#2 Amari Odom throws a pass against Jacksonville State on AmFirst Stadium on Nov. 15. Photo by Jackson Louneounbonh.
JACKSONVILLE, Ala — Kennesaw State football failed to overcome four interceptions in plus territory, falling to Jacksonville State 35-26 Saturday night at AmFirst Stadium.
The Owls’ seven-game winning streak came to a halt against archrival Jacksonville State in a game where they outgained the Gamecocks 579-451.
Quarterback Amari Odom struggled mightily, throwing three interceptions in the contest, all of which came with KSU in Jax State territory, one in the end zone and two when the Owls were in the red zone.
After his third pick, the redshirt sophomore was pulled in favor of Dexter Williams II when the Owls were down 32-13 in the fourth quarter.
“We thought about [making the change earlier] a little bit,” KSU coach Jerry Mack said. “We wanted to let him work through some of the issues. I don’t like playing yo-yo with quarterbacks to be honest with you. We wanted to continue to allow [Odom] to work through some of the stuff and it did well, but after the third [interception] I couldn’t look at that anymore — it was a situation where we needed something different.”
Down three possessions, Williams II led back-to-back touchdown drives. The first was capped when the sixth-year senior found freshman Clayton Coppock in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal — the second finished with a nine-yard touchdown scramble from Williams II.
With two timeouts at their disposal and the two-minute timeout still to come, the Owls needed a quick stop to have an opportunity to take the lead.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Jax State quarterback Caden Creel kept the ball himself for a 40-yard gain to move the Gamecocks into Owls territory.
A few plays later, Garrison Rippa converted a 17-yard field goal to seal the game.
A final heave from Williams II was intercepted as time ran out, cementing Jax State’s 35-26 win.
The Owls didn’t help themselves throughout the night, committing 10 penalties for 90 yards on the night.
“[We] didn’t play well enough to win the football game,” Mack said. “At the end of the day, we got to score points in the red zone — we got to score touchdowns and that’s what we did not do tonight. We had too many penalties on the offensive side of the ball that constantly put us behind the chains. Guys moved the ball up and down the field at times, but at the end of the day, got to put the ball in the end zone and that’s what we did not do a good job of tonight.
Odom, who finished 19-of-31 for 248 yards with three interceptions did reach the end zone with his legs on the Owls’ first drive of the game.
Creel and the nation’s leading rusher, Cam Cook, lived up their billing, combining for 259 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt delivered a demoralizing blow at the end of the first half, when a Hail Mary heave bounced out of the arms of a KSU defender and into the arms of receiver Deondre Johnson for a 62-yard touchdown as time expired.
Following a short missed field goal from Britton Williams, freshman Daniel Kinney replaced the senior and proceeded to make both of his attempts with a long of 43 yards.
KSU defensive back Caleb Offord suffered a scary injury in the fourth quarter, requiring him to be rolled off on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital.
Mack said postgame that Offord was in stable condition.
“He’s moving his extremities,” he said. “He’s in stable condition right now. Very disappointing what happened to him on the field, but he is alert and he is moving his extremities right now.”
The loss is the first in conference defeat of the year for the Owls who fall to 7-3 overall, knocking them out of first place.
