NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware football team will head to Bowling Green, Ky. to face the WKU Hilltoppers on Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m. for a Weekday CUSA matchup on CBS Sports Network. This will be the fourth matchup all-time between the two programs as the Fightin' Blue Hens hold a 2-1 record against the Hilltoppers. It will be the first battle in Bowling Green since September 12, 1981, when UD defeated WKU, 38-14.

ABOUT THE FIGHTIN' BLUE HENS
The Fightin' Blue Hens enter the contest 3-4, 1-2 CUSA, coming off a 61-38 home win over Missouri State.

QB Nick Minicucci leads the team with 1,063 passing yards and 10 passing TDs. The senior signal caller missed the previous two games due to injury. Minicucci was firing on all cylinders in UD's 61-38 win over Missouri State as he returned after missing two games due to injury. Minicucci matched the UD single-game record with five passing touchdowns, going 20-for-29 through the air for 225 yards. He added a rushing score to tie his career-best six total touchdowns in a game. 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. 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.

RB Jo Silver tops the team with 331 rushing yards on the campaign with two rushing touchdowns. The Hens rushed for a season-best 232 yards against Missouri State, more than double the previous season high (112) and the most since last year's 44-41 win over UConn on September 13 when the Hens rushed for 247 yards.

WR Sean Wilson paces the team with 31 catches for 408 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson and WR Da'Wain Lofton one of two duos in CUSA to each have 300+ receiving yards this season (Kennesaw State).

LB Gavin Moul leads the Hens with 47 tackles.

BAN Blake Matthews has put constant pressure on the quarterback this season, tallying a team-best 4.5 sacks. His 4.5 sacks are third in Conference USA, while his 0.64 sacks per game rank tied for 50th in the nation and third in the league. Matthews' TFL numbers are equally impressive, totalling 8.0 tackles for loss on the season, landing him in a tie for 23rd most in the FBS and tied for most in CUSA, while his 1.14 TFLs per game are tied for 32nd most nationally and tied for the Conference USA lead.

The Hens are 25th in the nation with 2.57 sacks/game. UD's 18 sacks this season are tied for 25th most in the FBS and one more than any other Conference USA team through seven games. It's the most by a CUSA program through seven games of a season since Jax State in 2023 (25).

The Blue & Gold boast the No. 1 passing offense in Conference USA with 268.0 passing yards per contest, all while using five different quarterbacks and having two other players throw a pass.

Delaware is averaging 28.3 points per game (2nd in CUSA), while allowing 28.4 points per game (8th).

UD has recorded 381.7 yards of total offense per game (3rd in CUSA), while allowing 396.4 yards per game (8th).

ABOUT THE HILLTOPPERS
The Hilltoppers are 3-4, 2-1 CUSA, coming off a 16-3 road win over Sam Houston.

WKU is led by eighth-year head coach Tyson Helton, who owns a 60-40 record with the Tops.

QB Rodney Tisdale Jr. runs the offense for the Hilltoppers. He's completed 80-of-119 passes for 857 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

On the ground, WKU is led by former Tulsa, Miami, and Nebraska RB Ajay Allen with 346 yards and four touchdowns.

Freshman WR Jonathan Stafford Jr. is the team's leading receiver with 369 receiving yards to go with one TD.

On defense, Temple and Arkansas transfer DB Jaylen Lewis leads the way with 56 tackles.

WKU is averaging 21.3 points per game (7th in CUSA), while allowing 30.6 points per game (9th).

The Hilltoppers have recorded 353.6 yards of total offense per game (8th in CUSA), while allowing 375.0 yards per game (6th).

Delaware Game Notes
Delaware Press Conference
WKU Game Notes
WKU Press Conference

Bump.

I turned the game on at 7:30 pm. Still first quarter and already missed three touchdowns. WKU up 14-7 but WKU’s first incomplete pass is actually a Delaware interception.

Delaware takes the turnover and marches for a TD. 14-14.

