KINGSTON, RI -- The University of Delaware struggled on both sides of the ball for much of the day, but the offense picked up and the defense clamped down when it counted most in leading the No. 18 ranked Blue Hens to a much-needed 24-17 victory over host Rhode Island in its Atlantic 10 Conference football opener Saturday at rainy Meade Stadium.

Quarterback Joe Flacco (at right; photo by Bob Burleigh) scored the game-winner on a three-yard touchdown run with 6:51 left to play just moments after hitting tight end Ben Patrick on a 42-yard pass as the Blue Hens (2-1, 1-0 Atlantic 10) bounced back from a 17-10 setback at home to Albany last week. The Blue Hens face a tough task this Saturday as they take on the No. 1 ranked University of New Hampshire at Delaware Stadium.

Rhode Island (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic 10), which hadn’t played since defeating NCAA II Merrimack 42-7 back on Sept. 9, pounded out 266 yards on the ground, including 53 on their first play from scrimmage, and took a 17-10 lead into the final stanza before running out of gas. The Rams’ 266 yards rushing were the most allowed by Delaware since Navy, another triple-option attack, rushed for 346 in 2004 and the most by an NCAA I-AA opponent since Georgia Southern rushed for 279 yards in the 2002 opener.

“Any win on the road in the Atlantic 10 is a great win,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, whose squad also trailed 10-3 heading into halftime. “We had a tough loss last week and to let things get away would have been a bad thing. We had a championship week of practice. I really liked the way we came back. Our kids never panicked. The offense they were seeing was brand new but our kids battled and did a pretty good job. We could have collapsed a few times in the second half but our kids responded.”

Flacco hit on 15 of 30 passes for 205 yards while Omar Cuff run for 76 yards on 19 carries and Patrick caught six passes for 91 yards. Cuff moved into 10th place on the all-time UD rushing list with his effort, moving past Dan Reeder (2,067 yards in 1982-84) with 2,103 yards. Rhode Island’s Jimmy Hughes ran for 106 yards while Joe Casey picked up 97 yards. The Rams completed just four passes for 32 yards on the day.

Delaware overcame a scoreless third quarter that saw the offense struggle to gain just five total yards on 13 plays. That enabled Rhode Island to take a 17-10 lead with 8:08 left in the stanza when quarterback Derek Cassidy scored his second touchdown of the day. The drive was set up when Stuart Kenworthy’s punt travelled just 28 yards to the URI 38-yard line. Rhode Island then ran 12 straight running plays, six by Cassidy, capped by the short scoring run.

The Blue Hens finally got things going in the final quarter to pull out the win. Delaware’s Roger Brown recovered a fumble on a botched handoff to Casey that was forced by Bubba Jespersen at the URI-30-yard line. The Hens followed with a nine-play drive that was capped by Cuff’s two-yard burst up the middle with 11:13 left to play that tied the game at 17-17. Cuff took care of the final 12 yards of the drive on four runs, including a key nine-yarder to the two.

“Omar really took over for us in that final quarter,” said Keeler. “He was spectacular. When it came down to it, Omar came up big for us.”

After Rhode Island went three plays and out on their next drive, the Hens got the ball on their own 38-yard line and drove for the game-winner. The big play of the drive came when Flacco hit Patrick down the left sideline for a 42-yard gain to the six-yard line. After Cuff’s three-yard run put the ball on the three, Flacco completed the drive when he faked a handoff and ran around the left side untouched for the touchdown and the 24-17 lead.

The Rams never made it out of their own end of the field on their next possession, giving the ball up on their own 21-yard line. Cuff took over for the Hens, running out the clock and preserving the win as he gained 28 yards on four carries. Flacco then took a knee on the URI one-yard line to finish out the victory.

The first half ended in a 10-10 deadlock with the Blue Hens tying the game up on an 11-yard run by freshman Jared Bradley with 3:57 left in the second quarter. The run capped a 74-yard drive that included two big third down plays with Joe Flacco hitting Kervin Michaud for a 21-yard gain to the URI 44-yard line and then running himself for 11 yards to the Ram 25-yard line.

Rhode Island piled up 198 yards rushing on the ground as its triple-option attack frustrated the Blue Hens. The Rams’ Jimmy Hughes ran for 53 yards on the first play from scrimmage, setting up a 32-yard field goal by Colin Gallagher with 11:54 left in the first half to open the scoring.

Delaware had some early success of its own as Flacco hit Mark Duncan on a 51-yard bomb on the Hens’ first place from scrimmage, putting the ball on the URI 19-yard line. The drive stalled, but Zach Hobby connected on a 36-yard field goal, his school record eighth straight successful conversion, to tie the score at 3-3 with 10:36 left in the half.

The Rams took a 10-3 lead with seven seconds left in the first half when Derek Cassidy capped a 65-yard drive with a one-yard dive. The drive was highlighted by a 28-yard run by Joe Casey off a fake punt that put the ball on the UD 31-yard line. Cassidy scored seven plays later.

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