Friday, October 2
Newark, Del.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
4-1 , 1-0
30
at
14
Delaware
2-3 , 0-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 6 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
| Delaware | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Flames Run Past Delaware to Open CUSA Play with 30-14 Win
10/3/2026 12:30:00 AM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – Liberty scored 30-unanswered points and rushed for a season-high 282 yards en route to a 30-14 Conference USA opening victory, Friday night, at Delaware Stadium.
With the victory, Liberty's fourth in a row, the Flames move to 4-1 on the season and open Conference USA play with a 1-0 record. Delaware falls to 2-3 on the year and 0-1 in conference action.
The Flames entered the game as the only FBS team in the country to not have allowed a point in the fourth quarter. Liberty entered the final quarter tonight with a 30-0 lead, but allowed two touchdowns during the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Liberty dominated the stat sheet, finished the game with 446 total offensive yards to Delaware's 359 yards.
The Flames have upped their rushing total in each game of the 2026 season. Liberty finished the night rushing for a season high 6.0 yards per carry and matched their season high with three touchdowns.
Kam Davis surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second-straight game, finishing the night with a career high 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Deshawn Purdie completed 13-of-20 passing attempts for 157 yards with Makai Jackson leading six receivers with five receptions for 90 yards.
Aidan Vaughan led the Flames' defensive efforts with a career high nine tackles, while Izaiah Guy following with five stops.
The Flames' win today:
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 30-14 (Liberty)
Liberty (4-1, 1-0 CUSA)
Delaware (2-3, 0-1 CUSA)
Location: Delaware Stadium (Newark, Del.)
Attendance: 19,182
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
What's Next:
Weekday CUSA games come to Lynchburg next week as the Flames host Sam Houston for a Midweek on the Mountain game, Thursday night, at Williams Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. the game will be broadcast on ESPNU and LFSN Radio.
The home team has won each of the games in the brief two-game series history, including a 21-16 win for the Flames over the Bearkats on October 5, 2023,7 in Lynchburg. The victory kept the Flames undefeated season live in 2023 and helped the Flames win the Conference USA regular season title and host the CUSA Football Championship game.
Date: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Williams Stadium)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (EST)
With the victory, Liberty's fourth in a row, the Flames move to 4-1 on the season and open Conference USA play with a 1-0 record. Delaware falls to 2-3 on the year and 0-1 in conference action.
The Flames entered the game as the only FBS team in the country to not have allowed a point in the fourth quarter. Liberty entered the final quarter tonight with a 30-0 lead, but allowed two touchdowns during the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Liberty dominated the stat sheet, finished the game with 446 total offensive yards to Delaware's 359 yards.
The Flames have upped their rushing total in each game of the 2026 season. Liberty finished the night rushing for a season high 6.0 yards per carry and matched their season high with three touchdowns.
Kam Davis surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second-straight game, finishing the night with a career high 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Deshawn Purdie completed 13-of-20 passing attempts for 157 yards with Makai Jackson leading six receivers with five receptions for 90 yards.
Aidan Vaughan led the Flames' defensive efforts with a career high nine tackles, while Izaiah Guy following with five stops.
The Flames' win today:
- Gives the Flames their first four-game winning streak since Liberty opened the 2024 season with five consecutive victories (Aug. 31-Oct. 8, 2024).
- Makes the Flames 3-1 all-time in CUSA openers and 13-7 all-time in conference openers.
- Boosts the Flames' all-time record against CUSA foes (at time of meeting) to 27-9, including an 18-8 mark since Liberty joined the conference in 2023.
- Improves the Flames' record in October contests to 8-2 under Jamey Chadwell.
- Pushes the Flames' all-time record when playing on Friday to 3-6, including a 3-2 mark at the FBS level.
- Gives the Flames a 7-2 record when playing in the state of Delaware.
- Snaps Delaware's five-game home winning streak and deal the Fightin' Blue Hens only their second home defeat since the start of the 2024 season. Delaware entered Friday with a 15-1 record in its last 16 home outings.
