After a difficult season in which they finished 4-8, their worst since K.C. Keeler took over in 2002, the Delaware Blue Hens are ranked at No. 20 in the first released national preseason college football poll for the Football Championship Subdivision, also known as Division I-AA. The Any Given Saturday poll, released Monday, lists the Hens and seven other Colonial Athletic Association teams in the top 25..jpg)
Richmond, the defending national champion, was the runaway selection for the top spot, grabbing 59 first-place votes. Appalachian State is ranked second with 20 first-place votes. Other CAA teams in the top 25 include Villanova (No. 4, 11 first-place votes), James Madison (No. 6, 1 first-place vote), New Hampshire (No. 8), William & Mary (No. 12), Maine (No. 14) and Massachusetts (No. 18).
Delaware plays six of those seven teams. Richmond comes to Tubby Raymond Field in the season’s second week for a matinee. They finish the regular season at Villanova on Nov. 21. The one ranked CAA team not on the schedule is New Hampshire. Delaware also plays Delaware State on Sept. 19, the first regular-season football meeting between the schools.
Delaware pins its hopes this season in large part on the shoulders of quarterback Pat Devlin. One of the top QBs coming out of high school in 2006, Devlin thought about attending Quarterback U., the University of Miami, before choosing Penn State. Two years in not-so-Happy Valley was enough for Devlin, and he enrolled at UD before the 2009 spring semester. He appeared in 10 games last season for the Nittany Lions, but his chances for significant and meaningful playing time at Penn State were iffy, as he backed up all-Big Ten quarterback Daryll Clark.
In Newark, Devlin will have tight end Josh Baker and wide receiver Mark Duncan as principal weapons. Jerry Butler, a senior, will lead the ground attack. On defense, the Hens will be led by All-Americans Matt Marcorelle, a defensive end/linebacker, and safety Charles Graves.
The Blue Hens may be rebounding from an atypical down year, but they are just two seasons removed from an appearance in the national championship game. The quarterback that year was Joe Flacco, who transferred from Pittsburgh. Hens fans can only hope for the same success from the newest former Division I field general.
For more info: Any Given Saturday
2009 Football Consolidated FCS rankings
Comments
AGS poll was released about a month ago. May want to polish off those journalistic skills of yours!
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