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MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The No. 8 Kennesaw State football program dominated Robert Morris during a 45-21 road victory over the Colonials. The win snapped RMU's streak of seven consecutive home wins and improved head coach Brian Bohannon's conference record to 27-8.

Quarterback Xavier Shepherd continued to shine with another record-breaking performance. The sophomore was 8-for-12 passing with 185 yards and four touchdowns. Shepherd's fourth touchdown of the day tied the Kennesaw State record for touchdown passes in a single-season with 13. The quarterback now has eight touchdown passes in his last two games. Shepherd is the first quarterback in school history with eight wins in his first nine starts.

Senior receiver Caleb O'Neal also added a career day for the KSU offense. O'Neal set career highs in receptions (5), receiving yards (119) and receiving touchdowns (2). He became the first KSU receiver to surpass the 100-yard mark since Xavier Harper at Presbyterian in 2016.

Senior kicker Nathan Robertson became the 12^th kicker in Big South history to reach the 200-point mark. Robertson came into the game seven points away from 200 but tallied nine points in today's matchup to cross the mark. Midway through the fourth quarter, Robertson converted a 48-yard field goal which set a new career long for the kicker.

The Owls (8-1, 5-0 Big South Conference) set the tone on the opening kickoff when sophomore Yesiah Clemons laid a big hit on the Robert Morris (3-5, 2-4) kick returner. The defense played off the energy from the special teams blast and forced two turnovers on the Colonials first two drives. In only his fourth start of the year, Tyler Moore made an immediate impact for the KSU defense. The senior recorded a strip-sack on the Colonial's first drive and forced a fumble on the second.

Early in the first quarter, Shepherd and the offense broke out the passing game. The quarterback linked-up with O'Neal for a 48-yard reception on the first offensive play. Two plays later, Nykeem Farrow found the end zone on a nine-yard rush to give KSU a 7-0 lead. The rushing touchdown marked the second of the season for Farrow and his first since week one versus Reinhardt.

After the Moore forced fumble, KSU's offense continued to move the ball. On the 10^th play of the drive, Shepherd connected with O'Neal once again for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The reception gave O'Neal 77 receiving yards in the first quarter and marked his fourth touchdown catch of the season.

Robert Morris got on the board halfway through the second quarter, but the KSU offense immediately answered with a score of its own. The Shepherd and O'Neal duo was back to work, which led to an Owl touchdown with 55 seconds left in the half. O'Neal reeled in a 19-yard touchdown pass to complete a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

Kennesaw State went into the half with a 21-7 lead. Shepherd was 5-for-9 with 131 passing yards and two touchdowns. O'Neal was responsible for 111 of the 131 yards, including both touchdowns. For the first time this season, KSU went into halftime with more passing yards than rushing yards (100 yards).

Coming out of the half, reigning Big South Freshman of the Week, Gabriel Benyard, torched the RMU defense for the longest rush of his career. On a second-and-22, the freshman took the pitch from Shepherd and turned it 49 yards up-field for the first rushing touchdown of his career. Benyard totaled 125 all-purpose yards in the contest.

Sophomore receiver Xavier Hill could not be left out of the scoring after his breakout performance last week versus Gardner-Webb. On a third-and-goal, Hill out-jumped an RMU defender on a fade route to collect his third receiving touchdown in the last two games. The score extended the Owls lead to 35-7.

After an RMU score in the late in the third quarter, Kennesaw State struck on its first one-play scoring drive this season. Shepherd found slotback Adeolu Adeleke for a 42-yard touchdown catch to extend the Owls lead to 42-14. The touchdown pass marked Shepherd's 13^th of the season, tying the single-season school record with Chandler Burks (2016).

Kennesaw State is now off to its third 8-1 start in the last four full seasons. The team is back in action next Saturday, Nov. 6 against the University of North Alabama. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. CT at Braly Stadium in Florence, Ala.

Post-Game Notes

• Kennesaw State has now won five consecutive games in the month of November.
• KSU snapped RMU's streak of seven consecutive home wins.
• Head coach Brian Bohannon improved his record to 27-8 in the Big South.
• The Owls are off to their third 8-1 start in the last four full seasons.
• Quarterback Xavier Shepherd tied the school record for touchdown passes in a single-season with 13.
• Tyler Moore forced a fumble on the Colonials first and second possession of the game which led the Owls' offense to 14 points.
• Senior receiver Caleb O'Neal set a career high in receptions (5), receiving yards (119) and receiving touchdowns (2).
• Freshman Gabriel Benyard has totaled 100+ all-purpose yards in back-to-back games.
• Kicker Nathan Robertson became the 12^th placekicker in Big South history to reach the 200-point mark.
• Xavier Shepherd has thrown for four touchdowns in back-to-back games.
• Nathan Robertson set a school record for longest field goal (48 yards).
• The Owls' offense has rushed for 150+ yards in 68 consecutive games.
• Sophomore Nykeem Farrow scored his first rushing touchdown since week one of the season.

 
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