2017 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

The 2017 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They played their home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware. They were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They were led by first-year head coach Danny Rocco, who previously coached at CAA-rival Richmond. They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in CAA play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

2017 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
2017 record	7–4 (5–3 CAA)
Head coach	Danny Rocco (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Simon (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Cosh (1st season)
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium (Capacity: 22,000)

2017 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 James Madison $^		8	–	0					14	–	1
No. 11 Stony Brook ^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 20 Elon ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 12 New Hampshire ^		5	–	3					9	–	5
Delaware		5	–	3					7	–	4
Richmond		4	–	4					6	–	5
Towson		3	–	5					5	–	6
Villanova		3	–	5					5	–	6
Maine		3	–	5					4	–	6
Albany		2	–	6					4	–	7
Rhode Island		2	–	6					3	–	8
William & Mary		0	–	8					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Hens would start the season with two consecutive wins, against Delaware State and at Lafayette. They followed with a five-game losing streak, the longest by Delaware since 1939, which cost head coach Dave Brock his job. He was replaced by Dennis Dottin-Carter on an interim basis, and the Hens finished with a record of 4–7 (2–6 CAA).

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year	Alma mater
Danny Rocco	Head Coach	1st	Wake Forest (1984)
Matt Simon	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks	1st	Eastern New Mexico (1976)
Chris Cosh	Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs	1st	Virginia Tech (1984)
Eddie Allen	Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs	4th	New Haven (2003)
Blaine McCorkle	Offensive Line	1st	Louisiana State (2000)
Levern Belin	Wide Receivers	1st	Virginia (2007)
Bill Polin	Tight Ends	1st	Colby (2000)
Manny Rojas	Inside Linebackers	1st	Liberty (2007)
Clint Sintim	Outside Linebackers	1st	Virginia (2009)
Wes Reber	Defensive Quality Control	1st	Duquesne (2012)
Chris Stewart	Strength & Conditioning	1st	Western Carolina (1998)
Carl Kotz	Director of Football Operations	1st	Clemson (2003)
Tony Palmieri	Video Coordinator	1st	North Florida (2009)
Jude Moser	Administrative Assistant	8th	University of Delaware(1984)

[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Delaware State*		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (Route 1 Rivalry)	BHAA	W 22–3	18,040
September 9	3:30 p.m.	at Virginia Tech*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN Extra	L 0–27	62,526
September 16	3:30 p.m.	Cornell*		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	BHAA	W 41–14	14,714
September 30	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 James Madison		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (Rivalry)	CSN+ CSN-P	L 10–20	16,372
October 7	6:00 p.m.	at No. 23 Stony Brook		Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Stony Brook, NY	Wolfievision	W 24–20	7,694
October 14	3:30 p.m.	William & Mary		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (Rivalry)	NBCS RN NBCS P	W 17–0	18,721
October 21	3:30 p.m.	No. 11 Richmond		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	CSL[2]	W 42–35 ^2OT	15,710
October 28	4:00 p.m.	at Towson	No. 23	Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD	FSGO	L 17–18	6,402
November 4	2:00 p.m.	at Maine		Fitzpatrick Stadium Portland, ME	CSL[2]	W 31–17	7,212
November 11	3:30 p.m.	Albany		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	NBCS RN NBCS P	W 22–3	16,333
November 18	1:00 p.m.	at Villanova		Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (Battle of the Blue)	FSGO	L 7–28	5,109
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

[3]

Regular season

Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	3	0	0	3
Blue Hens	2	6	7	7	22

at Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Hens	0	0	0	0	0
Hokies	7	10	0	10	27

Cornell

	1	2	3	4	Total
Big Red	0	0	7	7	14
Blue Hens	10	17	7	7	41

James Madison

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Dukes	7	10	0	3	20
Blue Hens	3	7	0	0	10

at Stony Brook

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Hens	0	7	10	7	24
No. 23 Seawolves	7	13	0	0	20

William & Mary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tribe	0	0	0	0	0
Blue Hens	0	10	0	7	17

Richmond

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
No. 11 Spiders	7	7	14	0	7	0	35
Blue Hens	14	7	0	7	7	7	42

at Towson

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Blue Hens	0	7	7	3	17
Tigers	3	0	8	7	18

at Maine

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Hens	0	14	3	14	31
Black Bears	10	0	7	0	17

Albany

	1	2	3	4	Total
Great Danes	3	0	0	0	3
Blue Hens	0	3	5	14	22

at Villanova

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Hens	0	0	0	7	7
Wildcats	14	0	14	0	28

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	NR	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV

References

1. "2017 Coaching Staff". UD Athletics. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
2. Washburn, Rob (August 18, 2017). "CAA PARTNERS WITH CBS SPORTS DIGITAL". Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
3. "2017 Schedule". UD Athletics. Retrieved January 21, 2017.