Photo: Delaware State University Head Football Coach Al Lavan moves the 2007 MEAC Champion Hornets (10-1) into the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the first time in school history at University of Delaware (8-3).
The road to the 2007 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Crown starts with a historic game with Delaware State University Hornets playing at the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens on Black Friday. This is to no one's surprise especially understanding the power of the NCAA and ESPN television in their pursuit of revenue and viewership ratings.
No, this is not a story about Black verses White, but about an over-hyped made for ESPN television game on the Day After Thanksgiving (Black Friday) or Blitz Day. It's all about Blue and Gold or the Red and Black and its ability to unify a tiny State for a few hours and maybe develop a new understanding and respect for each other.
The NCAA Executives with an eye on protecting its image and product, did what the University of Delaware athletic director Edgar Johnson refused to do for the past twenty years--schedule the game to start a good football rivalry. It's unfortunate that it took outside forces of the NCAA to do what is natural for two Division I teams in a very small State to do, which is just play the game for the benefit of your fans.
University of Delaware is located in Newark; Delaware State University is in Dover, which is only 49 miles and about 45 minutes apart. Both are NCAA FCS Division I and play in the Colonial Athletic Conference and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, respectively. In other words, they play Division I-AA football, not major college ball.
The network desire to see Delaware State play University of Delaware on blitz day comes at the expense of other FCS teams that sports more than a 7-3 record against same division competition, like University of Delaware. If you want to talk about strength of schedule, you cannot speak Delaware name in that conversation with Division II, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Chester University taking up permanent residence on the UD Blue Hens home schedule.
Delaware's 8-3 record has been inflated for 39 years with this annual home date with the West Chester Golden Rams. UD leads the series 36-3, with all games being played at the Blue Hens home stadium. This is nothing more than an annual "money game" for West Chester who plays in the weakest D-II league in America with teams named Lock Haven (1-10), Cheyney (1-10), Clarion (0-11), Shippenburg (3-8) or East Stroudsburg (3-6), just to name a few and their 2007 records.
We see no difference with Norfolk State University (8-3, 6-2 MEAC) playing CIAA Virginia State University (4-6); or Georgia Southern (7-4, 4-3 SO), Elon (7-4, 4-3 SO), or Citadel (7-4, 4-3 SO) being left out of the mix by the eight man NCAA selection committee. Georgia Southern had quality road wins over Southern Conference co-champions Appalachian State and Wofford, who made the elite field. One could debate that Villanova is a better 5-3 conference team than UD, as they beat the Hens last week and so did New Hampshire (7-4, 4-4 CAA), who's in, and Villanova is not.
This season, Delaware beat: Monmouth (4-6, 3-3 NEC), William and Mary (4-7, 2-6 CAA), Rhode Island (3-8, 2-6 CAA), Towson (3-8, 1-7 CAA), Northeastern (3-8, 2-6 CAA), James Madison (8-3, 6-2 CAA), Navy (I-A Indep. 7-4) and West Chester (Div. II, 9-3 PSAC). On the loss side of the schedule, UD dropped games to Richmond (9-2, 7-1 CAA), Villanova (7-4, 5-3 CAA) and New Hampshire (7-4, 4-4 CAA).
So, where is that strength of schedule that the NCAA committee was viewing for Delaware to be included in this affair? In ten inter-divisional games, the combined record of UD opponents were 55-54, excluding the D-II foe West Chester.
We see absolutely no reason that Al Lavan and the Hornets will not crush Delaware in this contest. UD should be well rested after playing only five games of equal division and strength, no difference than Delaware State playing Norfolk State, Hampton, South Carolina State, Winston Salem State in the MEAC and Kent State in the Mid-American Conference.
After 83 years of avoidance, the Blue Hens are now forced (by the NCAA selection committee) to do the right thing in the spirit of sportsmanship, fellowship, fairness and face the Hornets on the gridiron. This has been a long time coming and after this game, hopefully the UD leadership will understand the term, football rivalry.
Before everyone puts tremendous pressure on 18-22 year old college football players, we have a few words of advice for the Delaware State Hornets and their few pro prospects.
First, win this game for yourselves and the opportunity to move to Round 2. Then, win it for your coaches, alma mater and the fans that have supported your program. Thirdly, win it for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and every doubter that says DSU doesn't measure up to the University of Delaware. Finally, win it for the principles of fairness, equality and---the NCAA selection committee that continues to stack the deck against every other NCAA conference that doesn't have CAA in its name.
With FIVE Colonial Athletic Conference teams that make up 31 percent of the championship field, how can the NCAA selection committee be so bold and reckless in this process?
Let's just play the game and every year hereafter, Delaware!
FCS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
First Round
Friday
• Delaware St. (10-1) at Delaware (8-3), 1:30 p.m. Televised: ESPN HD
Saturday
• Fordham (8-3) at Massachusetts (9-2), Noon
• New Hampshire (7-4) at Northern Iowa (11-0), 7:35 p.m.
• James Madison (8-3) at Appalachian State (9-2), TBA
• Eastern Illinois (8-3) at Southern Illinois (10-1), TBA
• Eastern Washington (8-3) at McNeese State (11-0), TBA
• Wofford (8-3) at Montana (11-0), TBA
• Eastern Kentucky (9-2) at Richmond (9-2), TBA
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Dec. 1
• Delaware State-Delaware winner vs. New Hampshire-Northern Iowa winner, TBA
• Fordham-Massachusetts winner vs. Eastern Illinois-Southern Illinois winner, TBA
• James Madison-Appalachian State winner vs. Eastern Washington-McNeese State winner, TBA
• Eastern Kentucky-Richmond winner vs. Wofford-Montana winner, TBA
Semifinals
Friday Dec. 7 or Saturday, Dec. 8
Championship
Friday, Dec. 14
At Finley Stadium/Davenport Field, Chattanooga, Tenn., 8 p.m.
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