Every University of Delaware football team seeks success on the national level and the Blue Hens will enter the 2023 season considered worthy of lofty expectations.
Delaware is ranked 22nd nationally in the Stats Perform preseason Top 25 media poll for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision released Monday.
The Blue Hens are coming off an 8-5 season, their winningest in 12 years, in which they reached the FCS playoffs, getting a first-round win over Saint Francis before falling to eventual champ South Dakota State.
They’re now prepping for the Aug. 31 season opener at Coastal Athletic Association rival Stony Brook having to rebuild the defense and find a new starting quarterback.
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Delaware hasn’t made the NCAA playoffs in back-to-back years since 2003 and 2004 but has high hopes.
“Obviously, it’s a preseason ranking. It doesn’t really mean that much to us,” UD starting tight end Braden Brose said Monday. “But it can create a little bit of fire for us and just build off that. We know what we have in our room and then inside our building so that’s all that matters to us. We’re just focused on Stony Brook and go from there.”
South Dakota State is ranked first, with North Dakota State, Montana State, CAA rival William & Mary and Holy Cross rounding out the top five.
Other CAA teams ranked are No. 11 New Hampshire, which Delaware hosts Sept. 23, No. 18 Richmond and No. 21 Rhode Island. Delaware doesn’t play William & Mary, Richmond or Rhode Island in its 2023 schedule.
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