Box Score HTML | Box Score PDF | Photo Gallery | Buy Season Tickets | 2022 Media Guide


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 6/8 Kennesaw State football lost a back-and-forth game to the Samford Bulldogs by a score of 27-17 on Thursday night at F. Page Seibert Stadium. With the loss, the Owls fall to 4-4 in season openers and 3-3 in Thursday contests.

Quarterback Xavier Shepherd led the Owl offense and finished with 64 rushing yards on a KSU single-game record 35 attempts. He ended 5-of-13 passing for 135 passing yards.

Shepherd connected with Nykeem Farrow for a 72-yard pass in the fourth quarter for the longest pass of his career. The reception also set a new career-long for Farrow, beating his previous career-long of 52 yards.

The Owls' defense was led by Garland Benyard who compiled seven tackles, all solo, on the evening. Other notables were Juandarion Silas with three tackles and a forced fumble and Markeith Montgomery with four solo tackles and one tackle-for-loss.

The KSU offense ignited the crowd on its first play of the new season. Shepherd dropped back and found a leaping Chavis Marshall for a 38-yard pass that moved the ball into Bulldog territory. The reception marked the longest of Marshall's career.

Later in the drive, the Owls converted on fourth down with a three-yard rush from Shepherd. The rush pushed the junior quarterback over 1,000 rushing yards for his career and marked the sixth time in KSU history a player achieved the milestone.

Preston Daniels capped the first drive of 2022 with a 26-yard touchdown run that gave KSU a 7-0 lead. The run was the longest of Daniel's career and was the fifth time in the program's eight-year history that the team scored on its first drive of the season.

The KSU defense forced three-and-outs on Samford's first two possessions. The Bulldogs threated on their third drive, before Silas caused a fumble that was recovered by Garland Benyard with five seconds remaining in the first quarter.

At the start of the second quarter, the Owls were stopped on a fourth down attempt which gave Samford the ball near midfield. Bulldog quarterback Michael Hiers led a seven-play drive which ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass to tie the score, 7-7.

Samford scored a late touchdown to take a 14-7 lead heading into the half. This marked only the 17th time in KSU's 82 games that the Owls trailed at halftime under Brian Bohannon.

Coming out of the half, the Owls put together a solid drive to chip into the Bulldog lead. Nathan Robertson blasted a 38-yard field goal that moved the score to 14-10.

The KSU defense came out firing on the first play after the field goal. Junior Kerick Reese ignited the Owls with a strip-sack that was recovered by Carlos Allen on the Samford 18-yard line. The sack marked the fifth of Reese's career and was the second of the game for the KSU defense.   

With its best starting field position of the night, KSU capitalized with a five-play, 13-yard drive to take a 17-14 lead. Shepherd kept the ball on the option and forced his way into the endzone for a two-yard touchdown run. The rushing touchdown was Shepherd's first of the season and 25th of his career.

Samford started the fourth quarter with an eight-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that gave the Bulldogs a 20-17 advantage. The score marked the fourth lead change of the ballgame.

On its next drive, Samford scored again to extend the lead to 27-17 which held as the final. With the win, the Bulldogs evened the all-time series with KSU at two games apiece.

The Owls are back in action next Saturday, Sept. 10 as they take on the No. 22/23 Cincinnati Bearcats. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. inside Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The matchup will be the fourth time in program history that Kennesaw State will face an FBS opponent.

Season tickets are still on sale for the 2022 season and feature the most affordable purchasing options in KSU football history. New benefits include the first football concessions discount and the option to purchase a season-long parking pass. Click here to purchase today.

Post-Game Notes

• The Owls have now rushed for 150+ yards in 73 consecutive games.
• Quarterback Xavier Shepherd became the sixth player in Owl history to surpass the 1,000 career rushing yards mark.
• Kennesaw State has scored at least one point in 82 consecutive games.
• KSU has outrushed its opponent in 14-straight contests.
• Xavier Shepherd's 35 rushing attempts set a new Kennesaw State single-game record.
• Freshman Juandarion Silas forced a fumble and registered three tackles in his first career game.
• Chavis Marshall caught a career-long 38-yard reception on the Owls' first offensive play of 2022,.
• Preston Daniels scored KSU's first touchdown of the season with the longest rush of his career (26 yards).
• The opening drive touchdown marked the fifth time in Kennesaw State's eight-year history that the team scored on its first drive of the season.
• Shepherd connected with Nykeem Farrow for a 72-yard reception that marked the longest pass and longest reception in each player's career. 
• The loss breaks a streak of 10 straight games that KSU has won over teams from the state of Alabama.
• The season opening defeat snapped Kennesaw State's streak of three-straight wins in openers.

 
For more information on Kennesaw State athletics, follow @KennesawStFB on Twitter or like Kennesaw State Football on Facebook and Instagram.