2018 Kennesaw State Owls football team

The 2018 Kennesaw State Owls football team represented Kennesaw State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Brian Bohannon and played their home games at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia as fourth-year members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 11–2, 5–0 in Big South play to win the Big South conference championship for the second consecutive year. The Owls received the Big South's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs. The Owls earned a No. 4 seed and a first round bye. They defeated Wofford in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to No. 5 South Dakota State.

2018 Kennesaw State Owls football
Big South champion
FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, L 17–27 vs. South Dakota State
ConferenceBig South Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 5
FCS CoachesNo. 4
Record11–2 (5–0 Big South)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGrant Chesnut (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorBrian Newberry (4th season)
Home stadiumFifth Third Bank Stadium
(Capacity: 8,318)
2018 Big South Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 5 Kennesaw State $^  5 0   11 2  
Monmouth  4 1   8 3  
Charleston Southern  3 2   5 6  
Gardner–Webb  2 3   3 8  
Campbell  1 4   6 5  
Presbyterian  0 5   2 8  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

Big South poll

In the Big South preseason poll released on July 23, 2018, the Owls were predicted to finish as Big South champions.[1]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Kennesaw State107 (17)
2Monmouth82 (1)
3Charleston Southern75
4Gardner–Webb52
5Campbell36
6Presbyterian26

Preseason All-Big South team

The Big South released their preseason all-Big South team on July 23, 2018, with the Owls having fourteen players selected along with two more at three positions on the honorable mention list.[2] Quarterback Chandler Burks was named preseason offensive player of the year and linebacker Bryson Armstrong was named the preseason defensive player of the year.

Award watch lists

Award Player Position Year
Walter Payton Award[3] Chandler Burks QB SR
Buck Buchanan Award[4] Bryson Armstrong LB SO

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.at Georgia State*No. 5ESPN+L 20–2423,088
September 67:00 p.m.at Tennessee Tech*No. 7ESPNUW 49–104,118
September 156:45 p.m.Alabama State*No. 7ESPN+W 62–138,799
September 226:00 p.m.Clark Atlanta*No. 5
  • Fifth Third Bank Stadium
  • Kennesaw, GA
ESPN+W 70–136,009
September 296:00 p.m.Samford*No. 4
  • Fifth Third Bank Stadium
  • Kennesaw, GA
ESPN3W 24–106,304
October 62:00 p.m.PresbyterianNo. 4
  • Fifth Third Bank Stadium
  • Kennesaw, GA
ESPN3W 56–06,414
October 131:30 p.m.at Gardner–WebbNo. 3ESPN3W 56–174,150
October 276:00 p.m.at Charleston SouthernNo. 2ESPN+W 38–101,242
November 32:00 p.m.CampbellNo. 2
  • Fifth Third Bank Stadium
  • Kennesaw, GA
ESPN+W 49–06,012
November 1012:00 p.m.at MonmouthNo. 2ESPN3W 51–142,332
November 173:00 p.m.vs. No. 6 Jacksonville State*No. 2
FSSW 60–52 5OT16,949
December 12:00 p.m.No. 13 Wofford*No. 2
  • Fifth Third Bank Stadium
  • Kennesaw, GA (FCS Playoffs Second Round)
ESPN3W 13–103,515
December 82:00 p.m.No. 5 South Dakota State*No. 2
  • Fifth Third Bank Stadium
  • Kennesaw, GA (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)
ESPN3L 17–273,242

Game summaries

At Georgia State

Kennesaw State at Georgia State
1 234Total
No. 5 Owls 7 760 20
Panthers 0 14010 24
  • Date: August 30
  • Location: Georgia State Stadium
    Atlanta, GA
  • Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:16
  • Game attendance: 23,088
  • Game weather: 83°F • S 6 • Mostly sunny
  • Referee: Marshall Lewis
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Matt Stewart, Wayne Gandy, Jael Rucker

At Tennessee Tech

Kennesaw State at Tennessee Tech
1 234Total
No. 7 Owls 7 14217 49
Golden Eagles 3 007 10
  • Date: September 6
  • Location: Tucker Stadium
    Cookeville, TN
  • Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:02
  • Game attendance: 4,118
  • Game weather: 74°F • 10 mph • Early rain
  • Referee: D. Whitehead
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker

