiveL 3–176,667
November 1712:00 p.m.VillanovaNo. 17
NBCS PHILL 21–4218,752
November 243:00 p.m.at No. 6 James Madison*No. 21ESPN3L 6–207,297
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[5][6]

Coaching staff

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Name Position Year Alma mater
Danny Rocco Head coach 2nd Wake Forest (1984)
Matt Simon Offensive coordinator/running backs 2nd Eastern New Mexico (1976)
Chris Cosh Defensive coordinator/defensive backs 2nd Virginia Tech (1984)
Erik Campbell Passing game coordinator/wide receivers 2nd Michigan (1988)
Bill Polin Recruiting coordinator/offensive line 2nd Colby (2000)
Manny Rojas Inside Linebackers/co-special teams coordinator 2nd Liberty (2007)
Clint Sintim Outside Linebackers/co-special teams coordinator 2nd Virginia (2009)
Alex Wood Quarterbacks 1st Iowa (1978)
Kevin Reihner Offensive Assistant/tight ends 1st Stanford (2015)
Levern Belin Defensive line 2nd Wake Forest (1991)
Nick Rapone Cornerbacks 8th Virginia Tech (1978)
Greg Meyer Recruiting Assistant/offensive Quality Control 1st Buffalo State (2009)
Jalen Kindle Defensive assistant 1st Delaware (2017)
Chris Stewart Strength and conditioning 2nd Western Carolina (1998)
Carl Kotz Director of football operations 2nd Clemson (2003)
Felicia Bergman Director of Football Advising 2nd Colorado State (2009)
Tony Palmieri Video coordinator 2nd North Florida (2009)
Jude Moser Administrative Assistant 9th University of Delaware (1984)

Game summaries

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Rhode Island

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1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 0 7 14 0 21
No. 15 Blue Hens 0 10 3 6 19

This marks the first time Delaware opens with a conference game since 2007 (49–31 win at William & Mary).

Lafayette

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1 2 3 4 Total
Leopards 0 0 0 0 0
Blue Hens 14 7 7 9 37

Cornell

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1 2 3 4 Total
Big Red 3 0 0 7 10
Blue Hens 7 7 0 13 27

At North Dakota State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Hens 0 0 0 10 10
No. 1 Bison 28 7 3 0 38

At Richmond

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1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Hens 19 14 10 0 43
Spiders 7 3 6 12 28

Elon

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Phoenix 7 3 6 0 16
Blue Hens 0 7 7 14 28

At New Hampshire

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Blue Hens 10 7 14 7 38
Wildcats 0 7 0 7 14

Towson

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 10 Tigers 5 13 10 8 36
No. 21 Blue Hens 0 6 21 13 40

At Albany

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 13 Blue Hens 0 12 3 6 21
Great Danes 0 3 7 6 16

At Stony Brook

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 11 Blue Hens 0 0 0 3 3
No. 12 Seawolves 0 3 7 7 17

Villanova

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 14 7 7 14 42
No. 17 Blue Hens 7 0 14 0 21

At James Madison–NCAA Division I First Round

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 21 Blue Hens 0 3 3 0 6
No. 6 Dukes 3 9 8 0 20

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS15RVRVRVRVRVRV24211311172124
Coaches16RVRVRVRVRVRV25211612182323

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
2 60 Nasir Adderley S Los Angeles Chargers

References

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  1. ^ a b Washburn, Rob (July 24, 2018). "James Madison Favored To Win Fourth Straight CAA Football Title In 2018". CAA Sports. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced" (Press release). NCAA. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Nine added to Buck Buchanan Award Watch List". STATS. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "Upcoming Live Events". The Official Athletics Site of the University of Albany. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  5. ^ "Delaware Blue Hens Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "2018 Football Schedule". Delaware Blue Hens. Retrieved November 9, 2022.