The Griz are off this week after winning the Big Sky Conference outright title, damn it feels good to be in this position. Next week, we’ll see either Delaware or Lafayette come this way. Here’s a little mini scouting report for us as we watch their matchup this weekend.
Delaware Blue Hens 8-3
Delaware finished tied 2nd with 1 other team in the CAA where 3 others finished tied 1st. They were 6-2 in conference. However I notice that Delaware only played Villanova but not UAlbany or Richmond who also finished T-1. They lost to Villanova last week 35-7. They also lost to Elon who had the same conference record as them. It doesn’t appear that they have any ranked wins. They beat Duquesne who is headed to the playoffs and only beat 1 other team with a winning record. UD lost two QBs in their loss to Villanova and an O-lineman with apparently a handful of other possibly minor-ish injuries too. On the CAA all conference team UD placed their RB, an OL, a DL and PR on the 2nd team, plus a WR, TE, OL, S, and P on the 3rd team.
Lafayette Leopards 9-2
Lafayette won the Patriot League, they lost to Duke and Colgate, their one big win was a 38-35 win vs then ranked #11 Holy Cross. Because of their loss to Colgate they were technically “co champions” with Holy Cross but held the tie breaker there for the auto-bid. Lafayette’s coach won coach of the year this season and they have a D-lineman who won freshman of the year. Lafayette placed their RB, 2 OL, a TE, a DL, 2 LBs, and 1 DB on the first team Patriot. Their QB, a WR, another OL, and another DL made 2nd team. The Patriot doesn’t have 3rd team selections because of it’s size.
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General Stats
Passing yards per game UD (260 for UD vs 170 for LAF)
Rushing yards per game LAF (161 for UD vs 196 for LAF)
Total offense UD (421 for UD vs 366 for LAF)
Passing yards allowed per game UD (199 for UD vs 224 for LAF)
Rushing yards allowed per game LAF (147 for UD vs 116 for LAF)
Total defense LAF (346 for UD vs 340 for LAF)
We go split 3-3 here.
Offense points scored UD (32.3 for UD vs 29.6 for LAF)
Defense points allowed UD (20.8 for UD vs 22.2 for LAF)
Turnover margin LAF (+2 for UD / +3 for LAF)
Fieldgoal % LAF (58% for UD vs 66% for LAF)
Punt Returns UD (16 yards for UD vs 7.4 yards for LAF)
Kick Returns UD (22.6 yards for UD vs 17.6 yards for LAF)
T.O.P. LAF (29:13 for UD vs 30:15 for LAF)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) UD (47% UD / 56% LAF)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) LAF (59% UD / 70% LAF)
3rd down offense LAF – (45% for UD / 48% for LAF)
3rd down defense UD – (33% allowed for UD vs 37% allowed for LAF)
UD picks up 6 while Lafayette picks up 5. That puts this pretty evenly matched at UD 9 – LAF 8.
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UD Players to Watch:
#21 Marcus Yarns, RB – With UD possibly down to a 3rd string freshman QB I assume they’re going to lean on their skilled running back to help carry the day. Yarns has 846 rushing and 14 rushing TDs. He’s also 4th highest on the team in receiving yards with 311 yards and 3 more receiving TDs.
#0 Jackson Taylor, LB – This guy has quite the stat line, 97 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, and 5 QB hits. He made 1st team all conference in the massive CAA.
#12 Chase McGowan, DE – A 2nd team all conference DE, he’s a 265 pound wrecking ball. He has 15 TFLs, 5 sacks, 9 QB hits, and 1 forced fumble this season.
LAF Players to Watch:
#22 Jamar Curtis, RB – listed at 5-8, 164 this dude has monster stats. 1333 rushing yards (133 per game) and 12 rushing TDs. He’s got 140 receiving yards and 1 TD there as well.
#21 Billy Schaefer, LB – A Buchanan finalist, the 6-3, 232 pound LB has 75 tackles, 20 TFLs, 10 sacks, 5 QB hits, and 4 forced fumbles.
#86 Elijah Steward, WR – A 2nd team all conference WR he leads the team with 646 receiving yards which is more than double the next guy. He has 4 receiving TDs as well.
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Final Thoughts
This one will be interesting, Lafayette clearly focuses on ball control and leaning on their workhorse running back, but this is playing up against a CAA defense, not a Patriot defense. Delaware is down 1, if not 2 QBs… so how will that work out, as they focus on their passing game more. I would think if UD had a healthy QB they could rely on / with experience they’d win this game, however I’m a little unsure considering their injury issues.
A lot of signs are pointing to this being a low scoring game to me. I have a feeling Lafayette may have some issues churning out rushing yards while UD might just be choppy considering their QB situation. The weather suggests low 40’s and Lafayette is in Pennsylvania so I don’t think that’ll be a factor for either. I’m torn here, I think Lafayette could pull off the upset but UD could also win a super low scoring game. I’ll say Delaware finds a way here and wins 16-10.
