As I was walking into the Carpenter Center Friday, starting offensive tackle Ben Curtis came in right behind me. I congratulated him on the victory the night before in the Blue Hens' opener, 51-35 over Jacksonville, and on the offense’s 611-yard output.
WILLIAM BRETZGER/THE NEWS JOURNAL
Blue Hens RB Julian Laing leaves defenders behind on a second-quarter carry.
He quickly pointed out that the best thing about it was Delaware’s 373 yards on the ground. If Dave Brock had heard him, he would have smiled.
A spread offense doesn’t have to ignore the run. Previous coach K.C. Keeler felt that way. So does new Delaware coach Brock, who often stated throughout preseason that establishing the run will be the foundation of Delaware’s multi-faceted, deceptive, uptempo attack.
It worked to perfection in Thursday’s 51-35 season-opening win against Jacksonville. Delaware stuck with its approach even after falling behind 14-0 early after punt- and kick-return fumbles.
“Once we were started to be able to run the ball, the passing game opened up,” said Brock, who credited offensive coordinator Sean Devine and his staff for sticking to the plan and the players for keeping their cool and making plays.
“We were able to grab a couple chunks and we were able to get right back in the game and then take control of the game in the second half running it.”
Delaware will have some much more difficult endeavors this football season than it had in its opener, certainly. But it was a promisingly efficient beginning for what is an appealing and proper method.