Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Warm. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: September 10, 2026 @ 6:35 am
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Joe Silver runs against Colorado in a 2025 game
Sports Director, News and Traffic Reporter
Joe Silver runs against Colorado in a 2025 game
Delaware’s move to the Football Bowl Subdivision has been successful, but they enter arguably college football’s deepest water for the first time this weekend.
Delaware will face SEC member Vanderbilt Saturday at 3:30, in the Blue Hens first-ever meeting against a member of college football’s most dominant conference over the past several decades.
The Blue Hens are 18-29-4 against Power 4 conference teams, but 17 of those wins are against Maryland and Rutgers, who were once not national powers.
Vanderbilt was picked to finish 13th of 16 SEC teams this year in the pre-season media poll, and are coming off a 10-3 season a year ago where they made the Carquest Bowl, and finished ranked 15th in the country.
This year’s team is 1-0 after a victory over FCS squad Austin Peay, but are receiving just two votes in the national poll.
The game is one of two Power 4 games for Delaware, who are set to face No. 25 Virginia in two weeks, in games where they will receive money to play in lieu of any return game in Newark.
In turn, Delaware has been paying their FCS opponents, like Merrimack last week, while most other games against fellow “Group of 6” conference teams have been home-and-homes, where the teams pay each other equal amounts for their respective trips in different years.
Delaware played one power conference team last year, losing 31-7 at Big XII squad Colorado.
The Blue Hens hung tough in the first half, trailing only 10-7 until the final seconds of the first half, before a long pass play by the Buffaloes broke the game open in the second half.
Delaware head coach Ryan Carty said the goal is to try to treat Vanderbilt as normally as any opponent, as possible.
“We all know the caliber of athlete that we’re going to face on Saturday, but that doesn’t change what winning football looks like, right? You have to play physical, you have to executive, and you have to hold on to the football.”
Delaware enters the game off a 42-7 victory over FCS squad Merrimack, in a game where they struggled offensively early, scoring on just two of their first 5 drives, before putting things together just before and after halftime.
QB Nick Minicucci got off to another quick start this year, throwing for 330 yards and two touchdowns, although the offense only rushed for 112 yards on 29 carries (3.9 per carry).
Vanderbilt won their opener 28-9, and Carty said a key will be keeping his team confident.
“Not being tentative because someone may be a little more talented than you. We’re excited for the opportunity to go out there and see how we measure up.”
Delaware has made a point to have major conference teams on their schedules, as they’ll go to Maryland in 2028 for the first time in 20 years, ACC squad Pittsburgh in 2029, and national champion Indiana in 2030.
The Hens are also working on, or will soon begin home-and-homes with JMU, UCONN, Western Michigan, Buffalo, Coastal Carolina, and Temple.
Kickoff between the Blue Hens and Commodores is set for 4:15 p.m. Saturday in Nashville, and will be seen on the SEC Network.
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Sports Director, News and Traffic Reporter
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