Nashville, TN – Vanderbilt HC Clark Lea started Sr QB Blaze Berlowitz for the Commodores’ first two possessions. Deadlocked 0-0 with Delaware halfway through the first, he inserted his top recruit, freshman Jared Curtis at quarterback. Curtis is a local Nashville resident that Lea recruited, steered away from Georgia.  On his first play at the UD 41, RB Makhilyn Young bolted 20 yards up the middle. Two plays later, Cutis zipped the ball for a 31 completion to Jayvontay  Connor at the Blue Hen eight. Guest Game Analyst (GGA) Greg Kopnaza (former New Haven U. OT) and I looked at each other.  Curtis impressed us with a very strong arm.  He completed the drive with a one-yard run to put Vanderbilt up, 7-0.

Delaware QB Nick Minicucci struggled in his first two series. Both times, he attempted to pass on third and long. Vandy’s defense brought everybody at him to force punts. In addition to many hurries, the Commodores recorded six sacks and 11 tackles for losses on the day.

Curtis: Vanderbilt QB of the future

To start the very next series, his pass got tipped high into the air. Vandy DE Michael Capers intercepted. Curtis entered again. With the ball at the Delaware 26, he fired a 17-yard pass down the middle again to Connor.  From the nine, Sedrick Alexander took it over as the first quarter ended. Vanderbilt in command, 14-0.

Delaware turns things around the second

 Minicucci led his team to the Vanderbilt 20 aided by a 57-yard catch and run by Da’wain Lofton. On third and three at the 20, Minicucci’s pass fell incomplete as he took a hard shot from LB Bryan Longwell. He grasped his lower right arm as a trainer escorted him off the field. From 30 yards out, Tucker Smack converted a field goal to put UD on the board to trail, 14-3. On the ensuing series, the Blue Hens sacked Curtis for a loss that forced a punt. UD started from their 35.  In place of Minicucci, soph Braden Street stepped in under center.

Later in the period, the Blue Hen defense stopped Vandy. They turned the ball over on downs at their 18. HC Ryan Carty decided to let RB Jo Silver get the Delaware running game going. Carrying the ball for several good gains, UD drove to the Vanderbilt 41. Streeter let loose a pass to Lofton for a 33-yard completion to the eight. From the one on fourth and goal, a direct snap to RB Viron Ellison resulted in a Blue Hen TD to close the score, 14-10.

So many plays in such little time

With 1:56 left in the first half, Berlowitz replaced Curtis. Over 40 seconds, he completed three passes before he fumbled the ball away.  LB Gavin Moul recovered to set Delaware up from their 46. At the Vandy 44, UD punted back to start VU from their 16.  Two incomplete passes and a one-yard run by Berlowitz burned off only five seconds. Vandy went back into punt formation. However, Delaware’s Bryon Graves broke through VU blockers, and leapt high for a block. The ball bounced back up into his arms, and he recovered it for a TD.  Suddenly, the half ended with the Blue Hens in the lead, 17-14. Delaware fans chanted, “Let’s go Hens! Let’s go Hens,” as players headed to their locker rooms.  

Sideline activity before the second half

At halftime, we noticed four pairs of Delaware players throwing passes along the sidelines. Starting QB Nick Minicucci tossed among them. He seemed to be throwing gingerly.  He rubbed his right forearm every once in a while.  Looked like he still felt some discomfort in his throwing arm.

With UD fans sitting nearby, we discussed if Carty would bring him back in or continue with Streeter. We agreed the Blue Hens seemed to have built some confidence and momentum with Streeter ( 4 of 5, 58 yards) playing late in the first half.  GGA Greg noted that Jo Silver had effectively run the ball on several simple plays that Vanderbilt didn’t stop. He ran for 109 yards on 16 carries by the end of the game.

Clark Lea made Vanderbilt’s QB decision

To start the second half, Lea brought Curtis back in. The Commodores started from their thirty. Curtis drilled one pass directly in front of us that glanced off his receiver’s hands. I turned to Greg and said, “I couldn’t see that ball at all!” He can really throw hard and on the mark. On a third and ten from the 30, he showed great touch as he connected with Junior Sherril on a beautiful, over-the-shoulder pass down the left sideline for 35 yards. He immediately commenced again with Sherril for 15 more. Next, he followed up with Conner on a 12-yarder. Calling a QB draw from the two, Curtis took it in to regain the Vanderbilt lead, 21-17.

