Delaware football Blue Hens 2023 college football FCS

For the first time in 12 years, a University of Delaware football season ended in December.

That was certainly a sign of progress for the Blue Hens under first-year coach Ryan Carty, the ex-Delaware quarterback.

But an 8-5 record – also the Hens’ winningest in a dozen years – contained a vast concoction of highlights, such as the season-opening win at Navy, and lowlights, including yet another defeat against Villanova.

It did result in a berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, which separates good seasons from bad ones at Delaware. It was capped by Saturday’s 42-6 loss at South Dakota State in the round-of-16 that demonstrated quite clearly how far Delaware is from national title contention, and playing a game in January.

And since NCAA championships remain the program’s primary pursuit, at least until Delaware makes a likely inevitable climb to the Football Bowl Subdivision in the next few years, there is considerable work to be done.

That, of course, will begin with a 2023 season in which Delaware will return some experienced, proven players but also have some very good ones to replace, including first-team All-CAA defenders Johnny Buchanan and Kedrick Whitehead and, quite possibly, standout quarterback Nolan Henderson.