No. 6 Delaware and No. 16 William & Mary enter their top-20 CAA Football clash with a combined 9-1 overall record and contrasting styles of play. The Blue Hens are happy to push the ball downfield through the air in Ryan Carty’s offense, while the Tribe is content with, and at its best when, QB Darius Wilson adds the play-action pass game to a highly productive W&M rushing attack.
These teams are two of the CAA’s most intriguing FCS playoff hopefuls. Each enters with an FBS win in tow, but each has the task of fulfilling lofty expectations by navigating the ever-treacherous CAA schedule fraught with spots for slipping up.
Saturday, the Hens and Tribe will collide in hopes of one halting the other’s fast start.
Breaking down what William & Mary’s Homecoming crowd can expect to see starting with the 3:30 PM eastern kickoff:
William & Mary’s Offense vs. Delaware’s Defense
W&M’s quadruple-headed running game becomes quintuple-headed when Wilson tucks and takes off, giving defenses another element to consider when entering Williamsburg. Wilson has the luxury of handing off to an army of running backs consisting of Bronson Yoder, Donavyn Lester, Malachi Imoh, and Martin Lucas. This quartet is largely responsible for the Tribe’s conference-leading rushing offense (241.0 YPG), though the green-and-gold offensive line deserves its hard-earned share of credit as well. Preseason All-CAA right tackle Colby Sorsdal anchors a front that has allowed a mere five sacks in 2022, which is tied for the league low.
Delaware is not known for its pass rush, which can be lackluster without pressure sent off the edge, but its defense leads the CAA and ranks fourth nationally in total defense (244.6 YPG) on the strength of the Blue Hen secondary and linebackers. Despite this attention on UD’s back eight, the starting three-man front of Artis Hemmingway, Chase McGowan, and Anthony Toro is a respectable, run-stopping one. Delaware has yielded just two rushing touchdowns on the season. Interestingly, however, William & Mary matches the Blue Hens in run defense generally, permitting 121.2 ground YPG to edge UD’s 122.8.
Delaware’s Offense vs. William & Mary’s Defense
Speaking of the W&M defense, its run-stopping is emblematic of how well it plays in the box. The Tribe’s 16 sacks thus far are knotted with New Hampshire for the conference’s best and rank top 15 nationally. 128 yards lost on William & Mary’s total sacks pace the CAA and equate to W&M dropping the quarterback for an average of eight yards behind the line.
Linebacker John Pius, who leads the country in total TFL (12.5) and sacks (7.5), will key the Tribe’s effort to wreak that level of backfield havoc on Delaware QB Nolan Henderson. Henderson will have to contend with Pius and defensive end Nate Lynn, who has 15 sacks to his name spanning the last two seasons. Joining Lynn on William & Mary’s defensive line is Carl Fowler, the first three-time team captain in program history.
The offensive line crouched before Henderson in shotgun has improved in recent weeks following a CAA-worst start in sacks allowed and QB hurries, recently supplying the pass protection necessary for UD to take the deeper downfield shots that it uses for Carty’s signature big plays. The line is also piecing together run blocking for lead back Kyron Cumby, who is spelled by Marcus Yarns and Quincy Watson with Khory Spruill bruising between the tackles and in pass protection.
Delaware’s passing game has taken off with the commencement of CAA play (Henderson’s per-game passing metrics are putting the FCS on notice with rankings of eighth nationally in yards [291.4] and third in touchdowns [16].) Boosting those stats is the emergence of return specialist Jourdan Townsend at slot receiver, creating coverage headaches for defenses already struggling with “X” wideout Thyrick Pitts.
Special Teams
William & Mary boasts the edge here, as kicker Ethan Chang is coming off a school-record 57-yard field goal converted at Stony Brook’s swirling winds.
Chang is the CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week, whereas Delaware is holding a competition among young kickers to decipher roles. Garrett Bennion figures to have a grip on PAT and short-range FG duties, but kickoffs and longer tries have been less clear between the duo of Brandon Ratcliffe and Andrew MacMillan.
In such a close matchup on paper between ranked foes Delaware and William & Mary, the Tribe enjoys the apparent advantage in kicking confidence, which could come in handy with every point truly mattering. That being said, UD’s red-zone offense will look to improve its efficiency in finishing drives in the end zone so as to avoid the concern altogether. The battle in that portion of the field represents one of the several strength-on-strength categories defining the CAA’s game of the week.
