Who is favored in Missouri State Bears at Delaware Blue Hens?

Delaware Blue Hens are favored on the moneyline.

Missouri State Bears at Delaware Blue Hens

·Oct 20, 2026·6:00 PM CT·ESPNU·Newark, DE

By JR·2 min read

Missouri State(2-4)

Delaware(2-4)

6:00 PM

TLDR: Both teams are 2-4, and Tuesday night in Newark only one of them gets to stop sliding. Missouri State just won a close one at home, Delaware has lost 3 in a row, and the biggest unknown is whether Nick Minicucci plays at quarterback.

TUE 10/20, TUE OCT 20, 6:00 PM CT · Week 8 ESPNU

Missouri State

(2-4)

WLLLW

Delaware

(2-4)

LLLWL

Kickoff 59°

Missouri State and Delaware are both 2-4, and the Bears are coming off a 3-point win over defending CUSA champion Kennesaw State while the Blue Hens have dropped 3 straight. The main question is whether Nick Minicucci's leg lets him return at quarterback for Delaware, though backup Tyler Bell just threw for 306 yards. Both defenses have given up a lot of points lately, so this sets up as a shootout between 2 passing games.

Missouri State Bears

Belin threw for 300 and 2 TDs vs Kennesaw State
Myers: 7 catches, 135 yards, 2 TDs last game
Obeid 3-for-3 on field goals in a 3-point win
Allowed 30+ in each of its 3 losses
Scored 13 in the blowout at Western Kentucky
Travel east for a Tuesday road game

Delaware Blue Hens

Bell threw for 306 and 2 TDs at Middle Tennessee
Minicucci, a 2025 national passing leader, may return
Led Middle Tennessee late before losing by 3

The football side starts at quarterback. Henry Belin IV is coming off his best night of the year: 28-of-39 for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 24-21 win over Kennesaw State, with Isaiah Myers catching 7 balls for 135 yards and both scores. On the other side, Delaware has played without Minicucci for 2 straight games since he hurt his knee in the second quarter of the 42-3 loss at Virginia. He is listed questionable with a leg injury, and nobody has said yet whether he plays Tuesday.

Delaware's offense has not stopped working without him. Tyler Bell threw for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns at Middle Tennessee, and the Blue Hens led 30-26 in the fourth quarter before Roman Gagliano hit Neo Clifton for a 14-yard touchdown with 3:06 left to win it 33-30. The roster around the quarterback has thinned, though. Running back G. Spiller has been shut down for the season, and receiver T. Salazer is out for an extended stretch.

Missouri State has done better with the schedule it was given. The Bears lost by 6 to Marshall and by 10 at SMU before getting run over 34-13 at Western Kentucky. Then they came home and beat Kennesaw State, the defending Conference USA champion, on 3 Yousef Obeid field goals. That win made them 1-1 in the league, while Delaware is still looking for its first conference win at 0-2.

Delaware's season has been all over the place. The Blue Hens scored 26 at Vanderbilt and 30 at Middle Tennessee, but managed 3 at Virginia and 14 at home against Liberty. Their only win in the last 5 was a 22-14 grind against Coastal Carolina, which says the defense can win a game when the offense keeps things simple. Neither defense has been stingy lately: Missouri State gave up 30, 34 and 34 in its 3 straight losses, and Delaware allowed 30 or more in each of its last 3.

The forecast for Delaware Stadium is good football weather: 61 degrees, cloudy, a 4 mph wind and almost no chance of rain. That suits 2 offenses that want to throw. Missouri State has the hotter quarterback-receiver pair right now. Delaware has the home field, a backup who just threw for 300, and a starter who might be back. Whoever's defense gets a stop in the fourth quarter leaves Newark at 3-4.

Missouri State Bears at Delaware Blue Hens

Live Odds