Delaware Looks For .500 Saturday At Rhode Island

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Delaware Blue Hens will look for a second straight win on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Kingston to take on the University of Rhode Island in Colonial Athletic Association action.

The Blue Hens improved to 2-3 on the season (1-1 in the CAA) last weekend with a thrilling win. They rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to defeat William and Mary down in Newark, 24-23, winning on a Frank Raggo field goal with no time left.

"It's great for the players," Delaware head coach Dave Brock tells KYW Newsradio. "Like we've talked about all year, they've really worked hard, they've practiced hard and they've competed their tails off. They got the return on the investment on Saturday night against William and Mary, which is great for them. Hopefully we can use it now as a building block as the season moves forward, we've got six conference games left and every goal and everything we were looking at at the beginning of the year is out in front of us."

Dave Brock with KYW's Matt Leon:

Delaware continued its dominant work on the ground, rushing for 347 yards in the win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Walker also played a key role, throwing his first collegiate touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to pull Delaware within two and set up that game winning kick.

"I think it's fantastic for him and certainly a confidence builder for the offensive unit, the team in general," Brock says. "Played really well in the game and threw it well and we were able to do a lot of different things that we hadn't done throughout the course of the season."

Saturday the Blue Hens visit a Rhode Island team that is 0-5, but it is a team that has gotten better as the season has gone along. After losing their first three games by a combined score of 123-17, the last two weeks the Rams have dropped ten point decisions to Maine and Brown.

"No question they've improved," Brock says. "They just played a huge rivalry game against Brown, really competitive game. They had a couple of opportunities in the fourth quarter really to take control of the game and win the game. They haven't gotten a break, they've had some tough situations and some injuries and some different things.

"They've got a dynamic running back/returner (sophomore Harold Cooper) who can score a touchdown anytime he touches the ball, we're going to have to be very aware of him. They play very, very physical on defense."

Cooper has rushed for 269 yards and a touchdown this season while returning 10 kickoffs for 276 yards, one of his returns going for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Last year, Delaware beat Rhode Island 28-13 in Newark.

Saturday's game will kickoff at noon.

You can follow Matt on twitter @mattleonkyw.