November 8, 2024

In This Issue 

Kennesaw State Owls Campus Sports

Along with News from the

Conference USA (C-USA)

Owls Wrap Up Road Swing at UTEP

 Kennesaw State Owls (1-7, 1-3 CUSA)

@ UTEP Miners (1-8, 1-5 CUSA)

Date: Saturday, November 9

Site: @ Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX



Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. ET

ESPN+ TV: Click Here

Play-by-Play: Andy Morgan

Analyst: Ed Stansbury

Radio: KSU Owls Radio Network

Play-by-Play: Nolan Alexander

Analyst: Barclay Miller

Sideline: Brandon Smith

Host/Producer: Jordan Griffitt

KSU Game Notes: Click Here

UTEP Game Notes: Click Here

UTEP Preview: Click Here

C-USA Weekly Release: Click Here

Kennesaw State Sports: Click Here

Football Atlanta: Click Here

Kennesaw State football wraps up its two-game road swing when it heads West to take on UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Sun Bowl.

The game will mark the first Saturday that Kennesaw State has played on since Sept. 28 due to Conference USA’s midweek action during the month of October, officially marking 42 days in-between weekend contests.

Kennesaw State and UTEP will be meeting for the first time in program history, but KSU head coach Brian Bohannon and UTEP HC Scotty Walden have met previously when Walden was the leader at Austin Peay.

Kennesaw State is coming off a gauntlet of an opening slate to start its time as a member of Conference USA, playing three of the top four teams in the league’s standings through its first four conference games.

Kennesaw State has been markedly better in the ground attack of late, averaging 157.5 yards/game and recording five rushing touchdowns in the last four games. This comes after averaging just 73.0 yards per game and tallying two TDs through the first four games of the season.

Helping spur that effort has been Sr. RB Michael Benefield, who has 312 rushing yards and three TDs over the last four games to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for his career at Kennesaw State.

Defensively, both r-Jr. LB Garland Benyard and r-Jr. DB Tyler Hallum have shined of late.



Click Here For The Full Story

Watch Head Coach Brian Bohannon's Weekly Press Conference Previewing CUSA Game At UTEP

"We're on the struggle bus right now, I mean I'm just being honest."

Coach Bohannon emphasized the importance of maintaining a fighting spirit, even in the face of adversity. "We gotta play extremely hard, extremely tough, and we can't beat ourselves," he said, stressing the need for mental toughness and discipline.

"Unfortunately for us we play two veteran teams that are that are senior Laden."

Looking ahead to the UTEP game, Bohannon stressed the importance of preparation and focus. "We're going to go get ready to play every week like it's a Super Bowl," he declared. This approach underscores the coach's commitment to treating each game with equal importance, regardless of the opponent.

Click Here To Watch

The Full Press Conference

Watch UTEP Head Coach Scotty Walden's Weekly Press Conference Previewing CUSA Game With KSU

This is a big week for us. Kennesaw State is a tough opponent, and we need to be at our best.

We have been working hard in practice, and I can see the guys are eager to show what they can do. They've put in the effort, and now it's about executing on game day.

They have a diverse attack that can catch teams off guard. We must be ready for anything they throw at us. We're excited about this challenge. Kennesaw State is going to test us, but I believe in our guys.

KSU Head Coach Brian Bohannon] has built a winning program, and they're making the transition. I've gone to their place to play them (as head coach at Austin Peay) and they're tough as nails. They're gritty and run the ball physically. They're going to play physical run defense, and they're long and athletic on defense.

The quarterback [Davis Bryson] is a running threat and Coach Bohannon breeds a culture of grit and toughness. We have to bring out our A-game into the Sun Bowl, and we have a bigtime challenge coming up for homecoming.

CONFERENCE USA FOOTBALL This Week's Games

NOVEMBER 9

(All times Eastern)

Saturday, November 9

Liberty at MTSU

(Conf) 1:00 p.m. (CBSSN) 

Kennesaw State at UTEP 

(Conf) 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+) 

Jax State at LA Tech

 (Conf) 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN) 

WKU at NM State 

(Conf) 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) 

_________________________________

C-USA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Players of the Week –

Eric Rivers, FIU – Junior – WR

Tre Stewart, Jax State – Senior – RB 

Defensive Player of the Week –

Geimere Latimer, Jax State – So.– CB 

Special Teams Player of the Week – Abraham Montano, NM State – Sr. – K

Conference USA Website - Click Here

Johnsen, Brown, Walz Named CUSA Players of the Week

A trio of Kennesaw State players picked up weekly honors on Monday as Conference USA announced its Volleyball Players of the Week. Manu Johnsen is this week's Offensive Player of the Week, while Kourtney Brown and Kaeley Walz were named the CO-Setters of the Week. This is the first CUSA weekly honor for all three players, while it's the third all-time career weekly honor for Brown and Johnsen after they picked up a pair of weekly accolades each from the Atlantic Sun during the 2023 season.

An outside hitter from Copenhagen, Denmark, Johnson led all Owls this past weekend offensively while helping KSU post back-to-back 3-0 sweeps at Louisiana Tech. Against the Bulldogs in the first game, she notched 20 kills and had a .410 hitting percentage, while also adding seven digs and two blocks. For the weekend, she had 31 kills for a 5.17 kills per set average, and also collected 3.33 digs per set while recording one double-double.

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Rivera Cements KSU's First Women's Soccer All-Conference Postseason Award

Forward Tianna Rivera notched women's soccer first ever postseason CUSA All-Conference honor with a second team nod, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon. 

The accolade marks the sixth of her career while being her third post-season All-Conference award between the ASUN and CUSA. 

The graduate led the team in goals scored with seven, tied for fifth in CUSA while six goals came versus CUSA opponents. Her seven scores were the most of any Owl since Macie Rainwater in 2021. She scored the game-winning goal in 3-0 win over formerly undefeated FIU. 

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Men's & Women's Basketball Play Saturday Games

The Black and Gold women's basketball team opened the season with a 71-52 win over Life University.

They return to the hardwood Saturday, Nov. 9 for a CUSA/WAC Challenge game against Utah Valley. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Fans can purchase tickets here. Admission is free for KSU students to all 2024-25 women's basketball home games.

Meanwhile, the Owls men's basketball team is coming off a dominating 110-61 victory over Toccoa Falls. They will paly their first road game of the season as they face Cal Baptist in Riverside, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. (ET) in a game streamed live on ESPN+.