2008 Woodie Awards
Head to Head: More struggles lay ahead
See Greg Arent's opposing argument
by Matt Gallo
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: Sports
Head coach K.C. Keeler said it best at the weekly press conference Monday afternoon when he mentioned that he is curious to see how Delaware will bounce back from its first loss of the season, after falling 35-30 last weekend at New Hampshire.
The Hens (5-1, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) climbed as high as No. 11 in the polls, rolling off five-straight victories in convincing fashion and scoring 197 points in the wins.
After Saturday's loss, reality set in for the Hens as they realized they cannot walk into any stadium and win. In the five-game win streak, Delaware defeated teams that are a combined 13-16 on the season, including a ranked Division-II West Chester team.
This leaves the question: is the 2007 football team overrated?
While the Hens are undefeated at home this season, they cannot expect to roll over Northeastern (1-4, 0-2 CAA), who lost in a close matchup to conference-unbeaten James Madison 21-14 last weekend. Delaware has not defeated Northeastern since 2002, falling 27-24 last season and 24-14 in its 2003 championship season. The two teams did not meet in 2004.
Northeastern broke the Hens' nine-game win streak in 2003 - Delaware's only loss of the year.
Another factor not in the Hens' favor is their record after losing their first game during the season. Delaware has proven in recent years its inability to right the ship after suffering its first loss of the season.
In the 2005 season, after falling to Towson 35-31, the Hens lost four of their next five games after jumping out to an early 3-0 record to start the season. In 2006, Delaware could not bounce back from a Week 2 loss, going on to lose two of its next three games.
For this year's team, history is not on its side.
After the Homecoming matchup with Northeastern, the Hens face the toughest portion of their schedule - traveling to Navy. After traveling to Annapolis, Delaware returns home to face CAA-leading James Madison and Richmond.
The Hens (5-1, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) climbed as high as No. 11 in the polls, rolling off five-straight victories in convincing fashion and scoring 197 points in the wins.
After Saturday's loss, reality set in for the Hens as they realized they cannot walk into any stadium and win. In the five-game win streak, Delaware defeated teams that are a combined 13-16 on the season, including a ranked Division-II West Chester team.
This leaves the question: is the 2007 football team overrated?
While the Hens are undefeated at home this season, they cannot expect to roll over Northeastern (1-4, 0-2 CAA), who lost in a close matchup to conference-unbeaten James Madison 21-14 last weekend. Delaware has not defeated Northeastern since 2002, falling 27-24 last season and 24-14 in its 2003 championship season. The two teams did not meet in 2004.
Northeastern broke the Hens' nine-game win streak in 2003 - Delaware's only loss of the year.
Another factor not in the Hens' favor is their record after losing their first game during the season. Delaware has proven in recent years its inability to right the ship after suffering its first loss of the season.
In the 2005 season, after falling to Towson 35-31, the Hens lost four of their next five games after jumping out to an early 3-0 record to start the season. In 2006, Delaware could not bounce back from a Week 2 loss, going on to lose two of its next three games.
For this year's team, history is not on its side.
After the Homecoming matchup with Northeastern, the Hens face the toughest portion of their schedule - traveling to Navy. After traveling to Annapolis, Delaware returns home to face CAA-leading James Madison and Richmond.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
At it again?
posted 10/12/07 @ 7:30 PM EST
So the Hens finally lost and now you are back writing about how they will continue to lose. Remember when you wrote that after the West Chester game the Hens would lose a lot, Omar Cuff would get injured and the team would fall apart? So now they are 5-1, soon to be 6-1 and you continue to write about how the team will fail. (Continued…)
Post a Comment