The Fightin' Blue Hens opened the 2003 season with a bang as quarterback Andy Hall threw for a career-high 283 yards and three touchdowns and running back Germaine Bennett rushed for 109 yards and a score to earn a victory over The Citadel. The Hens piled up 476 yards of total offense and held The Citadel to just 266 yards to win on opening day for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons. Hall threw scoring passes of 23 yards to wide receiver David Boler, 45 yards to tight end Rick Lavelle and 16 yards to wide receiver Justin Long. Bennett scored on a 31-yard run up the middle, highlighting the jaunt with a complete flip into the end zone.

UD opened Atlantic 10 Football Conference play with a dominating effort as Andy Hall and Germaine Bennett were once again the offensive heroes. Hall threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns, and Bennett rushed for 121 yards and scored three times in his first career start as the Hens gained 450 total yards. UD defeated the University of Richmond for the eighth straight time at Delaware Stadium and avenged a last-second 15-13 loss to the Spiders in 2002. UD's defense forced four Richmond turnovers, including an interception by senior safety Mike Adams, and the Hens took advantage each time.

NCAA Division II West Chester University was no match for the Hens, who amassed 461 yards of total offense and downed the Rams for the 10th straight time. The game was decided early as the Hens scored 28 first-quarter points, including two scores in the first three minutes of the game, and went into halftime up 42-0. The 42 first-half points were the second highest total in UD history. The Hens improved to 3-0 for their best start since 2000 as six different players scored touchdowns. Andy Hall threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Brian Ingram, including one for 71 yards, and Justin Long showed his throwing skills on a 64-yard scoring pass to G.J. Crescione. Defensive back Sidney Haugabrook returned an interception 39 yards for a score.

UD survived its first real test of the season against Hofstra University behind the legs of Andy Hall. The Hens piled up 302 yards on the ground, including a pair of touchdowns by Hall, who ran for 159 yards and clinched the win with an 85-yard scoring run late in the third quarter, the longest by a quarterback in school history. Germaine Bennett had his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 124 yards, including a short touchdown run, and Brad Shushman kicked a 25-yard field goal. UD overcame three turnovers with strong defense as Mike Adams and Sidney Haugabrook each blocked field goal attempts and defensive lineman Brian Jennings had two sacks.

Another quick start and a strong running game lifted UD, ranked fourth in NCAA Division I-AA, to its fifth straight win, a 41-27 victory over William & Mary College. The Hens registered more than 400 yards of total offense for the sixth straight game and scored all five touchdowns on the ground. Andy Hall threw for 236 yards and one touchdown and ran for another, and wide receiver Joe Bleymaier scored on an eight-yard run off a fake field goal attempt.

After falling behind 21-3 in the first quarter, UD battled back for an incredible 22-21 victory. Germaine Bennett scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard dive with just 1:58 left to play, and the Hens held their breath in the final seconds as University of New Hampshire kicker Connor McCormick barely missed on a 34-yard field goal attempt. UD cut the New Hampshire lead to 21-13 at the half when Bennett blocked a field goal that set up Andy Hall's four-yard pass to David Boler just before halftime.

UD's defense forced six Rhode Island turnovers and held the potent triple-option attack in check all afternoon for a dominating victory. Andy Hall threw four touchdown passes, including two to G.J. Crescione, as the Hens built a 35-0 halftime lead. The University of Rhode Island, which entered the game averaging 353.3 yards per game on the ground, was held to just 179. UD had 11 tackles for loss, recovered three fumbles and intercepted three passes, including two by defensive back Dave Camburn.

The U.S. Naval Academy, which went to the postseason Houston Bowl, jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead before a festive Homecoming crowd of 34,982, but UD spoiled the party in one of the most important victories in recent memory. Navy scored twice in the first eight minutes of play but the Hens never panicked and went into halftime tied 14-14 on short runs by Andy Hall and running back Antawn Jenkins. UD went ahead for good on a 28-yard sweep by Germaine Bennett midway through the third quarter and sealed the win when Dave Camburn knocked down a pass in the end zone on the last play of the game, setting off a celebration by the players and the thousands of Blue Hen fans who made the trip. UD, which took advantage of three turnovers, held Navy's nationally ranked running attack to just 180 yards, far below it's average of 321.9 yards per game.

In a season filled with big comebacks for UD, this one might have been the most impressive. Down 21-0 to a talented University of Maine team late in the third quarter, the Hens rallied to send the game into overtime on a 39-yard scoring pass from Andy Hall to David Boler with 1:39 left in regulation and won it on Brad Shushman's 36-yard field goal in overtime. Maine dominated the first three quarters, and the Hens were unable to find the end zone until Hall's one-yard dive with 12 seconds left in the third quarter. A thrilling 80-yard punt return for a touchdown by Sidney Haugabrook was a key play in the game.

