The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens are one of two programs to rise to FBS status this year, joining Conference USA alongside Missouri State.
In a year full of firsts, Delaware hosted its first-ever home game Saturday against fellow FBS competition in Newark, DE, welcoming a crowd of nearly 18,000 to Tubby Raymond Stadium. The Fightin’ Blue Hens ensured their fanbase was treated to a spectacle they could celebrate. Quarterback Nick Minicucci was the conductor of the show, faking a handoff to a motioning
Jo Silver in overtime and powering through a sea of white jerseys. Minicucci’s final push catapulted him into the blue and gold painted end zone, providing the walk-off touchdown to a 44-41 overtime victory over UConn. He wasted no time in springing up from the ground and climbing into the stands to celebrate Delaware’s first win over FBS competition since upgrading to the big leagues on July 1.
“I don’t think I’ve been as proud in my coaching career, certainly as a head coach,” Delaware head coach Ryan Carty said. “Everything we build our program on showed up today. It was not perfect, but we played a lot cleaner than we’d had in the first two games which is all we have been preaching on. We played so hard in the first two games. We played tough. I was trying to find plays in that Colorado game that we didn’t run to the ball or we didn’t fight hard enough, and I couldn’t find them, but we didn’t play clean enough to win. That was our message this week. Everything that we believed in, we went back to those fundamentals and the foundational aspects of our program and we played harder than that team today, and we finished today.“
Delaware didn’t just defeat any FBS opponent but it knocked off a UConn team fresh off a 9-win season that also suffered an overtime heartbreak the week prior at Syracuse. Minicucci’s touchdown concluded a thrilling back-and-forth affair that featured 1,033 yards of combined offense that featured six lead changes and 11 touchdowns.
In order to extend the game to overtime, the Blue Hens relied on the leg of Nate Reed, who was 0-of-3 on the season as his number was called on the final play of regulation. It wasn’t just any kick for the senior from Manheim, PA — it was a high-pressure 43-yarder. Reed was unfazed and drilled the field goal, providing Delaware the fuel it needed to complete the overtime upset.
The game was almost as back-and-forth as possible, considering there was just one instance of a team concocting consecutive scoring drives — UConn in the early second quarter to establish its first lead. Although Delaware’s 14-7 advantage turning into a 24-21 deficit in the middle of the second quarter seemed to be a bad omen for the home underdogs, the Fightin’ Blue Hens fought back with poise. Kyre Duplessis caught a 68-yard touchdown reception from Minicucci to hand Delaware a 28-24 lead at the break. UConn fought back to establish the lead several times in the second half, but Duplessis, Jo Silver, and the Blue Hen skill position players could not be stopped.
Duplessis starred in the receiving game with nine receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown while Silver dominated the ground with 179 rushing yards and two touchdowns — including a 70-yard scamper in the first half. Minicucci also shined as a dual-threat quarterback, firing 265 yards and a touchdown while adding three scores with his mobility, including the overtime game-winner.
“There were some unbelievably tough plays that were made — plays that maybe weren’t on paper, plays that wouldn’t be schematically made up,” Carty said. “It was, ‘We’ll get you the ball. Can you take care of the next part of it?’ I think (Duplessis and Silver) personified that with a few unbelievable plays that they made.”
UConn also produced impressive offensive numbers in a matchup where neither defense could gain an edge. Quarterback Joe Fagnano tallied 346 passing yards and two touchdowns while Cam Edwards rushed for 116 and hit paydirt twice. Not a single turnover was created in the offensive masterclass, but Delaware’s defense made one extra stand. In overtime, UConn positioned itself with a 1st and goal opportunity at the 2-yard line. The Blue Hens sniffed out an Edwards run and then forced an incompletion. On a critical 3rd and goal, Jack Hall and Ethan Saunders teamed up for a monumental sack, leaving UConn no choice but to take three points from 24 yards out. That left the door ajar for Minicucci, who kept the ball on three-straight QB draws to win it for Delaware.
“The belief that we have in what we do and what we hang our hat on is what makes us special as an offense and as a team,” Carty said. “There are a couple plays in our offense that make us who we are, and the (QB draw) is one of them. When we have a quarterback who’s been running the ball really well like that, we can continue to get the ball on the edge through that system and also get him the ability to stay downhill and protect the football for us. His statistics won’t show it, but Nick Minicucci did a great job in the run game today. We lost a few yards on some sacks today, but the toughness that he showed was the kind of like the toughness our team had today.”
UConn (1-2, Independent) drops consecutive games for the first time since November 2023, losing on the road at the buzzer in overtime fashion both times. The Huskies continue their trek through an independent schedule next Saturday when Ball State makes the trip northeast to East Hartford.
Delaware (2-1, 0-0 CUSA) checks off a huge box as the Blue Hens proved they are ready to win ballgames at the FBS level. It marks the program’s first FBS victory since 2022 when it defeated Navy, and now Carty’s team enters conference play against FIU at Pitbull Stadium next week with an overall standing above .500.
