The first time Delaware played a football game at William & Mary, two third-quarter fumbles by the Blue Hens set the stage for a 14-0 defeat.
That was 1923.
Over the nearly 100 seasons since, Delaware trips to Williamsburg have often been equally frustrating. The Blue Hens have won in just 10 of 22 visits, including only one of the last five.
Delaware returns to Zable Stadium in the Colonial capital Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. showdown between Top 25 FCS teams, hoping to start a new saga under first-year coach Ryan Carty.
None of unbeaten Delaware’s present players have appeared in a game there before, as it’s the Blue Hens’ first visit since 2016, a particularly galling and impactful loss.
Perhaps the most gut-wrenching defeat in UD history also occurred at Zable Stadium, in an NCAA quarterfinal game.
Not all Delaware games at William & Mary have turned out badly for the Blue Hens. But close, competitive games have been the standard. Twelve of those 22 games have been decided by seven points or less.
These are a dozen of the most memorable:
12 – William & Mary 45, Delaware 42 (2002)
Ricardo Walker returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a TD but frustration soon set in for Delaware. The Blue Hens suffered their third single-digit loss in the first five games of coach K.C. Keeler’s debut season 45-42, despite rallying from a 14-point halftime deficit to tie it late in the third quarter.
11 — Delaware 15, William & Mary 13 (1976)
Paul Schweizer’s recovery of a fumbled punt return set up Jeff Komlo’s 16-yard TD pass to a diving Larry Wagner with 2:12 left as Delaware prevailed 15-13. Bob Pietuszka’s interception then sealed the win.
10 – Delaware 28, William & Mary 21 (1991)
No. 3-ranked William & Mary couldn’t cope with the Delaware Wing-T offense, which piled up 472 yards, including Jim Lazarski’s 130 rushing, in a 28-21 win. Bill Vergantino ran for one touchdown and threw for three as the 12th-ranked Hens improved to 3-0.
9 – William & Mary 17, Delaware 16 (1985)
Tony Tolbert’s 2-yard TD run with 1:17 left closed an 18-play, 91-yard march for Delaware. But Bob Norris was stopped on a two-point run up the middle to end the Hens’ 8-game win streak in a 17-16 loss.
8 – Delaware 22, William & Mary 21 (2005)
This was a much happier ending than the previous year’s playoffs for the Blue Hens, as Sonny Riccio’s 6-yard TD pass to Aaron Love with 4:17 left gave Delaware the margin of victory 22-21. John Mulhern and Matt Marcorelle’s sack of Tribe QB Jake Phillips earlier in the fourth period for a safety had gotten the Hens within 21-16 and Mulhern and Kyle Campbell had subsequent interceptions.
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7 — William & Mary 10, Delaware 7, OT (1996)
Delaware quarterback Leo Hamlett threw his fourth interception of the game, the Blue Hens’ sixth turnover, as William & Mary secured a 10-7 overtime victory. After missing from 19 and 20 yards earlier, Brian Shallcross kicked a 42-yard field goal for William & Mary in the first OT possession.
6 — William & Mary 17, Delaware 16 (2010)
The 7-0, No. 2-ranked Blue Hens saw their unbeaten season finally blemished in a 17-16 defeat, as Mike Perry’s late 42-yard field-goal try swung wide left. The fourth-ranked Tribe had a second-quarter goal-line stand among several big defensive stops and went ahead with 6:25 left after a tricky 6-yard TD pass by tailback Jonathan Grimes fooled Delaware.
5 – William & Mary 27, Delaware 24 (1989)
Steve Christie’s school-record-tying 53-yard field goal with 4:25 left gave William & Mary a 27-24 win in a game clouded by controversy. William & Mary had earlier scored the tying touchdown after Delaware players on the bench were given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a third-and-6 stop at the UD 31.
4 – William & Mary 52, Delaware 45 (1998)
Dover High grad Hameen Ali rushed for 177 yards with a 66-yard touchdown for William & Mary, which won a 52-45 slugfest that had five lead changes and four ties. The Tribe scored the clinching TD with 6:05 left. Delaware then drove to the Tribe 6, where Matt Nagy’s fourth-and-goal pass was intercepted.
3 – William & Mary 24, Delaware 17 (2016)
Down by 11 early in the fourth period, William & Mary scored three touchdowns in the final 9:05 to stun Delaware 24-17 and lead to coach Dave Brock’s firing the next day. Aaron Swinton’s 63-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:43 left, as Delaware was driving for a potential go-ahead score, was the decisive blow. Swinton had earlier intercepted another pass in the end zone as Delaware suffered a fourth straight in-season loss for just the second time in 39 years.
2 – Delaware 49, William & Mary 31 (2007)
Delaware set the stage for its NCAA runner-up campaign by winning the Thursday night nationally televised season opener 49-31 as Omar Cuff tied an NCAA record with seven touchdowns, six rushing and one on a pass from Joe Flacco. Cuff rushed for 244 yards and Flacco threw for 202.
1 – William & Mary 44, Delaware 38, 2OT (2004)
Among agonizing UD losses, this 44-38 double-overtime NCAA quarterfinal setback still may lead the pack. Defending national champ Delaware was up 31-10, Omar Cuff had rushed for 148 yards and the Hens were driving for a potential clinching touchdown through three quarters. On the first play of the fourth quarter, cornerback Stephen Cason intercepted Sonny Riccio’s pass and ran 62 yards untouched for the touchdown. The Tribe scored two more touchdowns and won in OT.
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