# 2021 Kennesaw State Owls football team

The 2021 Kennesaw State Owls football team represented the Kennesaw State University as a member of the Big South Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Brian Bohannon, the Owls played their home games at the Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.

## Schedule

Kennesaw State announced its 2021 football schedule on April 21, 2021. The 2021 schedule consisted of 5 home and 6 away games in the regular season.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 8:00 p.m. | Reinhardt* | No. 19 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA | ESPN+ | W 35–25 | 6,348 |
| September 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at Georgia Tech* | No. 22 | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | ACCRSN | L 17–45 | 35,195 |
| September 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at Wofford* | No. 24 | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC | ESPN+ | W 31–10 | 4,597 |
| October 2 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 17 Jacksonville State* | No. 20 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA | ESPN+ | W 31–6 | 7,476 |
| October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Hampton | No. 17 | Armstrong StadiumHampton, VA | ESPN3 | W 34–15 | 3,983 |
| October 16 | 5:00 p.m. | North Carolina A&T | No. 15 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA | ESPN+ | W 14–0 | 9,556 |
| October 23 | 4:00 p.m. | at Campbell | No. 12 | Barker–Lane StadiumBuies Creek, NC | ESPN+ | W 30–7 | 5,977 |
| October 30 | 1:00 p.m. | Gardner–Webb | No. 12 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA | ESPN+ | W 34–30 | 4,041 |
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Robert Morris | No. 12 | Joe Walton StadiumMoon Township, PA | ESPN+ | W 45–21 | 2,144 |
| November 13 | 3:00 p.m. | at North Alabama | No. 10 | Braly Municipal StadiumFlorence, AL | ESPN+ | W 28–24 | 7,023 |
| November 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Monmouth | No. 9 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA | ESPN+ | W 49–17 | 4,630 |
| November 27 | 2:00 p.m. | Davidson* | No. 10 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA (FCS Playoffs – First Round) | ESPN+ | W 48–21 | 2,764 |
| December 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 9 East Tennessee State* | No. 10 | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN (FCS Playoffs – Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 31–32 | 8,453 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Georgia Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kennesaw State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Georgia Tech | 14 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
at Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA
* Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 79°F
* Game attendance: 35,195
* Referee: Jeff Flanagan
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Brad Rathbun, Brian Jordan, Lyndsay Rowley
| Statistics | KSU | GT |
| First downs | 13 | 20 |
| Total yards | 260 | 412 |
| Rushes/yards | 43/149 | 36/158 |
| Passing yards | 111 | 254 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 8–20–2 | 17–23–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:41 | 26:16 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Kennesaw State | Passing | Xavier Shepherd | 8/20, 110 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Kennesaw State | Rushing | Iaan Cousin | 3 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD |
| Kennesaw State | Receiving | Adeolu Adeleke | 1 reception, 39 yards, 1 TD |
| Georgia Tech | Passing | Jordan Yates | 17/23, 254 yards, 4 TD |
| Georgia Tech | Rushing | Dontae Smith | 8 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD |
| Georgia Tech | Receiving | Kyric McGowan | 6 receptions, 91 yards, 2 TD |

### At No. 9 East Tennessee State (FCS Second Round)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Owls | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| No. 9 Buccaneers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 32 |
at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, Johnson City, Tennessee
* Date: December 4
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 63 °F (17 °C)
* Game attendance: 8,453
* Referee: Marcus Thornton
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | KSU | ETSU |
| First downs | 23 | 19 |
| Total yards | 457 | 308 |
| Rushing yards | 287 | 70 |
| Passing yards | 170 | 238 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 35:00 | 25:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Kennesaw State | Passing | Jonathan Murphy | 6/14, 125 yards, 2 TD |
| Kennesaw State | Rushing | Jonathan Murphy | 28 rushes, 164 yards, 2 TD |
| Kennesaw State | Receiving | Iaan Cousin | 3 receptions, 81 yards, TD |
| East Tennessee State | Passing | Tyler Riddell | 22/35, 238 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| East Tennessee State | Rushing | Quay Holmes | 13 rushes, 87 yards, TD |
| East Tennessee State | Receiving | Quay Holmes | 7 receptions, 95 yards, 2 TD |