Quite simply, Saturday’s contest between the No. 3 Massachusetts football team and No. 6 Delaware is the game of the year in Atlantic 10, and arguably one of the biggest in all of Division I-AA.

If the Minutemen are able to win, what would be their school-record ninth straight game, they will clinch their first A-10 title since 1999, and wrap up the conference’s automatic playoff bid that will guarantee their first trip to the postseason in those four years. Also, it would provide them with a shot to become the first team to run the table in the A-10 since 1997, and the first ever to do so with nine wins over league opponents.

If the Blue Hens win, however, all will not be lost for UMass. On the heels of a 24-14 loss to Northeastern – UD’s first of the season – coach K.C. Keeler’s squad must win both of its remaining games to clinch the conference championship, including a showdown with rival Villanova a week from Saturday.

With that being said, what will transpire before 23,000 raucous fans and a national television audience at Delaware Stadium is clearly a battle of the titans – two top-five teams, a combined 18 wins against only two losses, two of the best quarterbacks in the country and the A-10’s premier defensive units in what is, in effect, an all-or-nothing battle for supremacy in both the Atlantic 10 as well as nation-wide.

For football players, coaches and fans, this is what it’s all about.

“The players are excited, I know that,” UMass coach Mark Whipple said. “It’s going to be a great game, both teams are going to come to play and play hard. It’s the biggest game of the year for both teams, and the biggest game in I-AA this weekend.

“As far as UMass goes, this is the biggest game since Georgia Southern in the 1999 semi-finals, and the biggest regular season game since UConn that same year.”

For Delaware, the game serves as a chance to redeem themselves after the crucial loss to Northeastern that knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten, and from the top spot in the A-10 for the first time this season. Of greater concern for Keeler, though, were comments made by his players following the defeat in which “complacency” was identified as a problem, and that maybe the team had become “too lax.”

Keeler was quick to respond, indicating that his team needed to discover new ways to vent its frustrations.

“I told them to shut their mouths,” Keeler said. “I told them that if there was a problem, they should have addressed it in the locker room or in our leadership council meeting, and not through the media. I thought that was their frustration coming through.”

A silver lining may exist for the Blue Hens, however, in the fact that the game will be played in the friendly confines of Delaware Stadium, before what is widely considered one of I-AA’s top fan bases.

With more season ticket holders than the largest crowd at McGuirk Alumni Stadium this season, the Hens have fed off of their faithful to the tune of only one loss in the past two seasons in Newark, proving to Whipple that winning on Saturday will be no easy task.

“There are tougher places to get your team motivated to play,” Whipple said, “but it’s definitely a good environment and probably the toughest place to win. They hardly ever lose down there, and they have a lot of people in the area who are passionate about Delaware football, so it’s going to be tough.

“But overall, as a coach and as players, you recognize it as a good place to play football.”

Of even more concern for Whipple and the Minutemen, however, are a pair of I-A transfers who happen to be two of the conferences premier players at their positions. Quarterback Andy Hall – a transfer from Georgia Tech – paces the offense, while 2002 All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer Shawn Johnson has come over from Duke University to lead the defense.

“[Hall’s] just a really good leader,” Whipple said. “He’s a good passer and a tremendous runner, which makes him a really dangerous quarterback. I don’t think there’s a combination as dangerous as that on anyone we’ve faced.

“He presents a lot of problems with his feet, his arm, his heart and his head. He’s certainly what makes them go on offense.

“[Johnson’s] just the best defensive player in the league, no question. I don’t think there’s anyone even close, he’s just head and shoulders better.”

Although Hall, a viable double threat under center as evident by his 1,807 passing yards and 17 touchdowns through the air and 645 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, is banged up, Keeler has said that while his signal-caller may not practice much this week due to a broken non-throwing hand, a sore back and knee and a hip pointer, he will play on Saturday.

Johnson, meanwhile, continues to dominate on the defensive side of the football. His eight sacks are a team-high, as are his 15.5 tackles for loss, while his 26 solo tackles place him fourth on the team, and his overall tackles rank fifth.

“He just plays hard – a tremendous football player and an early round draft choice no question. He’s aggressive and smart, he’s got a good motor and knows how to get to the ball and create havoc.”

Another health concern for Keeler and the Hens revolve around the wide receiver position, where starters Brian Ingram and David Boler are said to be like Hall in that their practice time will be limited, but both are expected to play.

Ingram leads the team with 45 receptions for 486 yards, while Boler has caught 29 balls for 339 yards and a team-best four touchdowns.

For the Minutemen, the onus defensively will once again be on the secondary, which will likely be without top cornerback Steve Costello for a second straight week. Costello, who suffered an abdominal strain, is the team leader in interceptions with six, and also ranks third nationally in that category.

Regardless, Whipple feels comfortable with the depth in his secondary.

“I wouldn’t expect him to play,” Whipple said. “He only jogged, and jogging and running against Delaware is a big difference.

“We’d like to have [Steve] Costello, no question. But Bobby [Boyer] played last week and so did Anton [McKenzie] so I think we’re deeper in the secondary than we were a couple weeks back.”

In other injury news, defensive lineman Doran Davis, who was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain suffered in the win over Northeastern, is likely to be out despite the fact that Whipple said the senior personally plans on seeing some action if at all possible.

Finally, on the offensive side of the ball, the Maroon and White will likely look to the tandem of Steve Baylark and Rich Demers to carry over success from the win over Richmond, which saw the pair of backs become the first 100-yard tandem for UMass in over a year.

Baylark, who is wrapping up his first season with the Minutemen, currently sits at 878 yards, needing only 122 in his final two games to become the second 1,000-yard back in as many seasons for Massachusetts.

Also, senior quarterback Jeff Krohn will look to build off of his four-touchdown last week against RU. The tri-captain and former Arizona State transfer completed 13-of-28 for 201 yards and one interception against the Spiders, with three of his scoring tosses going to A-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Week Jason Peebler.

Yet regardless of statistics or past success, Whipple knows his team must play its most complete game of the season if it hopes to secure a championship.

“You just want your guys to play very well, and hopefully if we’re going to play our best game, then this will be the week that we do it,” he said. “If it isn’t, then we don’t have a chance.

“But as I’ve said all season long, you need to expect the unexpected with this group.”