When the smoke cleared, it was the No. 9 ranked Fightin' Blue Hens, behind the passing of Joe Flacco and the running of Omar Cuff, who survived as Delaware scored on seven straight possessions at one point and piled up 581 total yards on the way to a 59-52 upset victory over the Midshipmen. The game saw the teams combine for 111 points and 1,087 total yards.
The Hens (7-1), who won their second straight game and defeated the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Midshipmen for the second time in the last three meetings, took the lead for good with 17 unanswered points in the second half and put the game away when Cuff scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 37-yard jaunt up the middle with 2:02 left to play.
Navy (4-4), which has advanced to a bowl game each of the last four seasons, lost its second straight game despite 342 yards rushing on the day.
Cuff ran 28 times for 141 yards and scored four touchdowns for the Hens while Flacco hit on 30 of 41 passes for a career-high 434 yards and four touchdowns. Kervin Michaud caught a career-high eight passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns while tight end Robbie Agnone grabbed seven passes for 133 yards. Cuff also posted his 16th career 100-yard rushing game.
"What a great effort by our guys today," said Delaware Head Coach K.C. Keeler, whose team downed Navy 21-17 in 2003 as part of the Blue Hens' national championship season. "It was a great win and our guys did an amazing job. Our offense is so special with two of the best players in the country in Joe Flacco and Omar Cuff and our defense kept playing and never panicked."
It was a day of milestones for the Hens, and not only in the victory column. Cuff, a Walter Payton Award candidate as the top player in the country at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season at 1,004 and his four touchdowns gave him 28 for the season, breaking the UD single season mark of 24 by Gardy Kahoe in 1971. Cuff also tied Kahoe's single season record for rushing touchdowns in a season of 24 while also snaring his 100th career reception.
Flacco went over the 2,000-yard passing mark for the season while also surpassing 5,000 yards for his two-year career as a Blue Hen. His 434 yards passing was a career-high, besting his 419 yards against New Hampshire back on Oct. 6, and his four touchdown passes equaled his career-high set against Towson last season.
Defensively for the Hens, junior linebacker Erik Johnson recorded a career-high 20 tackles, the most by a UD player since Ralph D'Angelo posted 22 against Navy in 1995, and Anthony Bratton had 12 tackles, recorded a fumble, and forced another Midshipmen turnover.
“There is no margin for us,” said Navy Head Coach Paul Johnson. “We can't turn the ball over twice and win. We can't miss a turn with the ball. Defensively, we tried about everything we know of. We have to get better at what we have. We were beat physically, but there were other mistakes, too. “
“If they don't turn the ball over, you're not going to beat those guys,” echoed Keeler. “They have a great offense and that's why they have been to a bowl game the last four years.”
Delaware will return to Colonial Athletic Association action this Saturday when they host James Madison at Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium while Navy travels to Notre Dame.
For more information on UD athletics, see [www.udel.edu/sportsinfo].
Photo by Mark Campbell
