By: Nolan Alexander
2022 Schedule | Renew Season Tickets
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State revealed its 2022 football schedule that features its first season as a member of the ASUN Conference. The Owls will host five games in total, and have scheduled a demanding non-conference slate, highlighted by College Football Playoff participant Cincinnati.
KSU opens its season on a Thursday night for the second consecutive season, but this time on the road against Samford University Sept. 1. The Owls and Bulldogs will meet for the fourth time with KSU having won the last two meetings. KSU defeated Samford in the 2017 FCS Playoffs, 28-17, and at home during the 2018 regular season, 24-10.
The Owls then embark to Nippert Stadium to play the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincinnati, who has won the last two American Conference titles, played in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, and finished 2021 ranked fourth in the AP and AFCA Coaches polls. UC has won 27 consecutive games at Nippert Stadium, good for the nation's second-longest home win streak.
Following a bye week, KSU hosts its home opener at Fifth Third Bank Stadium against Wofford College. KSU is undefeated in four previous meetings, including last fall's 31-10 victory inside Gibbs Stadium. The Owls are 6-1 all-time in home openers and have won 16 consecutive non-conference regular season home games. The Sept. 24 date marks the latest home-opener in what will be KSU's eighth season of competition.
KSU's inaugural ASUN football game comes on the road at Jacksonville State. The Owls and Gamecocks will meet Oct. 1 for the second straight season, and third time overall. KSU throttled then- No. 17 JSU, 31-6, this past October at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. KSU has won the previous two contests, including the classic five-overtime thriller in 2018. The Owls and Gamecocks first met in the second round of the 2017 FCS Playoffs where KSU earned a 17-7 victory at Burgess-Snow Field.
The first ASUN gridiron game at Fifth Third Bank Stadium will be Oct. 8, when another former Big South foe, North Alabama, visits KSU. The Owls have won the previous two meetings, and last year's game had a dramatic finish. KSU escaped Florence, Ala. with a 28-24 win thanks to an eight-play, 70-yard drive by All-American quarterback Xavier Shepherd and a rally-thwarting interception from Erwin Byrd.
The second of four-straight home games and three-straight conference games is set for Oct. 15 when KSU hosts Central Arkansas. The Bears will be in their second season as a conference member after playing last fall in the "AQ7", where the ASUN and WAC formed a scheduling alliance for one season to earn an automatic qualifier into the FCS Playoffs. UCA is coming off a 5-6 season. Prior to joining the ASUN, the Bears won a share of the 2019 Southland Conference crown.
The schedule then brings a string of three non-conference games, starting with Tennessee Tech at home Oct. 22. The teams have not met since 2018, where KSU posted a 49-10 victory on the road. This year's meeting will mark the third in the series, where KSU has captured both games thus far.
The four-game homestand ends with a familiar foe. Former conference mate Charleston Southern visits Kennesaw for an Oct. 29 contest. The Bucs and Owls have a long history despite not meeting as Big South Conference members in 2021. The teams have played six times, where KSU leads the all-time series, 4-2. Most recently, they met in the spring 2021 season where the Owls won 24-19 at home.
The non-conference finale is set for Nov. 5 at defending Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) champion University of Tennessee at Martin. The Skyhawks went 10-3 and reached the second round of the FCS Playoffs after defeating Missouri State and then falling at Montana State. The game at Hardy M. Graham Stadium will mark the first meeting between the programs.
The regular season home finale will pit the Owls against Austin Peay in an ASUN clash Nov. 12. The Governors join the ASUN from the OVC where they went 6-5 in 2021 and finished second in the conference. The two programs have never met.
KSU closes the regular season on the road with a Nov. 19 game at Eastern Kentucky. In a game that features another first-time matchup, the Owls and Colonels will meet as ASUN Conference members. EKU is coming off a 7-4 season, 4-2 record against the "AQ7", and a 5-1 home record.
Season ticket renewals for the upcoming season are available now. Click here to renew today.