Delaware Blue Hens 8-3
Delaware finished tied 2nd with 1 other team in the CAA where 3 others finished tied 1st. They were 6-2 in conference. However I notice that Delaware only played Villanova but not UAlbany or Richmond who also finished T-1. They lost to Villanova last week 35-7. They also lost to Elon who had the same conference record as them. It doesn’t appear that they have any ranked wins. They beat Duquesne who is headed to the playoffs and only beat 1 other team with a winning record. UD lost two QBs in their loss to Villanova and an O-lineman with apparently a handful of other possibly minor-ish injuries too. On the CAA all conference team UD placed their RB, an OL, a DL and PR on the 2nd team, plus a WR, TE, OL, S, and P on the 3rd team.
Lafayette Leopards 9-2
Lafayette won the Patriot League, they lost to Duke and Colgate, their one big win was a 38-35 win vs then ranked #11 Holy Cross. Because of their loss to Colgate they were technically “co champions” with Holy Cross but held the tie breaker there for the auto-bid. Lafayette’s coach won coach of the year this season and they have a D-lineman who won freshman of the year. Lafayette placed their RB, 2 OL, a TE, a DL, 2 LBs, and 1 DB on the first team Patriot. Their QB, a WR, another OL, and another DL made 2nd team. The Patriot doesn’t have 3rd team selections because of it’s size.
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General Stats
Passing yards per game UD (260 for UD vs 170 for LAF)
Rushing yards per game LAF (161 for UD vs 196 for LAF)
Total offense UD (421 for UD vs 366 for LAF)
Passing yards allowed per game UD (199 for UD vs 224 for LAF)
Rushing yards allowed per game LAF (147 for UD vs 116 for LAF)
Total defense LAF (346 for UD vs 340 for LAF)
We go split 3-3 here.
Offense points scored UD (32.3 for UD vs 29.6 for LAF)
Defense points allowed UD (20.8 for UD vs 22.2 for LAF)
Turnover margin LAF (+2 for UD / +3 for LAF)
Fieldgoal % LAF (58% for UD vs 66% for LAF)
Punt Returns UD (16 yards for UD vs 7.4 yards for LAF)
Kick Returns UD (22.6 yards for UD vs 17.6 yards for LAF)
T.O.P. LAF (29:13 for UD vs 30:15 for LAF)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) UD (47% UD / 56% LAF)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) LAF (59% UD / 70% LAF)
3rd down offense LAF – (45% for UD / 48% for LAF)
3rd down defense UD – (33% allowed for UD vs 37% allowed for LAF)
UD picks up 6 while Lafayette picks up 5. That puts this pretty evenly matched at UD 9 – LAF 8.
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UD Players to Watch:
#21 Marcus Yarns, RB – With UD possibly down to a 3rd string freshman QB I assume they’re going to lean on their skilled running back to help carry the day. Yarns has 846 rushing and 14 rushing TDs. He’s also 4th highest on the team in receiving yards with 311 yards and 3 more receiving TDs.
#0 Jackson Taylor, LB – This guy has quite the stat line, 97 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, and 5 QB hits. He made 1st team all conference in the massive CAA.
#12 Chase McGowan, DE – A 2nd team all conference DE, he’s a 265 pound wrecking ball. He has 15 TFLs, 5 sacks, 9 QB hits, and 1 forced fumble this season.
LAF Players to Watch:
#22 Jamar Curtis, RB – listed at 5-8, 164 this dude has monster stats. 1333 rushing yards (133 per game) and 12 rushing TDs. He’s got 140 receiving yards and 1 TD there as well.
#21 Billy Schaefer, LB – A Buchanan finalist, the 6-3, 232 pound LB has 75 tackles, 20 TFLs, 10 sacks, 5 QB hits, and 4 forced fumbles.
#86 Elijah Steward, WR – A 2nd team all conference WR he leads the team with 646 receiving yards which is more than double the next guy. He has 4 receiving TDs as well.
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Final Thoughts
This one will be interesting, Lafayette clearly focuses on ball control and leaning on their workhorse running back, but this is playing up against a CAA defense, not a Patriot defense. Delaware is down 1, if not 2 QBs… so how will that work out, as they focus on their passing game more. I would think if UD had a healthy QB they could rely on / with experience they’d win this game, however I’m a little unsure considering their injury issues.
A lot of signs are pointing to this being a low scoring game to me. I have a feeling Lafayette may have some issues churning out rushing yards while UD might just be choppy considering their QB situation. The weather suggests low 40’s and Lafayette is in Pennsylvania so I don’t think that’ll be a factor for either. I’m torn here, I think Lafayette could pull off the upset but UD could also win a super low scoring game. I’ll say Delaware finds a way here and wins 16-10.