Alabama State

Alabama State at Kennesaw State
1 234Total
Hornets 3 370 13
No. 7 Owls 14 28200 62
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 6:45 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:06
  • Game attendance: 8,799
  • Game weather: 78°F • 6 mph • Light rain
  • Referee: Jeff Page
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, Chris Mooneyham

Clark Atlanta

Clark Atlanta at Kennesaw State
1 234Total
Panthers 13 000 13
No. 5 Owls 14 212114 70
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:03
  • Game attendance: 6,009
  • Game weather: 88°F • 6 mph • A few clouds
  • Referee: Douglas Mercer
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, Chris Mooneyham, Lauren Hoffman

Samford

Samford at Kennesaw State
1 234Total
Bulldogs 3 007 10
No. 4 Owls 7 773 24
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:41
  • Game attendance: 6,304
  • Game weather: 83°F • 6 mph • Partly Cloudy
  • Referee: Stephen Hazle
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Brian Giffin, Brandon Joseph, Nathan McCreary

Presbyterian

Presbyterian at Kennesaw State
1 234Total
Blue Hose 0 000 0
No. 4 Owls 14 14217 56
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:51
  • Game attendance: 6,414
  • Referee: Marcus Woods
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, Chris Mooneyham, Lauren Hoffman

At Gardner–Webb

Kennesaw State at Gardner–Webb
1 234Total
No. 3 Owls 7 211414 56
Runnin' Bulldogs 3 0014 17
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Ernest W. Spangler Stadium
    Boiling Springs, NC
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:45
  • Game attendance: 4,150
  • Game weather: 65°F • 7 mph • Sunny
  • Referee: Duane Heydt
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Fabian Fuentes, Renaldo Wynn, Brendan Boylan

At Charleston Southern

Kennesaw State at Charleston Southern
1 234Total
No. 2 Owls 7 1777 38
Buccaneers 3 700 10
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Buccaneer Field
    North Charleston, SC
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:57
  • Game attendance: 1,242
  • Referee: Thomas Graham
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Kevin O’Rourke, Danny Croghan III, Danielle Hensley

Campbell

Campbell at Kennesaw State
1 234Total
Fighting Camels 0 000 0
No. 2 Owls 0 21217 49
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:40
  • Game attendance: 6,012
  • Game weather: 62°F • NW 1 • Sunny
  • Referee: Todd LaPenta
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, Chris Mooneyham, Lauren Hoffman

At Monmouth

Kennesaw State at Monmouth
1 234Total
No. 2 Owls 7 101420 51
Hawks 7 700 14
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: Kessler Stadium
    West Long Branch, NJ
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:56
  • Game attendance: 2,332
  • Game weather: 44°F • Sunny
  • Referee: David Epperley
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Matt Harmon, Eddy Occhipinti, Suzi Mellano

Vs. Jacksonville State

Jacksonville State vs Kennesaw State
1 234OTTotal
No. 6 Gamecocks 7 710028 52
No. 2 Owls 0 107736 60
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: SunTrust Park
    Atlanta, GA
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 4:12
  • Game attendance: 16,949
  • Game weather: 64°F • WNW 3 • Partly Cloudy
  • Referee: Larry Adcock
  • TV announcers (FSS): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, Chris Mooneyham

FCS Playoffs

Wofford–Second Round

Wofford vs Kennesaw State
1 234Total
No. 13 Terriers 0 1000 10
No. 2 Owls 0 1003 13
  • Date: December 1
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:55
  • Game attendance: 3,515
  • Game weather: 54°F • E 9 • Light Rain/Fog/Mist
  • Referee: Bruce Bondi
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Jim Barbar, John Gregory

South Dakota State–Quarterfinals

South Dakota State vs Kennesaw State
1 234Total
No. 5 Jackrabbits 3 1437 27
No. 2 Owls 3 0014 17
  • Date: December 8
  • Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
    Kennesaw, GA
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:47
  • Game attendance: 3,242
  • Game weather: 40°F • E 7 • Light/Heavy Rain
  • Referee: Todd Boyd
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Robert Lee, Matt Chatham

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS57754433222225
Coaches58854322222224

References

  1. "Kennesaw State Voted 2018 Preseason Football Favorite". bigsouthsports.com. Big South Conference.
  2. "Burks, Armstrong Headline 2018 Preseason All-Conference Team". bigsouthsports.com. Big South Conference.
  3. "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  4. "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  5. "2018 Football Schedule". ksuowls.com. Kennesaw State University. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
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