Delaware tops Louisiana in 68 Ventures Bowl. Five takeaways
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Delaware football coach Ryan Carty wasn’t wrong late on the night of Dec. 17 when he said the 68 Ventures Bowl “came down to, literally, every play.”
It certainly came down to the last, an incomplete pass in the end zone by Louisiana from the UD 7 as time expired.
But the fact that Delaware mastered enough of the details a bit better than Louisiana ultimately spelled the difference in the Blue Hens’ 20-13 win at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
These are five takeaways from a win that closed Delaware’s inaugural FBS season with a 7-6 record and led quarterback Nick Minicucci to proclaim “We’re legit.”
Running attack comes through
Joe Silver ran 61 yards for a touchdown on Delaware’s second possession, giving the Hens a lead they never relinquished.
“That really set the tone for us on offense,” Carty said.
Delaware’s 158 ground yards were its third highest single-game total this year. Silver’s 116 rushing yards were his second best this year.
“We’re gonna do whatever gets us down the field,” said Carty. “There’s times when that’s a lot of throwing. There’s also times when it’s from running.
“Today I thought we were very balanced and it made us have the ability to kinda hold onto the ball when we needed to.”
Drive of the game
Delaware led 10-3 at halftime, then came out and moved 70 yards on six pass plays to go up 17-3 after Minicucci’s 35-yard TD pass to Sean Wilson to start the second half.
The Hens had passed for just 50 yards in the first half.
“Trust in the guys out wide, trust in the o-line.” Minicucci said. “That’s really where it all starts, with the o-line. They blocked their butts off today.
“The ball was in the air, Kyre [Duplessis], Sean, [Ja’Carree] Kelly, everyone was catching the ball and played amazing.”
Key stat
Delaware had zero turnovers to Louisiana’s three.
The Hens are 23-0 under Carty when having fewer turnovers than the opposition and 12-0 when they have none.
Defensive play of the game
It was delivered by cornerback Nate Evans, who intercepted a pass in the end zone four plays after his pass-interference penalty put the Cajuns at the UD 13 on their second possession.
The pick came on fourth-and-1 from the UD 4. Louisiana threw off play action instead of employing its trusted running attack.
“We felt like we could get the play action off and the guy made a really good play,” Cajuns coach Mike Desormeaux said.
“Whenever you turn one over in the end zone like that, those are plays that, as a play caller, it just crushes you.”
Third time’s the charm
Carty won NCAA titles as Delaware’s back-up quarterback in 2003 and Sam Houston’s offensive coordinator in the spring 2021 season.
Coaching Delaware to a bowl win in its first FBS season was equally satisfying and, certainly, Delaware celebrated the bowl win the way it might a championship.
“This one is pretty sweet,” he said. “I don’t like to compare the greatest moments of my life, because they’re all unbelievable, and I cherish them all.
“But I’ll say this is really special, and for all the reasons I said before — because I get to share it with awesome people . . . To bring this trophy back, to bring a seventh win back, and to really prove that we belong where we are right now is special.”
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Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware tops Louisiana in 68 Ventures Bowl. Five takeaways
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