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KENNESAW, Ga. – The No. 9 Kennesaw State football team scored 27 unanswered points Saturday against Dixie State as the Owls picked up a 37-27 victory at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
 
With the victory, KSU moves to 3-0 on the season and matches its best start in program history. The Owls have now won 14 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
 
Kennesaw State scored on its first six offensive possessions with three touchdowns, including two from Tommy Bryant, before taking a knee to ice the game on the seventh and final possession.
 
After Dixie State took the ball down and scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the game, the Owls came roaring back and scored 20 unanswered points to take a 13-point lead.
 
Nathan Robertson knocked a 23-yard field goal through the uprights to get KSU on the board and Cade Loden scooped up a bad snap on the ensuing DSU punt attempt and raced into the end zone to give the Owls their first lead of the day at 10-7.
 
After another stop by the defense, Kyle Glover kept the pressure on Dixie State when he found a seam up the middle and went for 29 yards, before being taken down at the one-yard line. Bryant punched it in on the next play to cap a six-play 46-yard scoring drive and give KSU a 17-7 lead.
 
Robertson drilled a 30-yard field goal attempt just before halftime as the Owls scored on all three first-half possessions and took a 20-7 lead into the intermission.
 
The Owls got second-half touchdowns from Bryant and Glover, while Robertson remained perfect with two more field goals as the Owls held on for the 37-27 victory.
 
KSU outgained Dixie State 408-351, thanks to 309 rushing yards, with Bryant and Glover combining for 182 yards on the ground. The Owls held the Trailblazers to less than 300 yards passing for just the second time this season, recording four pass breakups, including two from Cincere Mason to tie his career-high.
 
Bryson Armstrong led the way on the defensive side of the ball, recording 11 tackles, seven solo, while Kareem Taylor added another eight tackles.
 
The Owls return to action to open Big South Conference play next weekend, traveling to Gardner-Webb University for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Spangler Stadium.
 
Coach Bohannon on the Victory
 "It's good to be 3-0. Things didn't go the way we would like for them to go, but honestly we can have that conversation after a win and try and get some things fixed that we have already been working on. Credit to Dixie State, they've got some guys that can make some plays and the quarterback running around made a ton of them today, probably more than he should have. I was proud of the fact we won, we've obviously got a lot of work to do and things we need to get corrected."
(special teams): We have been able to make some plays and the two guys who secured the punt return were doing the job."
 
Coach Bohannon on Special Teams
"We were able to scoop and score and that was a huge change in momentum with special teams. Nathan was on point with the kicks today. Out of the three phases, special teams has been the most consistent and we need to be able to do that across the board."
 
Team Notes
• Kennesaw State matches its best start in program history at 3-0, a mark set during the inaugural year of the program in 2015.
• The Owls have now won 14 consecutive non-conference regular season home games, a streak that dates back to the beginning of the 2016 season.
• Kennesaw State is now 30-5 all-time in Fifth Third Bank Stadium, including winning 21 of its last 22 regular season home games.
• The Owls outscored Dixie State 17-0 in the second quarter and are outscoring opponents 41-7 this year in the second frame.
• KSU has come back to win every game this year after having its opponent score first. It's the fifth straight game in which the Owls have won after conceding the games' opening points.
• It was only the second time in program history the Owls did not punt once in a game, the other time coming against Shorter during KSU's inaugural season in 2015.
 
Player Notes
• Xavier Shepherd completed his only pass attempt, a 22-yard strike to setup a touchdown.
• Will Haigler caught the first three passes of his collegiate career, totaling 77 yards.
• Cade Loden's fumble return for a touchdown was just the third muffed punt returned for a touchdown in KSU history, sixth ever fumble recovery for a TD.
• Tommy Bryant rushed for a season-high 97 yards marking the fifth time in his career he has rushed for 90 or more yards.
• Nathan Robertson matched his single-game career-high with three made field goals.
• Bryson Armstrong recorded over 10 tackles for the first time this season and the 11th time of his career.
 
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