Quick strike WKU, retakes the lead 21-14. Prime time barn burner goin on tonight.

Both QB’s are a combined 23 of 25 pass completions.
Minicucci hasn’t missed a pass yet. 14/14.

Defense optional in this game so far...

Six total TD’s midway thru second quarter. 21-21.

Lol! No thread for Sam v M State. Bad additions getting recognized as such. Or not getting recognized more correctly.

First punt in the game with 2:31 remaining in second quarter.

(10-27-2026 07:11 PM)DodgeHouse Wrote:  Lol! No thread for Sam v M State. Bad additions getting recognized as such. Or not getting recognized more correctly.

Hey Mr Negative Five (how is that possible) The number of posts on a meaning message board has no bearing on whether a program is a great addition to a conference.

Sam, not Tarlton, was just showcased on the ESPN mothership in prime time. We’re glad they and Mo State are here.

Check out the sunset pictures over WKU’s stadium.

https://x.com/gfedgocrazy/status/2115219...nk2d6UzFqg

https://x.com/cfbcampustour/status/21152...nk2d6UzFqg

https://x.com/cfbcampustour/status/21152...nk2d6UzFqg

7 first half TD’s. 28-21 Delaware.

~Cucci is getting it done again!!!

35-21 Delaware!

(10-27-2026 08:15 PM)sigke Wrote:  ~Cucci is getting it done again!!!

35-21 Delaware!

where did the wku offense go in the 2nd half?

Got back from the game and Would have posted earlier but csnbbs site was "down" in my area.

Good game by UD. Minicucci was the difference.

UD still has a shot to win CUSA this Year!

Could say a lot more about the game but this has been the roughest season in quite a while.

I'll go into WHY WKU is down this year later this week.

(10-28-2026 12:43 AM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Got back from the game and Would have posted earlier but csnbbs site was "down" in my area.

Good game by UD. Minicucci was the difference.

UD still has a shot to win CUSA this Year!

Could say a lot more about the game but this has been the roughest season in quite a while.

I'll go into WHY WKU is down this year later this week.

Portal and the high number of new players

Delaware retaining Minicucchi is why they won

(10-28-2026 06:20 AM)caribbeanhen Wrote:  

(10-28-2026 12:43 AM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Got back from the game and Would have posted earlier but csnbbs site was "down" in my area.

Good game by UD. Minicucci was the difference.

UD still has a shot to win CUSA this Year!

Could say a lot more about the game but this has been the roughest season in quite a while.

I'll go into WHY WKU is down this year later this week.

Portal and the high number of new players

Delaware retaining Minicucchi is why they won

That is some of it, we retained our QB from last year as well but he has been a bust. Hiring MTSU's OC (that they were more than happy to be rid of) was a massive red flag. Helton isn't a bad coach when you look at all factors, but he is very bad at in-game adjustments. We are going to finish with a losing record for the first time in ages and he is going to need to clean house in the off-season. We need to get back to high powered offense.

All credit to Delaware though, I knew with Minicucchi back you guys would be able to put points up on us, and whatever you were doing defensively in the 2nd half was working for you.

Bye Bye Bootie

Once Delaware started sitting on those short routes Brock Glenn looked clueless for WKU. WKU is basically eliminated from being in contention for the CUSA Championship. 2 losses and they still have to play Jax St, at MTSU, and at Liberty. Helton usually has WKU at least in contention a lot longer than this. He doesn't seem to be the guy to get them to the next level. MInicucci was obviously great in this game. I think Delaware's inability to run the ball may hurt them against some other teams.

The Blue Hens needed the win on the road desperately. They've showed glimpses of being a very good team yet appear to not have all the physical bodies to compete week in and week out at the CUSA level. The TV exposure can only help the recruiting going forward and certainly is a lift in their confidence. Minicucci has another year left and he is a magnet for G6 recruits and transfers. The final 4 games will be interesting.