Photos by Mark Campbell / Photo Gallery

CEDAR FALLS, IA -- The old adage that it’s not how you start but how you finish fit the University of Delaware football team perfectly Saturday afternoon in the Blue Hens’ NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision showdown with host and top-ranked Northern Iowa.

Northern Iowa dominated the first quarter as the Panthers jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the deafening UNI-Dome, but it was the No. 13 ranked Blue Hens who controlled the game from there as Delaware got two big fumble recoveries, returning one for a touchdown, and the old reliable arm of Joe Flacco (middle right) and running of Omar Cuff (bottom right) paved the way to a 39-27 upset win.

The Blue Hens (10-3), who knocked off the Panthers in the quarterfinals for the second time in five years, now advance to the NCAA semifinals where they will travel to Carbondale, IL to take on No. 3 seed and fourth-ranked Southern Illinois Friday night.

The Salukis (12-1), this year’s Gateway Conference runner-up and a team that Delaware defeated in the opening round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament on the way to the national champion, advanced with a 34-27 win over Colonial Athletic Association champion Massachusetts Saturday.

Two-time defending champion Appalachian State (11-2), a 38-35 winner over Eastern Washington Saturday, will play Richmond (11-2) next Saturday in the semifinals. Richmond defeated Wofford 21-10 in Greenville, SC Saturday in their quarterfinal game.

Delaware, Richmond, and Massachusetts were among the NCAA record five teams from the Colonial Athletic Association that advanced to this year’s NCAA Tournament.

After falling behind 10-0 in the opening stanza, the Hens scored 19 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 19-13 lead into the break thanks to a 55-yard fumble return by linebacker Erik Johnson (top right). After UNI regained the lead on an early third quarter touchdown run by Corey Lewis, the Hens reeled off 16 straight points, backed by two long field goals by Jon Striefsky, and held on the rest of the way for the victory.

“Joe (Flacco) kept this team together today,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, who improved to 7-1 all-time in the NCAA playoffs at Delaware. “I thought there was a point at the beginning of the game that (UNI) they might run us out of town. But our defense has made big plays in all of our big wins this season and they did it again today. I thought the extra day of preparation (after Delaware’s 44-7 first round win over Delaware State last Friday) helped us out a lot. We didn't play well early but then we put the pieces together."

Northern Iowa (12-1) lost for the the first time this season and had an eight-game win streak at the home friendly UNI-Dome snapped. The Panthers, the Gateway champions, had won six straight home playoff wins and were 12-2 all-time at the dome in post-season action. UNI, which entered the game ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (15.0 points per game) and No. 11 in total defense (296.2 yards per game), allowed 486 yards by the Hens and gave up their highest point total at home since defeating Southern Illinois 45-40 back in 2003.

Flacco, who led an offense that gained 486 yards and converted 13 of 20 third down attempts, completed 25 of 45 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a one-yard sneak in the final quarter to put the game away. He surpassed the 300-yard mark for the sixth time this season, went over 200 yards for the 10th time for 2007, and set a new school record for passing yards in a season with 3,686, breaking the mark of 3,436 by Matt Nagy in 2000.

Cuff posted his 20th career 100-yard rushing game as he ran 28 times for 102 yards and scored on a 15-yard scamper with 2:56 left in the third quarter that put the Hens up 29-20. He has now rushed for over 100 yards in all five of his NCAA playoff game appearances and extended his NCAA FCS record with his 38th touchdown, the third highest mark in the history of college football at any division.

Mark Duncan caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown while Striefsky shook off two extra point misses in the first half by converting field goals of 47 (a career-long) and 42 yards to up his season total to a school-record 19. Johnson led the defensive effort with a team-high 11 tackles, including four for loss, and his fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Northern Iowa piled up 465 yards as quarterback Eric Sanders, a Walter Payton Award finalist, completed 26 of 38 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown while running back Corey Lewis finished with 150 yards rushing and two touchdowns and Johnny Gray caught nine passes for 103 yards. The Panther defense sacked Flacco five times.

Delaware, which defeated a No. 1 ranked team for the first time since downing top-ranked Northeast Louisiana 41-18 in the 1992 NCAA quarterfinals, now advances to the NCAA semifinals for the ninth time in school history and for the sixth time since joining the I-AA (now FCS) classification. The Hens also advanced to the I-AA semifinals in 1982, 1992, 1997, 2000, and 2003, when the team captured the national title with a 15-1 record.

"That defense was tough and physical and at times out there it was crazy,” said Flacco. “There were times when I couldn't see anything and then at the last second it came open. And I mean the last possible second is when I saw those things open up. Our offensive line did a great job all day because those yards were tough to come by all day long."

Things looked bleak early as the boisterous crowd forced Delaware into two penalties on the first drive of the day and the Hens managed just 65 first quarter yards. The Panthers took advantage with a bevy of big plays, driving 64 yards on five plays on their initial drive, capped by a 25-yard scoring run by Lewis to go up 7-0 just four minutes in and ending the stanza up 10-0 on a 33-yard field goal by Billy Hallgren. Lewis’ 150 yards rushing on the day gave him 1,513 for the season, setting a new UNI season standard.

But the Hens came to life in the second quarter, scoring 19 unanswered points to take a 19-13 lead into the break. Flacco threw a pair of seven-yard scoring strikes, to Duncan with 13:05 left in the half and to tight end Robbie Agnone over the middle with 3:22 remaining.

UNI was driving to take the lead on its next possession but Delaware’s Fred Andrew and Anthony Bratton knocked the ball loose from Victor Williams after a pass completion. Johnson was there to scoop up the perfect bounce, barely avoided stepping out of bounds, and raced untouched 55 yards down the left sideline to give the Hens a 19-10 lead with 3:02 left in the half. UNI cut the lead on a 29-yard field goal by Hallgren just 29 ticks before intermission.

UNI came out strong to open the second half, marching 71 yards on nine plays and taking the lead back at 20-19 on a seven-yard run by Lewis with 10:45 left in the stanza. But again, the Hens answered with a rally.

Striefsky booted a 47-yard field goal, the longest of his career, with 7:40 remaining as the Hens took the lead back for good at 22-20 and Cuff capped a 72-yard drive with a 15-yard scoring burst up the middle with 2:56 remaining for a 29-20 advantage.

Delaware sophomore end Matt Marcorelle set up another Striefsky field goal - this one a 46-yarder with 8:03 left to play - with his school-record fifth forced fumble of the season.

UNI’s Sanders dropped back to pass at the Delaware 15-yard line with 13:45 left to play, but Marcorelle came around the right end and knocked the ball out of his hands as he went to pass. The co-captain pounced on the ball at the 39-yard line and 11 plays later Striefsky connected on his second field goal of the day.

"They rattled us in the beginning but then we got it together and settled down,” said Marcorelle, who also had seven tackles and a quarterback sack. “We kept attacking and came up with big plays and turnovers when we needed them.”

UNI narrowed the cap to 32-27 on a four-yard scoring strike from Sanders to tight end Austin Howard with 5:12 left, but the Hens got the ball back and iced the victory, driving 55 yards and upping the lead to 39-27 on a Flacco sneak with 41 seconds remaining.

The Hens kept the drive going with two big third down plays as Cuff gained 11 yards on a screen pass from Flacco to the UNI 38-yard line and Flacco gained the one yard needed on a third and one at the UNI 35-yard line.

Delaware clinched the win when Bratton picked off Sanders’ desperation pass into the end zone with eight seconds remaining.

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