University of Delaware Athletics
Eight Observations From Delaware's Scrap With Pitt
9/28/2019 7:13:00 PM | Football
A surefire way to have a winning football season is to consistently win the turnover battle. While Delaware football eventually fell to Pitt 17-14 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Saturday afternoon, it finished with a +2 turnover margin for the second week in a row, showing signs of a defense that can make a significant difference in every game it plays.
As Pitt drove towards Delaware territory with a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, redshirt junior Tim Poindexter read the eyes of Panthers quarterback Nick Patti and dropped back to snag his first interception of the season. The pick gave the Blue Hens the ball on the Pitt 41-yard line, where they would drive to tie the game at 7-7.
On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, sophomore linebacker Drew Nickles missed a tackle on a screen pass but immediately made up for it by pursuing the play relentlessly and ripping the ball out of Panthers receiver Maurice Ffrench's hands.
90 seconds later, the Blue Hens took a 14-10 lead over Pitt on the road. Mind you, this is a Pitt team that plays in the ACC, is allotted 22 more scholarships than FCS schools, has produced NFL legends like Dan Marino and Larry Fitzgerald, and last week delivered a 35-34 win over No. 15 UCF. That 14-10 lead would hold until the fourth quarter, when Pitt eventually broke through to regain the lead with 10:33 left in the game.
The Blue Hens defense had a stellar performance outside of just forcing turnovers. Pitt went 3-and-out on four occasions, had to punt five times, and turned the ball over on downs on its first offensive drive of the game. Only twice did the Panthers have drives enter the red zone.
Most importantly, Delaware's defense has improved each week. This was the first time this season the Blue Hens have held an opponent scoreless through the first quarter, and the fewest points they've allowed since the first game of the season against Delaware State.
In the postgame press conference, head coach Danny Rocco spoke to the development his defensive unit has shown this year:
"There's some things that we could've done better, but I look at more from the context of how hard we played, how physical we were, and as the game wore on we missed some tackles, but we were tackling. We forced them to go out there and punt the football. We had some stops on third down. We took the ball away. That might have been our best defensive effort on the season in terms of showing what we're capable of doing. I'm on record here so here I go again; this team has a chance to get better every week. This is an extremely young football team and we have a chance to get better every week. If we can keep getting better, we will remain very relevant in the CAA."
Stray Observations
As Pitt drove towards Delaware territory with a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, redshirt junior Tim Poindexter read the eyes of Panthers quarterback Nick Patti and dropped back to snag his first interception of the season. The pick gave the Blue Hens the ball on the Pitt 41-yard line, where they would drive to tie the game at 7-7.
On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, sophomore linebacker Drew Nickles missed a tackle on a screen pass but immediately made up for it by pursuing the play relentlessly and ripping the ball out of Panthers receiver Maurice Ffrench's hands.
90 seconds later, the Blue Hens took a 14-10 lead over Pitt on the road. Mind you, this is a Pitt team that plays in the ACC, is allotted 22 more scholarships than FCS schools, has produced NFL legends like Dan Marino and Larry Fitzgerald, and last week delivered a 35-34 win over No. 15 UCF. That 14-10 lead would hold until the fourth quarter, when Pitt eventually broke through to regain the lead with 10:33 left in the game.
The Blue Hens defense had a stellar performance outside of just forcing turnovers. Pitt went 3-and-out on four occasions, had to punt five times, and turned the ball over on downs on its first offensive drive of the game. Only twice did the Panthers have drives enter the red zone.
Most importantly, Delaware's defense has improved each week. This was the first time this season the Blue Hens have held an opponent scoreless through the first quarter, and the fewest points they've allowed since the first game of the season against Delaware State.
In the postgame press conference, head coach Danny Rocco spoke to the development his defensive unit has shown this year:
"There's some things that we could've done better, but I look at more from the context of how hard we played, how physical we were, and as the game wore on we missed some tackles, but we were tackling. We forced them to go out there and punt the football. We had some stops on third down. We took the ball away. That might have been our best defensive effort on the season in terms of showing what we're capable of doing. I'm on record here so here I go again; this team has a chance to get better every week. This is an extremely young football team and we have a chance to get better every week. If we can keep getting better, we will remain very relevant in the CAA."
Stray Observations
- The Blue Hens remained a disciplined football team while playing an ACC road game, committing just three penalties for 26 yards. Pitt committed 13 penalties for 115 yards. Through five games in 2019, Delaware has never committed more than four penalties in one game.
- True freshman receiver/returner Jourdan Townsend, playing under 80 miles southeast of his hometown of Farrell, Pa., put in a solid performance. In addition to catching his first career touchdown that gave Delaware a 14-10 lead, he had 36 yards of returns between kickoffs and punts.
- Junior wide receiver Gene Coleman II had a career day, catching five passes for 61 yards, including an athletic grab on a back-shoulder fade for a touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter.
- As redshirt sophomore Nolan Henderson has grown more comfortable in his role as the starting quarterback, the Blue Hens have grown more adept at turning Henderson's scrambles into productive plays. Earlier on the Coleman touchdown drive, Henderson rolled out to his right, threw across his body and found Coleman, who had drifted behind the Pitt defenders, for a 16-yard gain.
- Henderson used his legs effectively again on Saturday. The first quarter was very much a field position battle, and on the first drive of the game, Henderson evaded a corner blitz and rolled out to find Thyrick Pitts for a 21-yard gain that moved the Blue Hens into Pitt territory. He also used his athleticism to gain multiple first downs on the ground.
- On the first defensive drive of the game, redshirt junior Nijuel Hill and redshirt freshman Noah Plack each had pass breakups on back-to-back plays that denied what otherwise would have been touchdowns and force a turnover on downs.
- After playing a tough, physical game, the Blue Hens have a bye week before closing out the season with seven Colonial Athletic Association games. Delaware sits at 1-0 in the CAA after a dramatic 3OT win at Rhode Island on Sept. 7.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballDelaware Football Weekly Press Conference - Week 11
Tuesday, November 04
Delaware Football Weekly Press Conference - Week 10
Monday, October 27
Delaware Football Postgame Press Conference - Middle Tennessee 10/22/25
Thursday, October 23
Delaware Football Weekly Press Conference - Week 9
Thursday, October 16
