Nick Minicucci left after a hit to his throwing arm, and Braden Streeter directed a 10-play, 82-yard touchdown drive in relief. Streeter converted third-and-8 with a 33-yard completion to Da'Wain Lofton. Delaware lost 35-26 at Vanderbilt, but its backup helped keep the offense moving when the starter needed to leave.
The Blue Hens led by three at halftime and finished with 338 yards to Vanderbilt's 339. Then again, Vanderbilt scored three third-quarter touchdowns. Delaware competed for extended stretches; it still needs to sustain that work through the second half.
Coastal Carolina visits Saturday, September 19, at 11:30 a.m. ET on CBSSN. Delaware's 77% win probability makes this a game fans can reasonably expect to win. No outside result offers Delaware a meaningful boost this week; the interactive guide and methodology provide the broader numbers.
The most revealing action will come before Delaware's quarterback releases the ball. At Vanderbilt, Chandler Telfaire, Steven Demboski, Anthony Caccese, Mustafa Kanneh and Noah Rosahac again started together. Silver credited the line and his own patience for the rushing lanes, yet Delaware's quarterbacks absorbed six sacks for 49 yards. That is useful run blocking alongside damaging pass pressure, without enough evidence to assign the sacks to individual linemen.
Jo Silver's 109 yards on 16 carries give Delaware a reason to keep feeding the run. Lofton's four catches for 142 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown, showed another way to generate big plays. Those performances give fans something concrete to want again Saturday, namely room for Silver and time to find Lofton downfield.
Protecting the passer matters especially to a program that led Conference USA in passing and total offense in 2025. At Vanderbilt, Minicucci completed 11 of 27 passes with two interceptions, and Delaware converted only three of 15 third downs. Watch for the offense to keep its quarterback upright and give itself manageable third downs, so it can sustain drives between big plays.
Coastal supplies a specific reason to watch the protection closely. Its defense produced four sacks and four takeaways in a 45-7 win over Fordham. One performance does not establish what Coastal will do against Delaware, but the visitors just demonstrated how disruptive they can be.
Protection deserves attention on punts, too. Tucker Smack answered two unsuccessful field-goal attempts against Merrimack by making kicks from 37 and 40 yards at Vanderbilt. Josh Cupitt averaged 41.2 yards on six credited punts, but Vanderbilt blocked a separate team punt and recovered it in the end zone. Fans can feel better about the kicking while still wanting the punt unit to prevent another touchdown gift.
Kevin Moore's defensive involvement is another smaller watch point. After forcing a fumble in his debut against Merrimack, he recorded only a kickoff-coverage tackle at Vanderbilt. The game book supplied no defensive snap count, so that quieter afternoon cannot establish that he lost a defensive role. Look for renewed defensive contributions before assuming the debut has become a weekly expectation.
Delaware plays four nonconference games before opening CUSA play against Liberty on October 2, with three consecutive Tuesday league games later in the month. Correcting protection now would give the offense a firmer footing before that compressed stretch; beating Coastal would not itself settle anything in the conference standings.
Streeter's relief work offers encouragement if Delaware needs an emergency response again. Minicucci returned in the second half at Vanderbilt, but the postgame reporting established neither a diagnosis nor his availability against Coastal. Root for Delaware's quarterback to have time to operate, and fewer occasions to find out how well Delaware can improvise after a hit.