The 1982 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

during the

1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1982 and concluded with the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA F ...

. 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. In their 17th year under head coach

Tubby Raymond Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond (November 14, 1926 – December 8, 2017) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Delaware from 1966 to 2001, compiling a record of 300–119–3 ...

, 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 A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, 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 The Pioneer Bowl was the name of some December college football bowl games played in two different eras. Between 1971 and 1982, the game was contested 10 times in Texas as an NCAA College Division regional final, or as a playoff game for Divisio ...

national championship game. Delaware played its home games at

Delaware Stadium Delaware Stadium is a 18,800-seat multi-purpose stadium in Newark, Delaware, and is home to the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. The stadium is part of the David M. Nelson Athletic Complex, which includes the Bob Carp ...

on the university campus in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. According to the 2010 United States Census, ...

Schedule

References

{{1982 Division I-AA football playoff navbox

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football seasons

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represents the University of Delaware in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college football. The team is currently led by head coach ...