2020 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

2020 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
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	Danny Rocco (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Jared Ambrose (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Manny Rojas (1st season)
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
v t e
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

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Notes: Due to COVID-19, the CAA suspended the fall 2020 football season. Towson opted out of the spring football season. † – Albany, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 31, April 6, and April 7 respectively. Rankings from STATS Poll

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.

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	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	FloFootball	W 37–0
March 13, 2021	12:00 p.m.	Stony Brook	No. 19	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	FloFootball	W 31–3	1,800	^[4]
March 20, 2021	12:00 p.m.	at No. 20 New Hampshire	No. 12	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	FloFootball	Canceled		^[5]
March 27, 2021	12:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Rhode Island	No. 11	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	FloFootball	W 35–21
April 3, 2021	12:00 p.m.	Albany	No. 8	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	FloFootball	Canceled		^[6]
April 10, 2021	6:00 p.m.	at Delaware State*	No. 8	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE (Route 1 Rivalry)	ESPN2	W 34–14
April 17, 2021	1:00 p.m.	at No. 10 Villanova	No. 7	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (Battle of the Blue)	FloFootball	W 27–20
April 24, 2021	7:00 p.m.	Sacred Heart*	No. 5	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	W 19–10
May 2, 2021	3:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Jacksonville State*	No. 5	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 20–14
May 8, 2021	12:00 p.m.	at No. 2 South Dakota State*	No. 5	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPN	L 3–33
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[7]^[8]^[9]

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)

References

^ Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
^ "MEAC suspends all fall sports for indefinite period". ESPN.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
^ Kelley, Kevin (October 27, 2020). "CAA releases Spring 2021 football schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
^ "2021 Delaware Spring Football" (PDF). University of Delaware. March 13, 2021. p. 6.
^ Tresolini, Kevin (March 17, 2021). "No football game Saturday for University of Delaware due to COVID-19". The News Journal. The University of Delaware's football game at New Hampshire on Saturday has been called off because of COVID-19 protocols at UNH
^ "UAlbany Football Opts Out Of The Remainder Of The Season". Colonial Athletic Association. March 31, 2021.
^ "Delaware Blue Hens Schedule 2020". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^ "2020 Football Schedule". Delaware Blue Hens. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^ "2020 Delaware Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.

[1] Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.

[2] "MEAC suspends all fall sports for indefinite period". ESPN.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.

[3] Kelley, Kevin (October 27, 2020). "CAA releases Spring 2021 football schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.

[4] "2021 Delaware Spring Football" (PDF). University of Delaware. March 13, 2021. p. 6.

[5] Tresolini, Kevin (March 17, 2021). "No football game Saturday for University of Delaware due to COVID-19". The News Journal. The University of Delaware's football game at New Hampshire on Saturday has been called off because of COVID-19 protocols at UNH

[6] "UAlbany Football Opts Out Of The Remainder Of The Season". Colonial Athletic Association. March 31, 2021.

[7] "Delaware Blue Hens Schedule 2020". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2022.

[8] "2020 Football Schedule". Delaware Blue Hens. Retrieved November 9, 2022.

[9] "2020 Delaware Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.

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v t e Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
Venues	Frazer Field (1913–1946) Wilmington Park (1940–1952) Delaware Stadium (1952–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games 1974 Grantland Rice Bowl Delaware State: Route 1 Rivalry James Madison Lehigh Villanova: Battle of the Blue West Chester William & Mary
Culture & lore	YoUDee "The Delaware Fight Song" Marching Band Winged football helmet
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold