2017 Kennesaw State Owls football team

The 2017 Kennesaw State Owls football team represented Kennesaw State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Brian Bohannon and played their home games at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia as third-year members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 12–2, 5–0 in Big South play to win the Big South conference championship. The Owls received the Big South's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, their first trip to the playoffs in school history. In the first round of the playoffs, the Owls defeated Samford in a rematch of their only regular season loss and marked the school's first ever playoff win. In the second round, the Owls upset No. 3 seed Jacksonville State to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, despite a furious second half comeback, they lost to Sam Houston State.

2017 Kennesaw State Owls football
Big South champion
FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, L 27–34 vs. Sam Houston State
Conference	Big South Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 8
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	12–2 (5–0 Big South)
Head coach	Brian Bohannon (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Grant Chesnut (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Brian Newberry (3rd season)
Home stadium	Fifth Third Bank Stadium

2017 Big South Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Kennesaw State $^		5	–	0					12	–	2
Monmouth ^		4	–	1					9	–	3
Charleston Southern		3	–	2					6	–	5
Liberty *		2	–	3					6	–	5
Presbyterian		1	–	4					4	–	7
Gardner–Webb		0	–	5					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * Liberty ineligible for postseason due to FBS transition Rankings from STATS Poll

On January 9, 2018, head coach Brian Bohannon was named the American Football Coaches Association's Coach of the Year.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	at No. 19 Samford*		Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3 WPCH	L 23–28	4,908
September 9	7:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech*		Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	BSN WPCH	W 27–14	8,418
September 16	8:00 p.m.	at Alabama State*		New ASU Stadium Montgomery, AL	ASAA	W 20–14	11,000
September 30	3:30 p.m.	North Greenville*		Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	WPCH	W 38–34	6,161
October 7	7:00 p.m.	Texas Southern*		Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	WPCH	W 48–3	6,743
October 14	6:00 p.m.	at Liberty		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ESPN3	W 42–28	17,726
October 21	7:00 p.m.	Gardner–Webb		Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	ESPN3	W 17–3	6,954
October 28	2:00 p.m.	at Presbyterian		Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC	WPCH	W 28–0	2,804
November 4	2:00 p.m.	at Montana State*	No. 25	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	WPCH	W 16–14	16,337
November 11	3:30 p.m.	Charleston Southern	No. 23	Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	ESPN3	W 38–0	6,224
November 18	2:00 p.m.	Monmouth	No. 22	Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	ESPN3	W 52–21	6,808
November 25	2:00 p.m.	No. 14 Samford*	No. 18	Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA (FCS Playoffs First Round)	ESPN3	W 28–17	5,516
December 2	2:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Jacksonville State*	No. 18	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 17–7	17,412
December 9	8:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Sam Houston State*	No. 18	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)	ESPN3	L 27–34	5,725
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

@ Samford

See also: 2017 Samford Bulldogs football team

Kennesaw State @ Samford

1 2 3 4 Total Owls 0 10 0 13 23 • No. 19 Bulldogs 0 7 14 7 28 Date: September 2 Location: Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3:29 Game attendance: 4,908 Game weather: 78°F • S 18 • Overcast and windy Referee: Edwin Lee TV announcers (ESPN3/WPCH): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, and Nathan McCreary

Tennessee Tech

See also: 2017 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

Tennessee Tech @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Eagles 0 0 0 14 14 • Owls 10 14 3 0 27 Date: September 9 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:57 Game attendance: 8,418 Game weather: 74°F • ENE 8 • Sunny and clear Referee: Tra Blake TV announcers (BSN/WCPH): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, and Chris Mooneyham

@ Alabama State

See also: 2017 Alabama State Hornets football team

Kennesaw State @ Alabama State

1 2 3 4 Total • Owls 0 17 3 0 20 Hornets 0 7 7 0 14 Date: September 16 Location: The New ASU Stadium Montgomery, AL Game start: 8:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:54 Game attendance: 11,000 Game weather: 78°F • E 4 • Partly cloudy Referee: Ron Turner TV announcers (ASAA): Jonathan Spells, Machion Sanders, Rob Taylor

