KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State football exploded for 35 unanswered points and 400 yards of offense to roll to a 35-7 triumph over Louisiana Tech on Thursday night at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium.
The Owls (4-2, 2-0 Conference USA) won their fourth-straight game and remained unbeaten at home, improving to 4-0.
The Bulldogs (4-2, 2-1 CUSA) drew blood first, capping off a 13-play march with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with 7:12 in the first.
Once the second quarter began, Kennesaw State flipped the script and put together a 15-play, 92-yard scoring drive with a 6-yard dart from Dexter Williams II to true freshman wideout Clayton Coppock to even the score.
Gabriel Benyard then put an exclamation point on the first half by taking an end-around rush nine yards to the house after defensive back Kody Jones picked off LA Tech in the second quarter.
The intermission wouldn't cool the Owls' wings, as Williams diced up the Bulldogs' defense with three more touchdowns to run away with the game – connecting on a 29-yard pass to Jordan Jackson, 7-yard pass to Lyndon Ravare and a 50-yard pass to Coleman Bennett.
Kennesaw State also thwarted LA Tech's first redzone trip in the second half as Antonio Stevens gave KSU its second turnover, picking off the Bulldogs in the endzone in the third quarter – the second of his career.
Williams finished 27-of-36 for a career-high 290 passing yards and four touchdowns – all to different targets. Bennett finished with 55 receiving yards and 73 yards on the ground for 128 all-purpose yards, including 20 yards late in the fourth to seal the win.
Through the air, Christian Moss led all receivers with four catches for 66 yards, while Ravare finished with 50 receiving yards.
Defensively, the Owls were all over the place, forcing a trio of three-and-outs, three sacks, two turnovers and six punts overall.
Baron Hopson led the way with 10 tackles – his third-straight double-digit game, while Rod Daniels made 9 stops with 0.5 sacks and a tackle for loss. Tylon Dunlap continued to wreak havoc in the backfield, finishing with a career-high 2.0 sacks, a quarterback hurry and eight total tackles.
Kennesaw State once again faces a short rest before back-to-back Tuesday games as part of Conference USA's #WeekdayCUSA. The Owls travel to FIU on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and KSU Owls app.
Postgame Notes
Team Notes
- Kennesaw State improves to 4-2 on the season.
- Kennesaw State improves to 2-0 in Conference USA play.
- Kennesaw State wins its fourth-straight game—its longest win streak since 2021 (10 wins from Sept. 18 thru Nov. 27).
- Kennesaw State wins its fourth-straight home game—its longest home win streak since 2021 (5 wins from Oct. 2 thru Nov. 27).
- Kennesaw State improves to 4-0 at home this season.
- Kennesaw State moves to 50-13 all-time inside Fifth Third Stadium.
- Kennesaw State moves to 20-8 all-time against conference foes inside Fifth Third Stadium.
- Kennesaw State moves to 1-1 against Louisiana Tech.
- Kennesaw State picked off two passes for the first time since 2023 (Tusculum on Aug. 31)
- Kennesaw State's 290 passing yards set a new program record for passing yards in a conference game (previous: 224 vs. Presbyterian, Nov. 12, 2016).
- Kennesaw State tied the program record with four different players catching a touchdown pass, matching the mark set vs. Presbyterian (Nov. 12, 2016).
- Kennesaw State's 14 passing first downs set the new program record for the category in a conference game (previous: 9 vs. Coastal Carolina, Nov. 14, 2015).
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Individual Notes
- r-Sr. QB Dexter Williams II finished 27-for-36 with 290 passing yards and four touchdowns on the night. His 27 completions set a new Kennesaw State single-game record, while his four touchdowns tied the KSU record and set a new career-best (Xavier Shepherd at Robert Morris, 2021)
- R-So. DB Ethan Tookes made his first career start Thursday night.
- With 10 tackles against LA Tech, r-Sr. LB Baron Hopson now has 56 tackles this season, the most by an Owl through the first six games of a season in program history (prev.: Bryson Armstrong, 2017 – 49.0). It's also his third-straight double-digit tackle game and fourth overall.
- Fr. WR Clayton Coppock hauled in the first touchdown pass of his young career on a 6-yard dart from Williams in the second quarter.
- Sr. DB Kody Jones picked off the first pass of his career when he returned an interception 29 yards in the second quarter.
- R-Sr. WR Gabriel Benyard's second-quarter touchdown was the fourth rushing touchdown of his career and first since Sept. 16, 2023 vs. Furman. It marked just the second rushing touchdown Louisiana Tech has allowed all season.
- Sr. WR Jordan Jackson hauled in his first career touchdown reception in the third quarter on a 29-yard pass from Williams.
- R-Sr. DL Rod Daniels recorded a career-high nine tackles (prev. 4 vs. Wake Forest on Aug. 29, 2025).
- R-Sr. DL Tylon Dunlap recorded a career-high eight tackles (prev. 4, 5x – last at LA Tech on Nov. 30, 2024). Dunlap also recorded a career-high 2.0 sacks on the night (prev. 1.0, 5x – last at Sam Houston on Nov. 16, 2024).
- Gr. DB Antonio Stevens' interception was his first as an Owl and the second of his collegiate career.
Multimedia:
Postgame Press Conference (Coach Mack, Tylon Dunlap, Dexter Williams II)
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