College Football Betting Preview: A Look at New Hampshire-Delaware

Football Championship Subdivision Quarterfinals
New Hampshire Wildcats at Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, Delaware Stadium, Newark, DE
Friday, December 10, 2010, 8:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Delaware -6
Current Line: Delaware -7
Opening Total: 40
Current Total: 42
Money Line: Delaware -275 / New Hampshire +235

New Hampshire travels to Delaware in FCS quarterfinal action. The Blue Hens are 6 point favorites

Though both these teams play in the CAA Conference, they haven’t played against each other this season. New Hampshire is 8-4 and is coming off a 45-20 upset victory at Bethune-Cookman last week. Delaware is the #3 seed in the tournament with a 10-2 record and beat Lehigh last week 42-20. After starting off 2-3 New Hampshire has won 6 of the last 7 to advance far in the bracket. Delaware has two narrow losses on the season 17-16 at William & Mary and at home in overtime versus Villanova 28-21. These two teams haven’t played each other since 2007 when New Hampshire won 35-30.

New Hampshire is outscoring opponents 27-17 on the season. The Wildcats average 357 yards on offense including 130 yards rushing. They allow 307 yards a game on defense including 135 yards rushing. The Wildcats have allowed 35 sacks and forced 32 of their own. They also have a turnover differential of +15, but do average 64 yards a game in penalties. The offense is led by quarterback R.J. Toman. He has thrown for almost 2,300 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Toman also 4 rushing touchdowns on 108 carries for 158 yards. The top receivers are Terrance Fox (69 catches, 749 yards, and 7 touchdown catches) and Joey Orlando (45 catches, 558 yards, and 6 touchdowns.) Dontra Peters is the leading rusher with 139 carries, 703 yards, and 7 touchdowns. He also has a touchdown catch. Fox also has a kickoff return for a touchdown, and returns punts as well for the Wildcats. The defense is led by linebacker Matt Evans. Evans has 145 tackles, 3 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions. Defensive lineman Brian McNally has 11.5 sacks on the year, and defensive back Dino Vasso has 6 interceptions on the year.

Delaware is outscoring opponents 30-12 on the season. They average 409 yards a game on offense, including 189 rushing yards a game. They only allow 278 yards a game on defense, including 100 yards rushing. The Blue Hens have only allowed 5 rushing touchdowns all season. Delaware has a turnover margin of +11. They have only allowed 12 sacks all season, and have 20 of their own. The Blue Hens struggle sometimes in the kicking game as they have converted 15 out of 20 field goals and 41 out of 45 PAT’s. The offense is led by quarterback Pat Devlin. He has thrown for 2,414 yards, 18 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also has a rushing touchdown on the year. Six Blue Hens have at least 24 catches, but Nihja White and Phillip Thaxton both have at least 41 catches, 4 touchdowns and 459 yards. Andrew Pierce is the leading rusher with 252 carries for over 1,200 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He also has 3 touchdown catches. Anthony Walters has 6 interceptions on defense.

Game time temps will be in the 30’s with a 30% chance of rain or snow. Both these teams force a lot of turnovers and have dominant defenses. New Hampshire struggles to move the ball sometimes and that could be the difference in the game, New Hampshire also needs to protect the quarterback though Delaware doesn’t have many sacks on the year.