Dreams of an undefeated season were dashed on a field where UD has had little good fortune in recent years. Northeastern's Shawn Brady threw two touchdown passes to Cory Parks and the Huskies took advantage of several dropped passes and 13 penalties by the Hens. After a slow start, the Hens tied the game at 14-14 on a 10-yard run by Germaine Bennett early in the fourth quarter, but Brady hooked up with Parks on a 14-yard scoring pass and Northeastern University tacked on a field goal for the victory.

UD moved one step closer to the Atlantic 10 Football Conference title with a classic victory in the longest game in Blue Hen history. This one had everything as the Hens finally clinched the win over the University of Massachusetts, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division I-AA, when Andy Hall hit a sprawling Justin Long in the end zone on a four-yard toss in the third overtime. UD then sealed the victory when Jeff Krohn's fourth down pass went incomplete. Hall completed a school record 28 passes, threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for another score, a 13-yard run in the second overtime. Heroes were plentiful for the Hens as Germaine Bennett sent the game into a second overtime on a 16-yard run and defensive lineman Chris Mooney blocked two field goal attempts. Massachusetts, which sent the game into overtime on a six-yard pass from Krohn to Johnson Owumi with 2:26 left, was hurt by five turnovers.

Andy Hall put in a gutsy effort and led UD to its first Atlantic 10 Football Conference title since 2000 with a hard fought victory over archrival Villanova University. Hall, who suffered a separated shoulder in the first half, returned to direct the Hens on the game-winning 13-play, 79-yard drive. Late in that drive, UD was stopped twice on the one-yard line but Hall then scored on a one-yard option keeper with 1:25 left to play. Hall threw for 217 yards, and Germaine Bennett posted his fourth straight 100-yard effort with 109 yards. Brad Shushman added two field goals for the Hens, who won at Villanova for the first time since 1994.

The game was UD's first venture into the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs since 2000 and the Hens scored a convincing 48-7 victory over Gateway Conference Co-Champion Southern Illinois University. The Hens scored 27 first-quarter points and built an insurmountable 34-0 halftime lead. UD took advantage of six Southern Illinois turnovers and turned a blocked punt into another score to post the win over the fourth-ranked Salukis. Germaine Bennett rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns, and Andy Hall fired two touchdown passes to lead the assault. UD's defense held the vaunted Thunder and Lightning running attack of Southern Illinois backs Muhammad Abdulqaadir and Tom Koutsos to just 114 total yards. Southern Illinois quarterback Joel Sambursky had a tough day, taking big hits from defensive backs Leon Clarke and Jamie Rotonda.  

After blizzard-like conditions dropped nearly eight inches of snow on the Newark area into Saturday morning, UD used teamwork to clear the field, as freshman players, Marching Band members and fans grabbed shovels. Once the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinal game started, UD went to work dismantling Gateway Conference Co-Champion Northern Iowa University to earn a berth in the semifinals. Germaine Bennett and Antawn Jenkins led a dominating effort on the ground, combining for 217 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The UD defense held the Panthers to just 164 yards, posted three sacks, forced three turnovers and blocked a punt. UD's Brad Shushman converted three field goals in the rout. UD, which broke away after building a 17-7 halftime lead, won its 13th game to equal a school record.

UD's Germaine Bennett enjoyed a record-setting day as he rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns and became the all-time single season rushing leader as the Hens downed the Southern Conference champions 24-9 to earn a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA championship game. UD broke open a 3-3 deadlock at halftime with a dominating defensive effort. The Hens held No. 2 ranked Wofford College to just 207 total yards to end the Terriers' 12-game win streak. Wofford's high-powered Wingbone rushing attack, a combination of the Wishbone and the Delaware Wing-T, was held to just 136 yards on the ground. UD's All-American defensive lineman Shawn Johnson led the way with nine tackles, including 3.5 for loss and one sack. The victory set off an on-field celebration by UD fans, who skirted police officers on horseback near the student section in the south end zone to take down the north end zone goalpost.

UD made short work of Colgate University in the NCAA Division I-AA championship game. With a dominating defensive effort, the Hens smothered previously unbeaten Colgate to capture the sixth national title in school history and the first since winning the 1979 NCAA Division II crown. UD Head Coach K.C. Keeler was a linebacker on the 1979 title team. UD held Colgate to just 157 total yards in posting the first shutout and the widest margin of victory in Division I-AA championship game history. The Hens held record-breaking Walter Payton Award winner Jamaal Branch to just 55 yards on the ground as UD's own running backs, Germaine Bennett and Antawn Jenkins, stole the show with two touchdowns each. All-American quarterback Andy Hall also capped a memorable season by hitting David Boler on two short touchdown passes. The win capped the most successful season in UD history as the Hens finished with a 15-1 record.