Delaware has something to prove to Wildcats

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NEWARK — That game may have been played 17 months ago.

But, for Delaware’s players, the bitter memory still stings like it was yesterday.

“I remember I went to my parents after the game,” said Blue Hens safety Noah Plack. “I said I’ve never been embarrassed like that before in my life.”

Villanova thumped Delaware, 55-33, on Nov. 23 to finish the 2019 season. If it’s possible, the game itself seemed even worse than the final score — especially for the Hens’ defense.

The Wildcats put up 589 yards of offense while leading by scores of 27-7 in the second quarter and 48-17 in the third. Villanova scored touchdowns on eight of its first 11 possessions and finished with its most points ever in the 53-game series.

So here Delaware is again, with yet another chance to redeem itself in what was once a proud rivalry for the Hens.

Delaware (3-0 CAA, 4-0 overall), ranked No. 7 in Monday’s STATS FCS poll, heads to No. 10 Villanova (2-1) on Saturday for a 1 p.m. showdown that will end the spring regular season for both schools.

Despite being unbeaten, the Hens have no guarantee of earning one of 16 NCAA FCS playoff berths if they lose. No. 1 James Madison (2-0 CAA, 4-0 overall) hosts No. 11 Richmond (3-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in another huge Colonial matchup.

After the dust settles, a CAA committee will decide the league’s automatic playoff qualifier with the other three teams left to fight over an at-large berth or two.

The ugly fact is that the Hens have lost nine in a row and 14 of the last 15 meetings with the Wildcats. Not surprisingly, Delaware’s players have grown a little weary of the situation.

"I’m honestly sick and tired of hearing about it,” said Plack. “I just don’t want to hear about it any more.

“I just feel like we’ve got to play the way we’ve been playing all year long,” he said earlier. “There’s nothing really to change about the way we’ve been playing. We’ve just got to act like it’s any other game, like we have been all year. I mean, yes, it’s a very important game. But I don’t think the preparation has to change in any way.”

“In my eyes, this is a make-or-break game,” said senior running back Dejoun Lee. “If you want something, go get it. And we want to take on ‘Nova and we want to show that it’s not all talk.

“We want to come in and show that the same formula (so far this season) is going to work against these guys. They’ve had our number but this is the year.”
“No one here has beaten them,” linebacker Colby Reeder said about he and his teammates. “I think we should have a chip on our shoulders the size of a boulder or a mountain for this game.”

Coach Danny Rocco, for one, thinks Delaware should be in the NCAA playoffs even if it loses on Saturday.

As for Villanova, he tried to downplay the Wildcats’ recent dominance of the series. This will be just his fourth meeting with Villanova as UD’s head coach.

“I think we’re really going to invest in our process this week,” said Rocco. “Just really focus on what we do and try to do it to their best of our ability to give us the best chance to be successful up at Villanova.

“I don’t want people running around, yelling and cussing and using vulgar language about our opponent. It doesn’t help you win a football game. The only thing that helps you win a football game is preparing. To feel like there’s some hatred, to me, is illogical.”

Plack a big hit

Plack is from Bridgeville, Pa., but he can still appreciate Delaware’s in-state rivalry with Delaware State.

He knows Saturday’s game with the Hornets meant a lot to the people both connected with each school as well as the state overall. And the fact that it was being televised nationally on ESPN-2 didn’t hurt, either.

“I just wanted to go out and play my game,” said the 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore, “and have our team play our game like I know we can.”

Plack’s game turned out to be pretty good as he finished with a game-high eight tackles — including five in the first quarter alone. The effort earned him the CAA Defensive Player of the Week award.

Now second on the team with 17 tackles, Plack’s combination of size and versatility is what sets him apart said Rocco.

“What he really did well the other night was run, hit and tackle,” said Rocco. “He’s kind of a quiet leader, he leads by example. But he was on a little bit of a mission, I thought, Saturday night.

“I always go back and watch the film a couple times. I just actually watched it again. He was attacking the football.”
Lee on the run

Even in just four games, Lee is having one of his most productive college seasons.

He currently has 450 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 58 carries. That works out to an average of 7.8 yards per attempt.

Lee had a total of just four rushing TDs in two seasons before this spring and his career-high 606 yards in 2017 came in 12 games.

Lee, who was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week after running for 109 yards and two touchdowns against DelState, said he felt like it was time for him to step up.

“I’m a lot more confident on the field,” he said. “I think I’ve just been more embracive of who I am on this team and what I need to do. I know if I want to see this team succeed and see my brothers happy, I know what I’ve got to bring to the table.

“Every single day in the off-season was a game day to me. Training, I wouldn’t take it lightly because I’d think about what I want to do on that field and, if I want to do, what I have to do to get there. I think, the year before, I didn’t have that mentality.”

Extra points

Delaware swept all three CAA weekly awards. The Hens were the only league team playing last weekend after all. Kicker Ryan Coe was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after booting a pair of field goals and all four PAT kicks against DSU. He also put two kickoffs in the end zone. ... Since March 13, Villanova has played just one game — a 44-17 win at Maine on April 3 — after having two other contests canceled. ... If the Hens don’t make the playoffs, they have only about a four and a half month wait until they open the fall season at Maine on Sept. 4.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.

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