1982 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

The 1982 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an American football team that represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Delaware ended the regular season ranked No. 3 in the nation, and made it to the Division I-AA national championship game, where the Hens lost by 3 points.

1982 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
NCAA Division I-AA Championship, L 14–17 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Conference	Independent
Record	12–2
Head coach	Tubby Raymond (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ted Kempski (15th season)
Offensive scheme	Delaware Wing-T
Base defense	5–2
Captain	Paul Brown
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium
Seasons ← 1981 1983 →

1982 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Delaware ^			–					12	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Tennessee State ^			–					10	–	1	–	1
No. 13 Holy Cross			–					8	–	3	–	0
James Madison			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Colgate ^			–					8	–	4	–	0
No. 20 Lafayette			–					7	–	3	–	0
Nicholls State			–					7	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Northwestern State			–					6	–	5	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					5	–	5	–	0
Bucknell			–					4	–	6	–	0
Lehigh			–					4	–	6	–	0
Southeastern Louisiana			–					4	–	7	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	6	–	0
William & Mary			–					3	–	8	–	0
Richmond			–					0	–	10	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee

In their 17th year under head coach Tubby Raymond, the Hens compiled a 12–2 record (10–1 regular season). Paul Brown was the team captain.

The Hens suffered their only regular-season loss, to Division I-A Temple, in their second week of play, just before the first week of weekly rankings. As their 11-game win streak developed, however, they rapidly climbed the national Top 20, reaching as high as No. 2 and settling as the No. 3 team. Delaware had a first-round playoff bye and won two playoff games before losing the Pioneer Bowl national championship game.

Delaware played its home games at Delaware Stadium on the university campus in Newark, Delaware.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	Western Kentucky		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 31–0	16,682	[1]
September 18	at Temple		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 0–22	25,463	[2]
September 25	Princeton		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 35–17	18,147	[3]
October 2	at Lehigh		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (rivalry)	W 20–19	14,000	[4]
October 9	at UMass	No. 11	Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	W 14–13	10,411	[5]
October 16	C.W. Post	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 48–7	18,868	[6]
October 23	Towson State	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 51–7	20,232	[7]
October 30	William & Mary	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	W 62–21	18,005	[8]
November 13	West Chester	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	W 55–13	20,012	[9]
November 20	at Bucknell	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 46–6	14,224	[10]
November 26	Connecticut	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 13–7	13,062	[11]
December 4	No. 9 Colgate	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	W 20–13	11,448	[12]
December 11	at No. 2 Louisiana Tech	No. 3	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	W 17–0	8,000	[13]
December 18	vs. No. 1 Eastern Kentucky	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game—Pioneer Bowl)	L 14–17	11,257	[14]
Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

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