What a game. I hope everyone got to watch the only real national championship on December 7th. It was one whale of a game that saw Eastern Washington come from behind for the 6th time this season to eek out a win over Delaware.
Delaware dominated the first half shutting out Eastern Washington 12-0. A missed extra point was the problem for Delaware, but the defense was amazing. Andrew Pierce was gaining his normal 5 yards a carry, and Pat Devlin was finding receivers. Nihja White in particular looked pretty good.
Delaware came out of the locker room and hung another TD on Eastern Washington and this time they got the extra point, although it was ugly. 19-0, and it stayed that way for most of the 3rd Quarter. Somewhere the Blue Hens fell back into prevent mode and they stopped rushing. Often it seemed that they rushed only 3, and they got picked a part when that happened. Soon, it was 19-13, and the Blue Hens had the ball trying to run out the clock. A curious round of play calls. They passed on first down, and it was caught, but for short gain. Clock runs. They run the ball with Pierce, who gained 4 or so, but went out of bounds. They then threw the ball again and it was dropped by Mark Schenauer. It hit in the numbers and he had the first down. It was not a good game for Schenauer, who dropped several passes, but none more important than that one. In an attempt to run the clock out the Blue Hens threw twice and ran once when Pierce was not being stopped all game. I would have preferred to see him just run three times. They probably would have gotten a first down, and the clock would have kept going. In the end, that time cost them the game.
Bo Levi Mitchell had a so-so game. But when the pressure was taken off, he ate up the Delaware Defense. He was 29-43 overall with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Delaware's defense dominated this game, and that will be forgotten. Bo Levi Mitchell's Eastern Washington offense punted every possession of the first half, and they got only one first down after their first series. Total they got 42 yards offense in half number one. They came out in the second half and got a first down, but threw an interception on play 3. They then had a great field position after a Delaware INT, but a seven play 25 yard drive ended on a failed 4th down try. They got the ball back with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the offense had done nothing. I really believe the decision to go conservative on the defensive play calling cost them the game. It allowed Bo Levi Mitchell to find a rhythm, and took their offense out of one.
The Eastern Washington Defense deserves some praise. They recovered after giving up a TD and two field goals on their first three times out on the field. The INT to open the 2nd half probably saved a TD as the Blue Hens were rolling and had already gone 41 yards in 4 plays. The Blue Hens had a few strange play calls and got a little tight, and Eastern Washington's defense did exactly what it had to do. A few huge 3 and outs kept the momentum and they won.
We do need to remember that Eastern Washington was minus their great running back, so this win was a huge upset. Congrats to them. Good game, good season, and I am already looking forward to next year.
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