Delaware Looks To Bounce Back Vs. Richmond Saturday
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Delaware Blue Hens are 7-3 on the season (4-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association) with two games left to play. They are still in the mix for an FCS playoff berth and they will try to strengthen their resume on Saturday as they host Richmond.
The Blue Hens are coming off a loss to William and Mary this past weekend, 24-10, in Newark. The Tribe feature the top defense in the nation and that unit's skill was on full display in this one as they held Delaware to 207 total yards, -35 yards rushing and just 13 first downs.
"They certainly outplayed us on Saturday afternoon," Delaware head coach Dave Brock tells KYW Newsradio. "It was disappointing, we had a tremendous crowd and great support from the fan base. Beautiful day, and we open the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown, so you couldn't get a much better start than we had. Just frustrating that we weren't able to help the players more and we weren't able to find a way to make enough plays to win the game. We played a solid game on defense and a tremendous game on special teams."
Senior Trevor Sasek made his second straight start at quarterback against William and Mary, filling in for the injured Trent Hurley. Hurley, a junior, has been out with an "upper body" injury. Sasek completed 25 of 49 passes for 242 yards against the Spiders, but he was sacked four times and intercepted twice. Brock talks about the status of his quarterback situation going forward.
Dave Brock Interview
"Trent's practicing," Brock says. "I'll know more probably Wednesday. You have to see what he does. Really, the fact that he can do it once is a little bit better than its been the last couple of weeks. But you have to see whether or not he can recover, whether or not he's going to feel alright the next day. My guess is I'll know after Wednesday's practice this week, a little bit earlier than I have the last couple of weeks. Then we'll be ready to roll and make a decision. We've got to go out and play well enough to win, regardless of who starts at quarterback."
Richmond is just 4-6 this season, but they have won two straight games coming in and they can sling it. The Spiders lead the CAA in passing offense, throwing for 316 yards a game.
"They are the premier passing team in our league without question," Brock says. "They are 50, 60 yards ahead of anybody else. They have a terrific quarterback (junior Michael Strauss), two really gifted receivers (senior Ben Edwards and junior Stephen Barnette). They are a pass-first offense so they'll present some challenge to us that last week didn't present. Defensively, they are a man free, run around, aggressive defense."
Last season, Richmond beat Delaware, 23-17.
Kick-off on Saturday is set for noon at Delaware Stadium.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
