​Delaware’s transformation into a Football Bowl Subdivision program earned another ringing endorsement on Sept. 19.The Blue Hens, in their second FBS season, have many more competitive peers now than they did as an FCS-level Coastal Athletic Association team. They are more likely to encounter foes who could very well beat them.Coastal Carolina certainly fit that description. In the 10th year of their FBS life, the Chanticleers have played in bowl games the last six seasons.Their bout with the Blue Hens at Delaware Stadium was evenly matched and up for grabs. The Blue Hens may have been 4.5-point favorites, but the Chanticleers appeared to be the superior outfit at the outset.They did hold 7-0 and 14-7 leads early on, and would have had another if a holding penalty hadn’t erased a third-quarter go-ahead touchdown.The Blue Hens masterfully managed the afternoon’s subsequent chain of events to score a 22-14 win that was as good as any since last year’s competitive climb to the FBS.“We played a really darn good football team,” Delaware coach Ryan Carty said afterward. “Those guys are talented. I wasn’t exactly sure how talented they were going to be in real life based on film. It’s a talented football team.”Many more similar tests loom in the eight Conference USA games that begin with a Friday night, Oct. 2, visit from Liberty. The Blue Hens will be as severely tested in those as they were by Coastal Carolina, which similarly resides in Group of 6 territory as a Sun Belt Conference member.But the Blue Hens prevailed by executing in the key moments and not turning the ball over, which they’ll have to repeat on a weekly basis.They are now 25-0 in Carty’s five years as coach when winning the turnover margin – it was 2-0 in this game – and 13-0 when having zero offensive giveaways.Not surprisingly, the winning TD – Nick Minicucci’s 36-yard pass to Sean Wilson with 8:19 left – came one play after Coastal Carolina muffed a punt. The ball was jarred loose by Matthew McKinley-Daniels and recovered by Colin Gallagher.Wilson’s ability to catch anything Minicucci puts near him, even with defenders draped all over him, continues to raise eyebrows. His 185 receiving yards were a career high.Equally clutch was Josh Cupitt dropping four of his six punts inside the 20 as Coastal Carolina started drives at its 5-, 7- and 1-yard lines.Delaware’s defense also shut out CCU in the second half, frequently forcing punts and thwarting the Chanticleers’ best chance to score. Safety A.J. Graham broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the UD 13 with 4:07 left.The Hens’ four sacks and seven tackles for lost yardage were season highs.“We definitely had to rise to the occasion,” defensive end Noah Matthews said of the defense’s strong finish. “We just kind of, as a defense, settled down, tried not to allow the moment to get too big.” The Blue Hens then converted two third downs to retain possession and ultimately run ou