Delaware out-gained Kennesaw State 493 yards to 446. The Blue Hens had 29 first downs to KSU's 20, held the ball for 33:09 and threw for 408 yards. The Owls were flagged 15 times for 129 yards. And Kennesaw State still won, 42-40, on Homecoming at Fifth Third Stadium, in a game KSU says featured eight lead changes.
That's the second straight win, it snapped a three-game home losing streak and it moved the Owls to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in Conference USA. Here are three things we learned.
1. Special teams won the margin
The game was two points. Special teams supplied a lot more than that.
Davis Bryson took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown 13 seconds into the game. According to KSU's postgame notes, it was the program's first kick-return touchdown since 2024 and the second-longest in school history. Bryson, fresh off a CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week award, finished with a career-high 164 kickoff-return yards and 232 all-purpose yards, adding a career-high seven catches for 69 yards.
Then there's Daniel Kinney. The redshirt freshman went 3-for-3 on field goals from 28, 29 and 35 yards. The 29-yarder retook the lead at 33-31 in the third quarter, and the 35-yarder with 8:25 left made it an eight-point game. That last kick is the reason Delaware's late touchdown forced a two-point try instead of tying it.
Stat line: Bryson 99-yard KR TD, 164 KR yards, 232 all-purpose. Kinney 3-of-3 FG, 9 points.
2. Landon Varnes answered the call, and Boogie Woods III carried the load
Rickie Collins ran in an 8-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, his sixth rushing score of the season, but KSU's recap says he left injured, and junior Landon Varnes took over after the first quarter. In the first real action of his season, Varnes went 19-of-37 for 254 yards. With 1:37 left in the half, he led a 10-play, 47-yard drive that ended in a Woods 1-yard touchdown on fourth down for a 30-22 lead.
His biggest throw came early in the fourth quarter, with KSU trailing 34-33. Varnes found tight end Reed Jesiolowski behind the defense for a 63-yard touchdown. It was the first Division I touchdown pass of Varnes' career and Jesiolowski's first career touchdown catch. Jesiolowski finished with 77 yards on three catches, and Dylan Gary led all KSU receivers with 92 yards.
Woods kept the offense balanced with 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 26-yard burst for KSU's first lead since the opening kickoff. He now has 157 rushing yards and four touchdowns over his last two games, and KSU's notes say he's the first Owl with back-to-back two-touchdown rushing games since Michael Benefield in 2023. Kennesaw State scored 30 first-half points on 261 yards, its most first-half points of the FBS era, and finished with a season-high 309 passing yards.
Stat line: Varnes 19-of-37, 254 yards, 1 TD. Woods III 90 rushing yards, 2 TD. KSU 30 first-half points.
3. The defense bent, then made the stops that counted
There's no hiding the yardage: Delaware quarterback Nick Minicucci and the Blue Hens moved the ball all day. But when the game was on the line, the Owls got off the field.
Delaware went just 2-of-5 on fourth down, and the KSU defense held the Blue Hens scoreless for 15 minutes and 40 seconds, from their field goal with 1:04 left in the third quarter until a 17-yard touchdown with 24 seconds to go. On the two-point try that would have tied it, Baron Hopson chased Minicucci out of the pocket to his right, and the throw on the run fell incomplete.
The pass rush showed up, too. KSU had a season-high three sacks, six tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hurries. Jaiden Grimes had a 7-yard sack, a forced fumble and five hurries. Tywon Christopher picked up his first sack of the season on a fourth down, and freshman Zay Wilson shared his first career sack with Ugonna Nwoha. Isaac Paul led everyone with a career-high 10 tackles, eight of them solo, and Christopher, Hopson and Tay'vion Lawson had seven each.
Stat line: Delaware 2-of-5 on fourth down, scoreless for 15:40. KSU 3 sacks, 6 TFL, 11 QB hurries.
What it means
KSU is now 15-5 in one-possession home games since 2015, according to its postgame notes, and 11-4 against CUSA opponents under Jerry Mack. At 3-6, the Owls have three games left, and every one matters. The 15 penalties need to come down before the road trip to Sam Houston on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+. If Collins isn't ready, Varnes just showed he can win a game. OwlUp.
Read our full Kennesaw State vs. Delaware recap, check the full 2026 Kennesaw State schedule and grab some black-and-gold gear before the Owls head to Huntsville.
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