University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
3-4 , 1-2
Missouri State
2-5 , 1-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri St. | 14 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
| Delaware | 7 | 17 | 21 | 16 | 61 |
10/20/2026 10:31:00 PM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – QB Nick Minicucci tied the program single-game record for passing touchdowns with five as the University of Delaware football team dominated Missouri State, 61-38, on Tuesday night at Delaware Stadium. The Fightin' Blue Hens rise to 3-4, 1-2 CUSA, while the Bears drop to 2-5, 1-2 CUSA.
HEN HIGHLIGHTS
- The 61 points by the Blue & Gold tied the most points scored under Ryan Carty (UTEP, 2025).
- Delaware's defense forced a season-best three turnovers.
- On the ground, the Hens rushed for a season-best 232 yards.
- Minicucci matched the UD single-game record with five passing touchdowns, going 20-for-29 through the air for 225 yards in his first game back after the previous two games due to injury. He added a rushing score to tie his career-best six total touchdowns in a game.
- RB Jo Silver tallied his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, running for 101 yards and a touchdown, while also scoring a touchdown in the receiving game.
- With his first quarter rushing touchdown, RB Kaderris Roberts scored his fifth touchdown of the season, a career best in a single season.
- WR Bryson Graves had the seventh-most kick return yards in a single game in program history, tallying 160 yards. The 160 kick return yards are third most nationally in a game this season, and the most by a Hen since 2012, when Michael Johnson had 223 against Villanova. Graves also caught a touchdown for the first time as a Blue Hen.
- TE Scott Moore found paydirt for the first time this season, hauling in two receptions for a career-high 58 yards.
- LB Jawarren Corbin tallied his first-career interception, first-career forced fumble, first-career sack, and a career-best six tackles.
- S George Mullins picked up his third interception of the season to lead CUSA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Roberts scampered to the endzone from 31-yards out to put Delaware on the board with a 7-0 lead. Missouri State answered with a touchdown run of its own to even the game at 7-7. The Bears used a pick six to take their first lead of the game, going up 14-7 with 53 ticks remaining in the opening frame.
- With 12:39 left in the second quarter, Mincucci connected with Graves in the end zone to make it 14-14. Minicucci found Moore for a 26-yard score to take a 21-14 halfway through the second quarter. As the back-and-forth match continued, MSU knotted things at 21 with a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown drive. K Tucker Smack hit a 33-yard field goal to put the Hens back in front, 24-21. As time ticked down in the waning seconds of the first half, Mo State converted on a short TD pass to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room.
- The Hens started the second half with a fourth-and-three conversion as Minicucci found Silver on a rollout for a 12-yard score to push the Blue & Gold ahead, 31-28. MSU struck back with a rushing touchdown to retake the lead, 35-31. Sessoms was on the receiving end of Minicucci's fourth touchdown pass of the game, putting UD ahead, 38-35. With MSU driving, Corbin forced a fumble that DE Brandon Gorham returned 59 yards, setting the offense up at the four-yard line. Minicucci took it into the end zone himself on a QB run to put the Blue & Gold up 10. Silver scored his second touchdown of the game to extend the Fightin' Blue Hens lead, 52-35.
- The Hens' advantage jumped to 23 as Minicucci found WR Donovan Lewis for six. Mullis tacked on the extra point to make it 58-35. The two teams traded field goals to make it 61-38 late in the fourth.
GAME NOTES
- Delaware is 26-1 under Carty when winning the turnover battle.
- UD moved to 9-0 under Carty when wearing black uniforms.
- The Blue & Gold scored on nine-straight drives and 10-of-11 overall, not including the two drives that ended in kneel downs to conclude the second and fourth quarters. UD scored 30-unanswered points in the second half before MSU's field goal.
- Out of 31 home games in the Carty era, UD has scored 30+ points 18 times and 40+ points 12 times.
- Delaware did not punt in the game, the first time since a 42-35 win over Monmouth on October 5, 2024.
- Minicucci's 225 passing yards in the game moves him to 6,045 for his career, passing former NFL MVP Rich Gannon for sixth on the Delaware all-time career passing yards list.
- Minicucci's five passing touchdowns in the game moves him to 48 for his career, passing Bill Vergantino for third on the Delaware all-time career passing touchdowns list.
- Minicucci surpassed the 200-passing yard mark for the 16th time in his career, matching Pat Devlin for fourth most by a Blue Hen.
- This was the highest-scoring CUSA game since FAU defeated North Texas, 69-31 on October 21, 2017.
UP NEXT
The Fightin' Blue Hens will take to the road for their Weekday CUSA finale at WKU on Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m. The game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
TICKET INFORMATION
Get your 2026 Delaware football tickets now by visiting bluehens.com/fbtickets.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
MSU 0, DEL 7
DEL - Roberts,Kaderris 31 yd run (Smack,Tucker kick), 8 plays, 68 yards, TOP 02:50
MSU 7, DEL 7
MSU - Lair,Connor 15 yd run (Obeid,Yousef kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:46
MSU 14, DEL 7
MSU - O'Neal,J.J. 47 yd interception (Obeid,Yousef kick)
MSU 14, DEL 14
DEL - Graves,Bryson 6 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Smack,Tucker kick) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 03:14
MSU 14, DEL 21
DEL - Moore,Scott 26 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Smack,Tucker kick) 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 02:23
MSU 21, DEL 21
MSU - Myers,Isaiah 11 yd pass from Belin IV,Henry (Obeid,Yousef kick) 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 03:19
MSU 21, DEL 24
DEL - Smack,Tucker 33 yd field goal 6 plays, 55 yards, TOP 02:28
MSU 28, DEL 24
MSU - Myers,Isaiah 6 yd pass from Belin IV,Henry (Obeid,Yousef kick) 8 plays, 78 yards, TOP 01:55
MSU 28, DEL 31
DEL - Silver,Jo 12 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Smack,Tucker kick) 4 plays, 34 yards, TOP 01:48
MSU 35, DEL 31
MSU - Lair,Connor 1 yd run (Obeid,Yousef kick), 5 plays, 82 yards, TOP 02:13
MSU 35, DEL 38
DEL - Sessoms,Elijah 3 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick (Smack,Tucker kick) 5 plays, 33 yards, TOP 02:33
MSU 35, DEL 45
DEL - Minicucci,Nick 1 yd run (Smack,Tucker kick), 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 01:55
MSU 35, DEL 52
DEL - Silver,Jo 3 yd run (Mullis,Kason kick), 10 plays, 66 yards, TOP 05:37
MSU 35, DEL 58
DEL - Lewis,Donovan 3 yd pass from Minicucci,Nick () 4 plays, 23 yards, TOP 01:26
MSU 35, DEL 61
DEL - Smack,Tucker 25 yd field goal 6 plays, 34 yards, TOP 02:16
MSU 38, DEL 61
MSU - Obeid,Yousef 27 yd field goal 7 plays, 64 yards, TOP 03:17
