Kennesaw State Draws Samford in FCS Playoffs
Kennesaw State, which captured the 2017 Big South Conference championship and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs, will host Samford Saturday (Nov. 25) at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
ESPN3 will televise the game, while ESPN 1230 and 106.3 The Fan 2 will provide radio coverage.
Head coach Brian Bohannon and his team celebrated the NCAA Committee's announcement Sunday morning as they gathered with students, fans, donors, and University Board of Trustees and Department of Athletics staff for a watch party inside the KSU Convocation Center.
"It's awesome. I think you have to give credit to our kids who took care of business yesterday to enable us to know that we were in today," Bohannon said. "To see that we are going to get to host a first round game in our first appearance in the FCS Playoffs and have our name on ESPN on a Sunday morning selection show is pretty surreal, and is pretty awesome for our kids and our staff."
The No. 18-ranked Owls (10-1), who are experiencing a historic season in just their third year, and No. 14 Samford will play for the opportunity to travel to Jacksonville, Ala. for a second-round game against No. 3 overall seed Jacksonville State (10-1) on Dec. 2.
Samford concluded the regular season with an 8-3 overall record and finished second in the Southern Conference with a 6-2 mark. The game between the Owls and Bulldogs is a rematch of this year's season opener that Samford won, 28-23, in a contest that included a three-hour weather delay.
Top-ranked James Madison earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 24-team tournament that concludes with the FCS Championship Game Jan. 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
"That has been our ultimate goal since we started this thing was to win conference and see our name pop up in the FCS Playoffs," redshirt junior Taylor Henkle said. "You think back to all the times we went to work out, the practices, and everything else, and for this one moment, it's a special time and we wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
The Owls clinched the FCS playoff berth following a 52-21 victory over Monmouth Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. In extending its program-record winning streak to 10 games, Kennesaw State became the second team since 2008 to reach the FCS playoffs in its third year, joining Old Dominion, which accomplished the feat in 2011.
"It's very exciting for us. We set our goals to win championships and we were able to do that on Saturday in winning the conference," redshirt junior quarterback Chandler Burks said. "Our next goal was to win and go to the playoffs, and to be able to host at home at Fifth Third Bank Stadium with our community, with our fans and students, it's awesome to bring it to our university, and we're looking forward to the challenge."
Led offensively by Burks, the Owls enter the playoffs as the FCS' top-ranked rushing team, while the defense leads the country with 21 interceptions. The Owls also were 5-0 in Big South Conference play and posted a program-best 6-0 regular-season record at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
"It was an exciting feeling and I was very thankful for the opportunity that we were able to play for the championship again this season and actually come out with a win on Saturday," junior running back Darnell Holland said. "It was one of those feelings where you rest but not too long knowing that we have a big game ahead, and we are really excited again for another opportunity."