The Blue Hens expected Saturday night would be an adventure, with Tropical Storm Ophelia raking Delaware Stadium with heavy wind and periodic rain.
But cornerback Khalil Dawsey made it a memorable night for reasons beyond the wild weather as Delaware rallied to beat New Hampshire 29-25 in a game between Top 25 FCS teams.
Dawsey forced a fumble that likely prevented a New Hampshire touchdown on the game’s first series, then intercepted a pass to foil one UNH drive in the fourth quarter.
CLASSIC COMEBACK:Blue Hens rally to beat the weather, UNH
The grad transfer from Harvard also had a career-high eight tackles, including one for lost yardage.
"It was one of the biggest games [of his career], definitely," Dawsey said Monday.
"I feel like I was able to accomplish a lot of what I set out to do and hopefully I still have more production left and more plays left to be made. But it was definitely a fun one and I was happy to be able to come through for the guys."
His reward was a huge Coastal Athletic Association win for the Blue Hens and Dawsey being named the CAA’s co-defensive player of the week.
The Blue Hens soared from 19th to 11th in the latest STATS PERFORM national Top 25 FCS media poll while New Hampshire dropped three places to 14th. The rally from an 18-point deficit was the largest for Delaware since winning 32-31 at Towson in 2013 after trailing by 21 in the fourth period.
UNH TAKEAWAYS:Victory could propel Hens
Delaware (3-1 overall, 2-0 CAA) has an open date this week before hosting Duquesne (1-2) in its final nonconference game Oct. 7.
Dawsey also had several moments he regretted rather than relished after being flagged three times for pass interference. That last was on a fourth-and-8 incomplete pass that gave UNH life in a drive Delaware did stop on downs at the UD 15. Such is the life of the cornerback.
"Of course, it was frustrating as [penalty] calls always are," Dawsey said. "I just tried to play physical . . . I definitely gotta get back to the film room and see where I can perfect my technique so I can avoid that in the future."
The 6-foot, 184-pound Dawsey played in 21 career games at Harvard and was an honorable mention All-Ivy pick in 2022. Though he missed several games in 2021, Dawsey did intercept two passes and returned one 55 yards for a touchdown in a 38-13 win over Holy Cross and went 77 yards on the other. As a freshman in 2019, he blocked two punts in a win over Howard.
Dawsey was also part of a 52-man Ivy League all-star squad that played in the Japan-U.S. Dream Bowl beating a team from Japan 24-20 last January at Tokyo’s Olympic stadium.
CAA STANDINGS: Delaware tied for first
A Detroit resident, Dawsey was a football and track and field athlete in high school at Wylie E. Groves. His eight interceptions led the state in 2017 and he was All-State as a senior in 2018.
An academic standout as well as a football star, Dawsey was recruited by all the Ivy League schools and happily landed at Harvard. He graduated with a degree in economics and is pursuing a master's degree in international business at Delaware, which he choose because he could "succeed on the field but I could be part of something bigger than myself," he said.
His summer move to Delaware was delayed because of transfer paperwork after Dawsey completed his Harvard degree. Preseason drills were two-thirds over before Dawsey could take part. He’s now started Delaware's last two games and proven to be a quick learner.
“Being a smart kid and an experienced player already, that kind of helped him be able to hop in and at least take reps early,” Delaware coach Ryan Carty said. “ . . . It's been fun to see him kind of progress.
"All three of those guys out wide [at cornerback with fellow transfers Tyron Herring and A’Khoury Lyde] have been doing a really nice job this year and starting to get acclimated. I think they're starting to find a lot of confidence and it looks like we got some guys out there who can make plays, which is pretty fun.”
Hen scratch
Carty wouldn’t provide an update Monday on what appeared to be a potentially serious knee injury suffered by wide receiver Kym Wimberly, Dawsey’s former Harvard teammate, after a second-half sideline catch . . . UNH coach Rick Santos had high praise for Delaware quarterback Ryan O’Connor, who was 24-for-37 passing for 336 yards and three touchdowns. “That first touchdown that they had, to cut it to 18-7, we had a zero all-out pressure in his face, a guy unblocked,” said Santos, the former Payton Award-winning UNH quarterback. “It couldn’t have been a better defensive scheme and he kinda side-armed it around our guy and had a really good route combination and they took it 30-some yards for a touchdown. It started to snowball from there. I was really impressed with how he stood in there under duress.”
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