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Delaware – Villanova Rivalry

Teams	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Villanova Wildcats Villanova Wildcats football The Villanova Wildcats football program represents Villanova University in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision . The Wildcats play at Villanova Stadium with capacity of 12,500.-History:...
First Meeting	November 17, 2007 Villanova 19, Delaware 14
Most Recent Meeting	November 19, 2011 Delaware 26, Villanova 16
Series	Villanova leads, 4–1
Trophy	Battle of the Blue Trophy

The Battle of the Blue is an annual college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 rivalry game between the University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

 Fightin' Blue Hens and Villanova University

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

 Wildcats

Villanova Wildcats

The Villanova Wildcats is the name of the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East for every sport except football, where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association .-Men's basketball:The Villanova Wildcats compete in the Big EAST and are currently coached by Jay...

. Beginning in 2007, the annual Delaware–Villanova game became known as Battle of the Blue. As part of this concept, the winning team gets to keep the Battle of the Blue Trophy at its institution for the year and is responsible for bringing the trophy to the following installment of the rivalry game. The trophy consists of a football with a Villanova logo and the Wildcat shade of blue on one side and the Blue Hen logo and the Delaware shade of blue on the other side. The ball sits in a wooden platform and the scores of each game are engraved on the base of the trophy. Villanova had possession of the trophy for the first four years, until Delaware won in 2011.

Three times within the first four years of the rivalry's existence, one of the teams went on to reach the NCAA Division I Football Championship. In 2007, the Wildcats upset #9 Delaware 19–14 to claim the first ever Battle of the Blue Trophy. Delaware would later reach the FCS National Championship game before falling to the Appalachian State Mountaineers

2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team

The 2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the college football season of 2007–2008. The team was coached by Jerry Moore and the Mountaineers played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina.The football team competes in...

 49–21. In 2009, Villanova would win their first-ever appearance in the national championship, defeating the Montana Grizzlies

Montana Grizzlies football

The Montana Grizzlies football program represents the University of Montana in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision of college football. The Grizzlies have competed in the Big Sky Conference, where it is a founding member, since 1963...

 23–21. The 2010 meeting marked the first time the game had gone into overtime, with the Wildcats securing another upset win over the #1-ranked Delaware team on a recovered fumble. Once again, however, Delaware would reach the national championship, but would lose to Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington Eagles football

The Eastern Washington Eagles football team represents Eastern Washington University in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...

, 20–19.

In 2011, the Battle of the Blue was the first American football game to be played at PPL Park in Chester, PA, in which Delaware beat Villanova to earn the trophy for the first time.

Game results

Date	Winning Team		Losing Team		Site
November 17, 2007	Villanova	19	Delaware	14	Villanova, PA
November 22, 2008	Villanova	21	Delaware	7	Newark, DE
November 21, 2009	Villanova	31	Delaware	12	Villanova, PA
November 20, 2010	Villanova	28OT	Delaware	21	Newark, DE
November 19, 2011	Delaware	26	Villanova	16	PPL Park, Chester, PA

External links

• Villanova vs. Delaware game notes. Villanova Wildcats football 2009 media guide, pg. 4. Retrieved on 1 December 2009.
• Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
• Villanova Wildcats football