Kennesaw State Stuns Liberty for First Win As FBS Program, Eliminating Flames from College Football Playoff Race

By Dan Hope on October 23, 2024 at 11:33 pm
Kennesaw State wide receiver Christian Moss scores a touchdown
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In a college football season that’s already been full of upsets, the most stunning upset yet happened on a Wednesday night in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Kennesaw State was 0-6 entering Wednesday’s game against Liberty, who entered the game as a contender for the Group of 5 College Football Playoff berth with a 5-0 record. Kennesaw State was still seeking its first win as an FBS program on Wednesday night, as the Owls just made the move up to the FBS from the FCS this year.

That win came on Wednesday, even though the Owls were 27-point underdogs, as Kennesaw State extinguished the Flames’ playoff hopes with a 27-24 win over Liberty.

Liberty scored the game’s first touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Kaidon Salter to Treon Sibley, but the Flames would never lead the game again after Kennesaw State tied the game three minutes later on a 41-yard pass from Davis Bryson to Christian Moss.

The game was tied 14-14 entering halftime, then Kennesaw State struck first in the third quarter on a 6-yard Qua Ashley touchdown run. Liberty settled for a field goal on its next drive, and a pair of field goals by KSU’s Austin Welch – who is now 11-of-11 on field goals this season – gave the home team a two-score lead. Liberty cut the lead to three with a 17-yard pass from Salter to Elijah Canion with 1:49 to play, but the Flames wouldn't get the ball back until there were six seconds left on the clock.

Kennesaw State fans rushed the field after Salter’s next pass fell incomplete, but Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell was successful in convincing the officials that there should still be one second left on the clock. The Owls fans dutifully returned to the stands – a scene that probably would not have been as orderly if Ryan Day had successfully convinced the officials there should still be one second left on the clock at Oregon two weekends ago – before returning to the field to resume their celebration after Liberty’s last-second attempt at a lateral play went nowhere.

With the win, Kennesaw State became the first team with a record of 0-5 or worse to upset a team with a record of 5-0 or better since 2001.

Going into Wednesday night’s game, Kennesaw State was widely considered to be one of the two worst teams in the FBS this season along with the similarly named Kent State. In fact, Kennesaw State had been so bad in its first six games that it was considered to be worse than many FCS teams – and even a few Division II teams – per ESPN’s SP+ metric.

None of that mattered on Wednesday, however, as Kennesaw State earned a win it won’t soon forget while the Flames’ playoff ember went up in smoke with their first regular-season loss since 2022.


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