Samford (8-3) at Kennesaw State (10-1), Saturday 2:00
Ever heard of QB Devlin Hodges? How about WR Kelvin McKnight? Know for a fact that Kennesaw State knows who they are, because Samford is the only team that beat the Owls this year. All the way back in August, Samford played host and won 28-23. For those unaware who Hodges and McKnight are, tune in, they’re as good of a pass and catch combo as you’ll see in the playoffs. Despite those two, the Bulldogs aren’t an overly high-scoring team, just averaging 29.0 ppg. The defense gives up 21.7, which is fairly pedestrian for a playoff caliber team. However, they were good enough to take down SoCon champions, Wofford. Other than a stinker loss to Chattanooga, there’s no red flags against this team.
Kennesaw State won the Big South automatic bid this last weekend with an absolute demolishing of Monmouth. There’s no real passing game to speak of for the Owls, they don’t usually need to. That’s because they own the nation’s best rushing attack at 339 ypg! They combine that fact to also be one of the FCS’ best ball hogging teams at over 33:30 per game. Along with that also comes better defensive numbers. Tough to run it up when you don’t have the ball. But there’s one other thing, KSU leads the nation in turnover margin also. In other words, if things go well for the Owls, your goose is cooked!
The first game of the season was a long time ago. Samford seems to be about the same team going through the season as they were then. Kennesaw State appears to have figured it out once October came along and has been rolling since. Should be another close game, but the change in venue could also change the result.
Projected Score: Kennesaw State 28, Samford 27
