By: Austin Williams
The Kennesaw State Owls earned their second FBS and Conference USA victory of the season over the Panthers of Florida International University. The Owls also earned the first victory for interim head coach Chandler Burks and sent the seniors off with their final victory inside Fifth Third Stadium.
A Tale of Two Halves
The Owls came out swinging against the Panthers, starting their first drive with an explosive 44-yard run from Gabriel Benyard, ultimately ending with a 36-yard field goal by CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week Austin Welch. The Owls controlled most of the first half and held a 17-6 lead over FIU with only 3:48 left in the second quarter. The Panthers then found some momentum through multiple explosive passes to junior receiver Eric Rivers. They struck back against the Owl defense in just two minutes, scoring two late first-half touchdowns and taking the lead from KSU going into halftime 20-17 over the Owls.
In the third quarter, little changed for the Owls. FIU scored a field goal on their first possession of the second half and added another field goal shortly after. The Owls were down 26-17 and could not spark any momentum on offense.
The KSU defense played nearly perfectly in the fourth quarter, allowing only 28 yards of offense against the Panthers after FIU scored their last field goal. With just eight minutes left in the fourth, the Owls drove into Panther territory, thanks to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against FIU, and attempted a 44-yard field goal for Welch. Unfortunately, the ball hit the crossbar and was no good. The Owls once again came alive defensively, stifling the Panthers' running attempts, with senior Jordan Miles earning a sack to keep the Owls' hopes alive. Davis Bryson answered the call yet again for KSU, completing clutch passes to tight end Carson Kent. Bryson then rushed into the end zone with a 19-yard touchdown late in the game, putting the Owls just two points behind, 26-24. The Owl defense have been forced fumble specialists all season, and it happened again when freshman linebacker Jaiden Kimble stripped the ball from the Panther quarterback at the FIU 33-yard line, where the Owls recovered the fumble. Welch then scored a 19-yard field goal, putting KSU back on top 27-26. The Owl defense wreaked havoc again, as JeRico Washington Jr. ended FIU's comeback attempt with the game-winning interception.
Dominant Owl Defense in the Second Half
The Panther offense seemingly could not be stopped after FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins gained momentum in the second quarter. The Panthers put up 26 points and over 350 yards of offense in the first three quarters until the KSU defense dominated the later parts of the second half.
After the Panthers scored their last points of the game, FIU only accumulated 28 yards of offense, five punts, a forced fumble and an interception. The Owl coaches and players laid out a perfect second-half plan to stop the hot FIU offense, helping them earn their second home win on the season.
Owl senior defensive end Jordan Miles said that most of the explosive plays from FIU were self-inflicted wounds from the KSU defense.
"A lot of those yards were self-inflicted wounds," Miles said. "There wasn't any special play calling or anything like that. It was just our communication and not executing our jobs, but we came out in the second half and buckled down. I give credit to the defense and everyone out there."
Owl Offense Keeps Battling
No matter the situation, this Owl offense kept battling back against the Panther defense. KSU's first-half offense in this game was arguably the best of the season. KSU and its offense really had no trouble driving down into FIU territory early, but both the Panther offense and defense answered back fast in the second and third quarters.
Bryson earned two rushing touchdowns this game, and the Owls had a total of 196 rushing yards against the Panthers. They averaged an impressive 4.5 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns, the other going to senior Preston Daniels early in the first half. Bryson was also able to utilize his favorite receiving options in the always-reliable Blake Bohannon and Carson Kent. Bryson has been clutch for the Owls down the stretch of their season, helped seal the deal, and earned the win for the final home game this season for the Owls at Fifth Third Stadium.