Vanderbilt regains control

With Minicucci back in at QB for Delaware, the Blue Hen game plan reverted back to the same as in the first period. On third down, Vandy sacked him and forced a punt. With a very slow, seemingly methodical punt attempt, VU copied UD from the first half and blocked it. Austin Howard recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.  Vandy extended its lead, 28-17.

A 12-yard sack of Minicucci on third down by S CJ Heard once again forced a UD punt. Starting from his 40, Curtis drove the team for a score. He connected on a 19-yard TD pass to Walter Taylor to lead going into the fourth, 35-14.

Delaware fought back, but squandered big chances in the Fourth

Minicucci got the Hens moving with 15 minutes left to play.  Smack put up three from 40 yards out at the 11:35 mark. The Blue Hens’ defense held Vanderbilt on its next possession. They took the ball back to start from the 20. Minicucci connected with RB Kaderris Roberts for 31 yards. Two plays later, he connected with Lofton (4 catches, 142 yards, 1 TD) for a 43-yard catch and run for a TD. Now, 6:37 remained. The Blue Hens were within striking distance, trailing 35-26.

Shades of lessons learned from James Franklin

We saw some stirring along the Delaware sideline. Greg blurted out, “Go for one!” I had to agree. Twice in late game situations at Penn State, I witnessed James Franklin make this mistake. Trailing late by nine, if your team puts up the PAT, you’re still within one scoring drive.  If you go for two and make it – great! However, if you fail, you take the wind right out of your team sails. With time winding down, you need two possessions to score with the time left instead of just one!  JF’s team did the latter in two big games attended in State College against Michigan and Oregon.  Made big differences in if he could have stayed at PSU. Of course, he’s gone now! Needless to say, UD’s two-pointer failed with an incomplete pass.

UD attempted an onsides kick. Great strategy with a high bounce down field that was almost recovered by UD. The execution just came up short. Vanderbilt took over at their 43. Curtis moved the Commodores down to the UD 21. There, Delaware took over on downs. Three misfires by Minicucci followed by pass interference gave the Hens a first down. His next pass was picked by CB Jayden Daniels. The final score stood in Vanderbilt’s favor, 35-26. Had HC Ryan Carty elected to go for one and made it, the Hens could have still been in the game with time remaining. Either way with the onsides kick, it still would have made for a much more exciting finish with the final result determined in the waning minutes.

Week Three ahead for Vanderbilt and Delaware

The Commodores (2-0) host their third non-conference foe next weekend in NC State (1-1). The Wolf Pack got clocked by No. 25 Virginia in their opener, but romped over FCS Richmond last week, 73-0. The UR Spiders now compete in the Patriot League. Greg predicts that Vanderbilt will not win in the SEC this year. I predict that Jared Curtis will continue to excel. With him stirring a pretty skilled offense, the Dores can defeat the likes of Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi State.

Delaware hosts Coastal Carolina (1-1) of the Sun Belt. The Chanticleers fell to West Virginia, 31-24, and like NC State, they romped over a Patriot League team, Fordham. We plan to see the Blue Hens come back to our area for a Tuesday night CUSA meeting at Western Kentucky on October 27. The contest could impact the conference title game.

Week Three games # 744 and # 745 ahead for us

Collegefootballfan.com heads to Winston-Salem, NC this Friday night to see No. 5 Miami (2-0) face the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (2-0). Neither has won a game of significance. However, the Canes come into town with offensive firepower. Transfer QB Darian Mensah from Tulane joins talent returning from last season in WR Malachi Toney and RB Mark Fletcher.

Wake relies on some outstanding returnees on defense. They will find out more about their transfer QB Gio Lopez who fell to the Deacs when we saw him last season playing for UNC. The Deacs have hopes he will succeed with their OC Rob Ezell whom excelled with two seasons ago at South Alabama.

On Saturday along our route home, we will take in an afternoon D-2 contest. The Anderson Trojans of South Carloina (2-1) will visit the Tusculum Pioneers (2-1) in Greeneville, Tennessee in a South Atlantic Conference clash. Look forward to some interesting D-2 action in a nice setting.

Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!

If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!

Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.

Capture some memories

Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”