2020 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team
American college football season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as a member of the North Division of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Danny Rocco, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled an overall record of 7–1 with a mark of 4–0 in conference play, winning the CAA and CAA North Division titles. Delaware advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, the Fightin' Blue Hens beat Sacred Heart in the first round and Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual national runner-up, South Dakota State, in the semifinals. The team played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
| 2020 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football | |
|---|---|
| |
CAA champion CAA North Division champion | |
NCAA Division I Semifinal, L 3–33 vs. South Dakota State | |
| Conference | Colonial Athletic Association |
| North Division | |
| Ranking | |
| STATS | No. 5 |
| FCS Coaches | No. 5 |
| Record | 7–1 (4–0 CAA) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Jared Ambrose (2nd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Manny Rojas (1st season) |
| Base defense | 3–3–5 |
| Home stadium | Delaware Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Delaware x$^ | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Rhode Island † | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Villanova | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maine | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stony Brook | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albany † | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Hampshire † | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 James Madison x^ | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Richmond | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William & Mary | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elon | 0 | – | 4 | 1 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On July 17, 2020, the CAA announced that it would not play fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the conference allowed the option for teams to play as independents for the 2020 season if they still wish to play in the fall,[1] the Blue Hens postponed their season until spring 2021.
Schedule
Delaware originally had a game scheduled against Delaware State (November 21), but it was canceled on July 16 due to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)'s decision to cancel fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The CAA released its spring conference schedule on October 27, 2020.[3]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 6, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | Maine | No. 25 | FloFootball | W 37–0 | |||||
| March 13, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | Stony Brook | No. 19 |
| FloFootball | W 31–3 | 1,800 | [4] | ||
| March 20, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 20 New Hampshire | No. 12 | FloFootball | Canceled | [5] | ||||
| March 27, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 18 Rhode Island | No. 11 | FloFootball | W 35–21 | |||||
| April 3, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | Albany | No. 8 |
| FloFootball | Canceled | [6] | |||
| April 10, 2021 | 6:00 p.m. | at Delaware State* | No. 8 | ESPN2 | W 34–14 | |||||
| April 17, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 10 Villanova | No. 7 | FloFootball | W 27–20 | |||||
| April 24, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Sacred Heart* | No. 5 |
| ESPN3 | W 19–10 | ||||
| May 2, 2021 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Jacksonville State* | No. 5 |
| ESPN3 | W 20–14 | ||||
| May 8, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 2 South Dakota State* | No. 5 |
| ESPN | L 3–33 | ||||
| ||||||||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Position | Year | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Rocco | Head coach | 4th | Wake Forest (1984) |
| Jared Ambrose | Offensive coordinator | 4th | Shepherd (2007) |
| Bryan Stinespring | Assistant head coach/offensive line | 1st | James Madison (1985) |
| Levern Belin | Defensive line coach | 4th | Wake Forest (1991) |
| Holman Copeland | Cornerbacks coach | 2nd | Clarion (2006) |
| Jalen Kindle | Defensive assistant coach | 3rd | Delaware (2017) |
| Dave Legg | Outside Linebackers/special teams coordinator | 2nd | |
| Greg Meyer | Running backs coach | 3rd | Buffalo State (2009) |
| Bill Polin | Tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator | 4th | Colby (2000) |
| Alex Wood | Wide receivers coach | 3rd | Iowa (1978) |
| Tony Palmieri | Video coordinator | 4th | North Florida (2009) |
| Carl Kotz | Director of football operations | 4th | Clemson (2003) |
| Chris Stewart | Strength and conditioning | 4th | Western Carolina (1998) |