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 30-14 (Liberty)
Liberty (4-1, 1-0 CUSA)
Delaware (2-3, 0-1 CUSA)
Location: Delaware Stadium (Newark, Del.)
Attendance: 19,182
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
- The Flames scored on their first drive of the game for the fourth game in a row, taking a 3-0 lead following a 47-yard field goal by Chase Reeves at 9:00. Liberty got into the red zone on its opening drive, but the Flames were stopped for a 10-yard loss on a third-and-five play from the Delaware 19-yard line the play prior to the field goal.
- Liberty doubled its lead on its next drive, this time getting a 30-yard field goal from Reeves with 1:47 left in the quarter. The drive started with a 50-yard pass play from Deshawn Purdie to Makai Jackson, but the effort stalled once again inside the red zone.
- The Flames found the end zone on the longest play of the first half. Kam Davis found a hole on the right side of the field and scampered 56 yards downfield for a touchdown to give Liberty a 13-0 edge at 7:35 mark.
- Just before halftime, Purdie found Jamari Person open on the sidelines for an 18-yard reception, setting up Liberty's dominant run game. Peyton Jones scored from three yards out on the next play, giving Liberty a 20-0 lead with 38 seconds to play and 199 first half rushing yards.
- While the first half featured a combined 526 total offensive yards (Liberty – 338; Delaware – 188 yards), the third quarter saw a different story. The third 15-minute period saw a combined 48 total offensive yards, with Liberty accounting for 33 of those yards.
- The only points put on the board during the third quarter came on a 22-yard field goal by Reeves at the 3:22 mark. The scoring opportunity was set up by the Flames' second forced turnover of the game, Deuce Spurlock's first career interception.
- Davis capped his career night and pushed Liberty's lead to 30-0 when he scored from five yards out at the 11:19 mark.
- But, the Flames stranglehold on the fourth quarter came to an end with two late touchdowns by Delaware. Braden Streeter completed a 58-yard pass play to Donovan Lewis at 9:38, while Tyler Bell threw a 27-yard scoring strike to Matthew McKinley-Daniels at 1:35.
What's Next:
Weekday CUSA games come to Lynchburg next week as the Flames host Sam Houston for a Midweek on the Mountain game, Thursday night, at Williams Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. the game will be broadcast on ESPNU and LFSN Radio.
The home team has won each of the games in the brief two-game series history, including a 21-16 win for the Flames over the Bearkats on October 5, 2023,7 in Lynchburg. The victory kept the Flames undefeated season live in 2023 and helped the Flames win the Conference USA regular season title and host the CUSA Football Championship game.
Date: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Williams Stadium)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (EST)
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
S
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballTeam Stats
LIB
DEL
Total Yards
439
359
Pass Yards
157
257
Rushing Yards
282
102
Penalty Yards
105
50
1st Downs
23
16
3rd Downs
6
2
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
38:31
21:28
1st Quarter
LIB 3, DEL 0
LIB - Reeves,Chase 47 yd field goal 10 plays, 46 yards, TOP 06:00
LIB 6, DEL 0
LIB - Reeves,Chase 30 yd field goal 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 05:07
2nd Quarter
LIB 13, DEL 0
LIB - Davis,Kam 56 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 3 plays, 64 yards, TOP 00:59
LIB 20, DEL 0
LIB - Jones,Peyton 3 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 12 plays, 98 yards, TOP 03:01
3rd Quarter
LIB 23, DEL 0
LIB - Reeves,Chase 22 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 01:32
4th Quarter
LIB 30, DEL 0
LIB - Davis,Kam 5 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 5 plays, 22 yards, TOP 02:47
LIB 30, DEL 6
DEL - Lewis,Donovan 58 yd pass from Streeter,Braden () 4 plays, 73 yards, TOP 01:39
LIB 30, DEL 14
DEL - McKinley-Daniels,Matthew 27 yd pass from Bell,Tyler (Bell,Tyler rush) 4 plays, 67 yards, TOP 01:33
Game Leaders
CMP
13
TD
0
YDS
157
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
Saturday, October 03
Saturday, October 03
Thursday, October 01
Wednesday, September 30