Friday Night Lights In Frisco

The poor, poor residents of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  For the first time in fourteen years, they will not be hosting the Football Championship Subdivision championship game, having been beaten out for it by the thriving metropolis of Frisco, Texas.  This matters not one bit to the current students and alum of the University of Delaware, though.  Hoards of Blue Hen fans will be making the 1,430 mile trip to see UD in yet another FCS Championship game, their third in eight years.  This is slightly more than the 695 miles to Tennessee, but when your alma mater has become a FCS powerhouse, I suppose it's worth the extra quality time with some buddies.  UD will face the Eastern Washington Eagles at Pizza Hut Park under the lights Friday night, a tradition held dear in Texas.  And no, you did not read that wrong.  It is Pizza Hut Park...  The winner gets a 42 lb P'Zone.

Pat Devlin leads the 12-2 Hens against perhaps the most redneck named quarterback in football, Bo Levi Mitchell, and the 12-2 Eagles.  Of the two, Devlin certainly has a higher profile but both QB's are running very successful offenses.  The Eagles are 3rd in the FCS with 452 points on 52 touchdowns compared to the Hens at 10th overall with 399 points on 47 touchdowns.  Andrew Pierce, the freshman phenom at UD, chalked up one of the more impressive freshman seasons for a running back.  On 301 carriers, he racked up 1,513 yards.  His counterpart for EW, Taiwan Jones rushed for the division's second best total of 1742 yards on 221 carries.  Think about that season average for Jones... 7.9 yards a carry over an entire season is insane.  HOWEVER, Jones is listed as doubtful after breaking his foot in their quarterfinal game against North Dakota State.  He missed the semifinal game against Villanova and will likely miss the championship game too.  His backup, Mario Brown, filled in nicely but I don't see him being a major factor in this game which will place the weight of Eagles' offense on Mitchell's arm.

Delaware's secondary MUST perform well on Friday.  They have been excellent all season behind Anthonies Walters and Bratton, who are in the top 5 in the Colonial Athletic Association in passes defended.  Walters led the CAA in interceptions and finished 8th in the country in INT's per game (taking into consideration the three playoff games thus far).  With the 15th ranked rush defense in front of them, Walters, Bratton, and Tyron Grant will be chomping at the bit in the defensive backfield.  The unproven Eastern Washington run game will force Delaware's secondary being targeted all night in a pass heavy offense.  Turnovers in the secondary will be key for Delaware as Bo Levi has thrown 14 interceptions on the year.

Devlin does not suffer the same inaccuracy affliction as Mitchell.  There is talk of Devlin maybe being a second round pick in the NFL draft this year, and boy is that talk founded.  He has, and will continue to be compared to Joe Flacco because of the UD connection, but they are actually quite different quarterbacks.  Throwing only two interceptions, Devlin completed passes at a rate of 68%.  He is extremely accurate and throws end zone fades and back shoulder sideline routes with the best of them.  He stands tall in the pocket, but is about 3 inches shorter than was Flacco.  With the CAA Freshman of the Year in Pierce to hand it off to, Devlin will be able to take his time on pass plays and break down the Eagles' secondary with professional accuracy.

This is the third championship game since Kurt Charles Keeler took over for Tubby Raymond, the legendary head coach of 36 years, in 2002.  Keeler has been a recruiting monster, taking Division 1 players and prospects and transferring them to Delaware.  Flacco was at Pittsburgh, Devlin was Penn State.  He's also pulled guys like Rob Schoenhoft from Ohio State, and this propensity to get transfers from the Big 10* led to rumors that Michigan's quarterback Tate Forcier would transfer as well.  Keeler runs a spread offense where QB's don't spend much time under center, and this helps quarterbacks at the lower FCS level feel more comfortable and become successful.  KC is a good coach and should be able to get this team ready to handle the pressure of a championship game, and with the distance to the venue for both teams, there will not be much of a home-field advantage for either team.  Delaware has a superior defense and quarterback and, with the loss of Taiwan Jones hurting Eastern Washington, should win this game handily.

Adam's Pick:  UD 42-24


*If Keeler wins the championship on friday, there is not much left for him to accomplish at this level of collegiate football.  His name has been attached to the Penn State job, whenever it is that Joe Pa retires or dies or his stuffing falls out and we realize a taxidermist has mummified him.  Randy Edsall left UConn to coach Maryland and Keeler has been a name floating around that job as well.  I think there is a MUCH better fit than both of those schools though, and it wouldn't be that much of a change (in uniform at least).  Rich Rodriguez was fired from Michigan today, and Keeler would be perfect for that team.  He obviously has some clout in the Big 10, and his spread offense combined with Denard Robinson's all around talent would dominate that division.  With Keeler's loyalty to Delaware, and Michigan's history of playing FCS teams (see: loss to App State), we could see a matching helmet/cross divisional game between the two.  It would make money for Delaware, and would be a hell of a story for Keeler.