Top Storylines:
• Kennesaw State readies to host its highly anticipated opener on Saturday, Sept. 7 against Louisiana in its first home FBS game in program history.
• After a hard-fought loss last Saturday on the road at UTSA, Kennesaw State will once against have to fight above its weight-class, taking on another veteran, sizable FBS opponent in Louisiana. The Ragin’ Cajuns have made bowl games the last five-straight years.
• Kennesaw State and Louisiana are facing off for the first time in program history on Saturday. The meeting marks only the second time the Owls have faced a member of the Sun Belt Conference, last playing at Georgia State in 2018 where they fell 24-20.
• Kennesaw State has been especially deadly in home openers in its history, looking to take its eighth-straight lidlifter at Fifth Third Stadium and improve to 9-1 overall.
• Kennesaw State opens the highly anticipated season with a host of new faces, welcoming in 49 newcomers to the Black and Gold - good for the second-most in Conference USA and Top 30 in the country.
• The Owls were highlighted by strong special teams play on Saturday, seeing r-Fr. Jacob Ulrich break the program record for single-game punting average (54.6) and get named to the Ray Guy Award’s “Ray’s 8” for Week 1, showcasing the top punters nationally each week.
• Ulrich’s 54.6-yard average led the country in Week 1 (min. four attempts).
• Also shining was kicker r-Jr. Austin Welch, who was a perfect 3-for-3 on the day, including a 48-yarder.
• Defensively last Saturday, Kennesaw State came blazing out of halftime, holding the Roadrunners to just 2.5 yards per play after averaging more than 8.0 yards in the first half.
• Part of that effort was led by linebacker r-Jr. Baron Hopson, who made a career-high 13 tackles on Saturday.
• Returning linebacker r-Jr. Donelius Johnson also set career highs out of the gate this season, making 2.0 huge sacks for a combined loss of 22 yards and 2.5 tackles for loss overall to go along with his tied-second seven tackles on the day.
