KENNESAW, Ga. — Davis Bryson took the opening kickoff 99 yards the other way, and Kennesaw State later survived a two-point try in the final seconds to slip past Delaware 42-40 on Saturday at the Owls home stadium in Kennesaw.
The Owls are now 3-6 and 2-3 in Conference USA after a thriller that flipped the lead eight times. The Blue Hens dropped to 4-5 and 2-3. Kennesaw’s first-half burst produced 30 points on 261 yards, the most the program has scored before the break since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Bryson’s long return was the program’s first kick-return score since Qua Ashley’s 97-yard run against UTEP in 2024 and the second-longest kickoff score in school history. The extra-point snap went wrong, so the Owls led 6-0. He later finished with seven catches for 69 yards and 232 all-purpose yards, including 164 on kickoffs.
Boogie Woods III ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns, punching in from 26 yards and from a yard out, and has now scored twice on the ground in consecutive games. Rickie Collins added an 8-yard rushing score. Landon Varnes went 19-of-37 for 254 yards and threw the first Division I touchdown pass of his career, a 63-yard strike to Reed Jesiolowski. Dylan Gary led the Owl receivers with 92 yards. Daniel Kinney made field goals of 28, 29 and 35 yards.
Delaware kept answering. Nick Minicucci completed 35 passes for 408 yards and two scores, a completion total that is a career high and the fourth-most in a Blue Hens game. The 35 completions also moved him past Joe Flacco for the program’s career record at 596, and he became the first Delaware quarterback with back-to-back 400-yard passing days. Viron Ellison Jr. scored twice on the ground, Donovan Lewis caught a scoring pass, and Trace Scott III returned an interception 5 yards for a touchdown. Tucker Smack hit from 54 yards, tied for the second-longest field goal in school history and the longest in the league this season, plus a 36-yarder.
The Blue Hens converted only two of five fourth-down tries. After a late 17-yard scoring throw to Bryson Graves, they needed a two-point play to tie. Minicucci was flushed from the pocket and his throw sailed incomplete, sealing the win. Kennesaw is 15-5 in one-score home games since 2015, fifth-best in Division I over that stretch, and 8-3 at Fifth Third in the current coaching era.
The Owls play at Sam Houston on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. Eastern.
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