DALLAS (FWAA) – The Kennesaw State Owls knocked off previously-undefeated Liberty for their first win of the season last Wednesday, frustrating Conference USA’s top rushing team while rolling up season-high yardage of its own in a 27-24 win. For gaining its first FBS victory in front of its home fans, Kennesaw State earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week award for games the weekend of Oct. 26, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the first time the Owls (1-6) have been honored with the award.
Kennesaw State is in its first year as an FBS program after transitioning from FCS and playing in only its 10th season since starting the program. This was its first win as an FBS member and snapped Liberty’s 17-game regular-season win streak, which was the NCAA’s longest.
Led by a season-high 323 yards of offense and stifling defense, KSU struck first and kept the pressure on the CUSA leaders throughout. Quarterback Davis Bryson connected on his first eight passes and finished 16-of-20 for 189 yards and a touchdown with the third-highest quarterback grade (92.5) in the nation for Week 9 according to Pro Football Focus.
The KSU defense also kept Liberty contained. Running back Quinton Cooley finished with 37 yards and dynamic quarterback Kaidon Salter hit only 55 percent of his passes for 206 yards and an interception without making any explosive plays. Liberty rushed for 180 yards, its lowest total of the season and only the second time in two seasons to be held to 180 or less, the other coming in last season’s Fiesta Bowl against Oregon.
The Owl secondary broke up six passes, including a career-best three by cornerback Tyler Hallum. Spur defensive back Sidney Porter had eight tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. On the night, the KSU defense had 4.0 tackles for loss, six pass breakups and five quarterback hurries.
"This was the best-engaged crowd we've had in a long time here," head coach Brian Bohannon said. "Tonight was different. I'm looking at the fans behind Liberty's bench jumping up and down, and I thought the crowd did have an impact on the game which is what we want this place to be. All we've talked about for the last month and a half was sticking together, and if we stick to it, something good will happen. I told them that we have had a lot of great wins here, but nothing was better than that. I could not be more proud of this program."
The Owls travel for a midweek game Wednesday, facing WKU in Bowling Green, Ky., with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN2.
The other National Team of the Week nominee for the weekend of Oct. 26 was:
- Texas A&M (7-1): Off the bench, quarterback Marcel Reed ran for three second-half touchdowns and No. 14 Texas A&M beat eighth-ranked LSU 38-23 to become the only team undefeated in Southeastern Conference play. The Aggies picked off three of Garrett Nussmeier's passes after halftime to get their seventh straight victory since losing to Notre Dame in the opener.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
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ABOUT FLORIDA CITRUS SPORTS
Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Camping World Kickoff, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic and the Florida Cup & FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
For more information, follow @CheezIt and @CitrusBowl on your favorite social media platform, and stay tuned to see what absurdly satisfying antics Cheez-It has in store this season.
2024 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle (Chair)
Frank Bonner, Daily Memphian
Travis Brown, KBTX.com
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Emily Leiker, Syracuse.com
Ben Portnoy, Sports Business Journal
Sean Reider, Albuquerque Journal
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Magazine
Dusty Thibodeaux, Rivals: Warhawk Report
John Wagner, Country News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group