Kennesaw State head coach Jerry Mack lifts the Conference USA Championship trophy following his team’s 19-15 win over Jacksonville State on Dec. 5 at AmFirst Stadium. Photo by Tye Brown
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Amari Odom’s late game heroics lifted Kennesaw State football to its first Conference USA title in a dramatic 19-15 win over Jacksonville State on Friday night at AmFirst Stadium.
The Owls appeared to be cruising early in the fourth quarter. After a questionable call that following a review ruled Odom was just short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal with the Owls leading 10-0 with 12:56 remaining, Jax State’s Cam Cook was dropped in the end zone for a safety.
Leading 12-0, KSU was positioned to take firm control by either eating a chunk of the remaining time or taking a three-possession lead.
Things instead took a nightmarish turn.
Kick returner Davis Bryson appeared to have an alley through the Gamecocks’ safety kick unit, but had the ball jarred loose by Jax State kicker Garrison Rippa, turning possession back over near midfield.
The Gamecocks made quick work to find the end zone, marching 48 yards in seven plays to get on the board with a Cook touchdown from one yard out.
A critical third down sack split by Gamecocks’ pass rushers Mac Sanders and Walker O’Steen forced an Owls punt with 8:20 to play.
Once again, Jax State worked its way down the field efficiently, capping its drive with a 19-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Caden Creel. Following a successful two-point conversion, the Gamecocks held a 15-12 lead with 4:04 remaining.
Set up at the 25-yard line, Odom and company were set to have a final opportunity to tie or take the lead.
A pass interference penalty gave the Owls a quick first down, before they fell behind the chains.
A chop block penalty, a Coleman Bennett run that went for a loss of two yards and an incomplete pass presented the Owls with a third-and-27. Odom found a streaking Christian Moss over the middle to set up a fourth-and-one as the clock ticked down to the two-minute timeout.
Bennett extended the drive, plowing forward for a three-yard gain and a fresh set of downs, but just a few plays later, KSU once again found itself far behind the chains.
Facing a fourth-and-14 at the Jax State 37-yard line, the Owls elected to not attempt a 54-yard field goal but instead, “Put the ball in their best player’s hands.”
“At the end of the day, we decided that we’re going to put the ball in our best player’s hands,” Owls coach Jerry Mack said. “Offensively, Amari Odom is a first-team all-conference quarterback, he’s been playing extremely well for the last few weeks, and it was just an opportunity for him to step up.”
Odom took the snap, rolled to his left and took off running for the first down marker, reaching the line to gain by the slimmest of margins.
The play was reviewed, and the call on the field stood. A late hit out of bounds tacked on an additional 12 yards.
“It was do or die,” Odom said. “Our season’s on the line, a championship is on the line – the receivers ran their routes, I just saw an open crease to the left, took off trying to get the first down, took it at the end and kept pushing.”
A play later, Odom found target Navelle Dean in the end zone to give the Owls the lead with 52 seconds left, 19-15. It was the first touchdown of Dean’s college career and just his eighth catch overall.
The Gamecocks were unable to make much of anything in the final minute offensively, and when Creel’s desperate heave on fourth-and-long fell to the ground, the Owls needed just a kneel down to secure their first CUSA championship, and fourth conference title in program history.
Odom was named the game’s most valuable player, finishing the day 26-of-32 through the air for 246 yards and a touchdown.
Bennett scored the Owls’ first half touchdown, and the KSU defense accomplished the rare feat of holding Cook to under 100 yards rushing at just 78.
“At the end of the day, our guys showed perseverance, and some toughness and some grit to finish the game in the right way,” Mack said. “I just can’t say enough about the way our guys continue to compete. It’s our administration, our athletic director, just everybody this year pouring their hearts and soul into this football program trying to make it the best version of what Kennesaw State can be.”
