No. 7/6 Football Clashes with No. 10/15 Villanova for Battle of the Blue, CAA Championship

Saturday, November 18

Newark, Del.

1 PM

University of Delaware

Villanova

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Photo by: Mark Campbell

No. 7/6 Football Clashes with No. 10/15 Villanova for Battle of the Blue, CAA Championship

11/16/2023 3:35:00 PM | Football

NEWARK, Del. – The No. 7/6 University of Delaware football team is set for the 57th edition of the Battle of the Blue as the Blue Hens host No. 10/15 Villanova on Saturday at Delaware Stadium. The game will also help decide the CAA Championship as both teams are tied atop the conference standings with UAlbany and Richmond. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the contest will be aired on both FloSports and NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus.

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ABOUT THE HENS

Delaware enters the season finale with an 8-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in CAA play after last weekend's convincing 45-7 win at Campbell.
The Blue Hens up a couple of spots in the national rankings and now sit at No. 7 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
In the win at Campbell, Ryan O'Connor finished 19-of-31 passing for 246 yards and tied a career-high with four touchdown passes.
He connected twice on scoring plays to Joshua Youngblood and also threw touchdown passes to Jourdan Townsend and Braden Brose.
Khalil Dawsey became the first Blue Hen since 2018 to have two interceptions in a game. He returned his first-quarter interception 100 yards for a touchdown to match the longest in program history.
Townsend's 51-yard touchdown catch at Campbell was the 14th scoring grab of his career, tying him for 10th all-time in program history with Michael Johnson (2011-14) and Ron Withelder (1967-69
With Delaware's 45-point showing at Campbell, the Blue Hens have moved into the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, ranking ninth with 34.9 points per game.

ABOUT THE WILDCATS

Villanova enters Saturday's game ranked No. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and No. 15 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The Wildcats have an identical record as the Blue Hens, coming in at 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the CAA.
The offense is averaging 32.3 ppg and 439.0 ypg of total offense, while the defense is allowing 18.7 ppg and a CAA-low 291.6 total yards to opponents.
Connor Watkins has passed for 2,110 yards and 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions on the season. He has also rushed for 258 yards and eight scores on the ground.
Jalen Jackson leads the rushing attack with 87.9 yards per game and has scored six touchdowns, while DeeWil Barlee and TD Ayo-DuroJaiye have combined for 11 touchdowns.
Rayjuon Pringle is second in the CAA with 89.1 receiving yards per game and has caught eight touchdown passes.
Brendan Bell leads the Villanova defense with 61 tackles and is tied for the team lead with 8.5 TFLs with Jake Reichwein who also has 4.0 sacks on the season.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday will be the 57th all-time meeting between the two programs and will mark the 25th-straight season that the two local rivals will meet on the gridiron.
The Wildcats own a 33-22-1 series advantage and have won 11 of the past 12 matchups, but each of the last three meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
Delaware's most recent win over Villanova came during the 2020-21 spring season, a 27-20 victory that clinched the CAA Championship for the Blue Hens.
In last season's meeting at Villanova, a 29-26 loss, Nolan Henderson set career highs in both completions and pass attempts, going 37-of-59 through the air for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Thyrick Pitts caught seven passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while Jourdan Townsend also has seven catches for 71 yards and a score.