LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football to face Delaware in the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. The full FCS bracket was announced during Sunday's selection show.
 
Saint Francis was crowned northeast Conference Champions for the second time in program history with a 52-23 victory over Merrimack. The Red Flash went 7-0 in conference play to complete the ninth undefeated season in NEC history.
 
Saint Francis ranks eighth in the FCS with 37.6 points per game and 16th with 444.4 total yards of offense per game. On the defensive side, Saint Francis ranks seventh in the FCS with 18.4 points against per game and ninth with 310 yards against per game.
 
The Red Flash offense is led by quarterback Cole Doyle, who has 917 passing yards and 14 passing touchdowns over the past three games. Freshman wide receiver Makai Jackson is eighth in the FCS with 7.3 receptions per game and leads freshmen with 83.6 receiving yards per game. Saint Francis' other freshman wideout Elijah Sarratt is tied for third in the FCS with 13 touchdown receptions, which is five more than Jackson's second-ranked eight. The defense is led by Donnell Brown's 13.5 tackles for loss and he adds 5.5 sacks. Gregory Reddick ranked second in the NEC with 7.9 tackles per game, while Willie O'Hara is fourth with seven per game. Travell Cook leads the team with five total takeaways.
 
Delaware finished 7-4 overall and 4-4 in CAA play to earn an at-large bit to the FCS playoffs. They enter the playoffs with losses in three of their final four games of the season, to ranked opponents Elon and Richmond, and Villanova who received votes. The Delaware defense ranks third in the FCS with 278.5 yards allowed per game and fourth with 16.2 points per game allowed. The offense averages an FCS 33rd-ranked 412.4 yards per game and scores 27.6 points per game.
 
The offense is led by quarterback Nolan Henderson who is tied for sixth in the FCS with 28 touchdowns passes and 12th with 2,934 passing yards. Wide receiver Thyrick Pitts leads the team with nine touchdown receptions and Jourdan Townsend leads with 56 receptions and 672 yards. Linebacker Johnny Buchanan is second in the FCS with 10.9 tackles for loss and Chase McGowan and Artis Hemmingway leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss.
 
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the second round of the playoffs and face No. 1 seeded South Dakota State.