Davis runs for 147 yards as Liberty beats Delaware 30–14

Kam Davis ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns as Liberty beat Delaware 30–14 on Friday, opening Conference USA play with a road victory. The Flames built a 30–0 lead before Delaware scored twice in the fourth quarter, leaving Liberty 4–1 overall and the Blue Hens 2–3.

Davis supplied the night's largest rushing gain at a moment when Liberty had already established control. On third-and-two in the second quarter, he took a pitch and went 56 yards for a touchdown. The score made it 13–0 with 7:35 left before halftime. Liberty beat reporter Bryson Gordon recorded the run and the score in his game coverage.

The Flames had opened with two Chase Reeves field goals, from 47 and 30 yards, in the first quarter. Delaware's first substantial scoring chance ended without points: EJ Archield Jr. lost a fumble near the end of the opening period. Liberty subsequently turned a two-field-goal advantage into a halftime lead of 20–0.

The second touchdown came at the end of a 12-play, 98-yard drive. Peyton Jones finished it with a three-yard run with 39 seconds remaining in the half. That sequence gave Liberty points after beginning close to its own goal line and kept Delaware from getting the ball back with much time to answer.

Reeves added a 22-yard field goal with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter. Davis then scored from five yards out with 11:19 left in the fourth. Reeves made all three field-goal attempts and all three extra points, accounting for 12 points without a miss.

The quarterback uncertainty that framed Delaware's week ended with Archield making his first collegiate start, as the Associated Press reported. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 137 yards. Nick Minicucci had injured his knee against Virginia the previous week.

Delaware's late touchdowns came from two other quarterbacks. Braden Streeter found Donovan Lewis for a 58-yard score with 9:38 remaining. The two-point attempt failed. Tyler Bell later threw a 27-yard touchdown to Matthew McKinley-Daniels with 1:35 left and ran in the conversion, completing the 30–14 score.

The final box score shows why those scores came too late to change the outcome. Liberty rushed for 282 yards, finished with 439 total yards and held the ball for 38:31. Delaware had 359 total yards but converted only two of 13 third downs and one of four fourth downs. The Blue Hens committed two turnovers; Liberty committed none.

Deshawn Purdie completed 13 of 20 passes for 157 yards for Liberty, with Makai Jackson catching five passes for 90. Delaware's official report confirmed the defeat in front of a sold-out Parents & Family Weekend crowd. Liberty hosts Sam Houston on Thursday, while Delaware visits Middle Tennessee on October 13.