North Greenville

See also: North Greenville Crusaders football

North Greenville @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total Crusaders 7 9 7 11 34 • Owls 14 7 7 10 38 Date: September 30 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 3:30 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3:19 Game attendance: 6,161 Game weather: 78°F • WNW 5 • Sunny Referee: Andy Faust TV announcers (WCPH): Brian Katrek, Tutan Reyes, and Chris Mooneyham

Texas Southern

See also: 2017 Texas Southern Tigers football team

Texas Southern @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total Tigers 0 3 0 0 3 • Owls 10 24 7 7 48 Date: October 7 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:39 Game attendance: 6,743 Game weather: 78°F • SE 8 • Overcast Referee: Jeff Flanagan TV announcers (WCPH): Brian Giffin, Brandon Joseph, Nathan McCreary

@ Liberty

See also: 2017 Liberty Flames football team

Kennesaw State @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total • Owls 7 21 7 7 42 Flames 7 0 7 14 28 Date: October 14 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:54 Game attendance: 17,726 Game weather: 73°F • SSE 3 • Sunny Referee: Stuart Mullins TV announcers (ESPN3): Brian Giffin, Tutan Reyes, Nathan McCreary

Gardner–Webb

See also: 2017 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team

Gardner–Webb @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total Runnin' Bulldogs 0 0 3 0 3 • Owls 0 17 0 0 17 Date: October 21 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:52 Game attendance: 6,954 Game weather: 71°F • ESE 5 • Clear Referee: Terrance Lamar TV announcers (ESPN3): Mike Hogewood, Renaldo Wynn

@ Presbyterian

See also: 2017 Presbyterian Blue Hose football team

Kennesaw State @ Presbyterian

1 2 3 4 Total • Owls 0 14 14 0 28 Blue Hose 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 28 Location: Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC Game start: 2:30 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2:41 Game attendance: 2,804 Game weather: 68°F • SSE 9 • Partly Cloudy Referee: Jeff Heaser TV announcers (WPCH): Mark Bryant, John Orck

@ Montana State

See also: 2017 Montana State Bobcats football team

Kennesaw State @ Montana State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 25 Owls 7 3 3 3 16 Bobcats 7 0 7 0 14 Date: November 4 Location: Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:50 Game attendance: 16,337 Game weather: 20°F • NNW 0–8 • Mild, 14" snow Referee: Greg Wilson TV announcers (WPCH): Chris Byers, Mike Callaghan, Kyle Sherman

Charleston Southern

See also: 2017 Charleston Southern Buccaneers football team

Charleston Southern @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total Buccaneers 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 23 Owls 7 14 3 14 38 Date: November 11 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:49 Game attendance: 6,224 Game weather: 55°F • Sunny Referee: Riley Johnson TV announcers (ESPN3): Mike Hogewood, Jay Sonnhalter

Monmouth

See also: 2017 Monmouth Hawks football team

Monmouth @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total Hawks 7 14 0 0 21 • No. 22 Owls 14 21 10 7 52 Date: November 18 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:50 Game attendance: 6,808 Game weather: 65°F • Partly Cloudy Referee: Jerry Magallane TV announcers (ESPN3): Mike Hogewood, Jay Sonnhalter

This victory clinched the Owls' first ever postseason bid.

FCS Playoffs

Samford–First Round

Samford @ Kennesaw State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 14 Bulldogs 3 7 0 7 17 • No. 18 Owls 0 21 7 0 28 Date: November 25 Location: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 5,566 Game weather: 62°F • Partly Cloudy Referee: Steve Cadorette TV announcers (ESPN3): Dan Gutowsky, Marcus Ray

@ Jacksonville State–Second Round

See also: 2017 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

Kennesaw State @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 18 Owls 0 7 7 3 17 No. 2 Gamecocks 0 0 0 3 3 Date: December 2 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:44 Game attendance: 17,412 Game weather: 65°F • Partly Cloudy Referee: Warren Gillis TV announcers (ESPN3): Matt Stewart, Forrest Conoly

@ Sam Houston State–Quarterfinals

See also: 2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

Kennesaw State @ Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 18 Owls 7 3 3 14 27 • No. 5 Bearkats 14 10 3 7 34 Date: December 9 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 5,725 Television network: ESPN3

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	22	18	8
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	21	16	9