University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
4-3 , 2-2
Middle Tennessee
1-6 , 0-3
Football Uses Passing Attack to Down Middle Tennessee, 31-28
10/22/2025 11:17:00 PM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware football team defeated the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 31-28, on Wednesday night at Delaware Stadium on ESPN2. The Fightin' Blue Hens improve to 4-3, 2-2 CUSA, while the Blue Raiders fall to 1-6, 0-3 CUSA.
HEN HIGHLIGHTS
- The Hens went 9-of-17 on third downs, to enhance their CUSA leading 47.6% conversion rate.
- UD finished a perfect 3-of-3 in the red zone.
- QB Nick Minicucci tied his career-high with four passing touchdowns to go with 276 yards and completed 64-percent of his passes.
- WR Sean Wilson reeled in his first two touchdowns of the season to go with five catches and 52 yards. This marked his second multi-touchdown game of his career.
- WR Kyre Duplessis recorded his first-career multi-touchdown game with seven receptions for 65 yards and two scores.
- WR Donovan Lewis tied his career-high with four catches for 62 yards.
- LB Gavin Moul had 10 tackles, marking the fourth game he had double-digit tackles this season and sixth time in his career.
- S Mysonne Pollard notched a career-high nine tackles.
- S KT Seay had nine tackles with his seventh-career interception.
- LB Blake Matthews had eight tackles and his first-two career pass breakups.
- DT James Yelbert Jr. had three quarterback hurries.
- CB Nate Evans tied his career mark of two pass break ups.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Hens opened the scoring on a 22-yard strike up the seam from Minicucci to Wilson to go up 7-0 with 8:28 to go in the first frame.
- Middle Tennessee answered back with a five-yard touchdown pass with 2:59 left in the first to even the game at 7-7.
- After a Delaware fumble allowed a short field, the Blue Raiders ran it in from four yards out to make it 14-7 with under two to play in the first quarter.
- The Minicucci-Wilson connection found the endzone for the second time in the game from 10-yards out, knotting the game at 14 with 11:39 left in the first half.
- K Nate Reed knocked in a career-long 49-yard field goal to put the Hens up 17-14 with 6:25 to go in the first half.
- The Blue & Gold scored its third touchdown of the first half as Minicucci found Duplessis on a four-yard sprint to the pylon, increasing the lead to 24-14.
- Seay intercepted a pass that was tipped by S Kahlil Ali to give Delaware the ball back with 8:22 left in the third quarter.
- Middle Tennessee scored the first points of the second half on an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut the Blue Hens lead to 24-21 with 5:11 to go in the third stanza.
- Duplessis caught his second touchdown of the game, on a nine-yard grab in the corner of the endzone with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter to put the Hens up 31-21.
- DT Keyshawn Hunter recovered a fumble by Middle Tennessee to give the Blue & Gold the ball back with 3:05 left in the game.
- Middle Tennessee scored a six-yard touchdown with 1:03 remaining to cut the Blue Hens' lead to 31-28. Delaware subsequently recovered an onside kick to seal the victory.
GAME NOTES
- The Blue & Gold jump to 7-0 under Ryan Carty when wearing black uniforms.
- Delaware improves to 25-2 when leading at halftime under Carty.
- UD moves to 23-0 when scoring 30 or more points under Carty.
- The Hens improve to 28-1 under Carty when leading after three quarters.
- DT Trace Scott III made his first-career start.
- Minicucci's nine-consecutive completions to start the game marked the fourth-most in program history.
UP NEXT
The Blue Hens will travel to Liberty on Saturday, November 1 at 3 p.m. The game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
TICKET INFORMATION
Don't miss your chance to be part of the action at Delaware Stadium this fall. Get your single-game tickets for the 2025 Delaware home football season today!
Season tickets offer the best seats at the best price for every home game and come with great benefits, such as ticket priority for away games and invites to exclusive member-only events. Partial Plans offer fans flexible options and price savings over individual games.
For more information or to secure your seats, visit BlueHens.com/fbtickets.
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Team Stats
MTS 0, DEL 7
DEL - Wilson,Sean 22 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Reed,Nate kick) 10 plays, 89 yards, TOP 05:08
MTS 7, DEL 7
MTS - Cox,Nahzae 5 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas (Hathaway,Jacob kick) 12 plays, 76 yards, TOP 05:24
MTS 14, DEL 7
MTS - Middlebrook,Jekail 4 yd run (Hathaway,Jacob kick), 2 plays, 17 yards, TOP 00:51
MTS 14, DEL 14
DEL - Wilson,Sean 10 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Reed,Nate kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:19
MTS 14, DEL 17
DEL - Reed,Nate 49 yd field goal 11 plays, 48 yards, TOP 03:26
MTS 14, DEL 24
DEL - Duplessis,Kyre 4 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Reed,Nate kick) 10 plays, 78 yards, TOP 01:35
MTS 21, DEL 24
MTS - Tipton,Hunter 11 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas (Hathaway,Jacob kick) 5 plays, 39 yards, TOP 01:41
MTS 21, DEL 31
DEL - Duplessis,Kyre 9 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Reed,Nate kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:32
MTS 28, DEL 31
MTS - Jones,AJ 6 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas (Hathaway,Jacob kick) 11 plays, 89 yards, TOP 01:35
