Kennesaw State quarterback has team on verge of trip to conference final
Over the past three months Amari Odom has progressed from being a backup to a starting quarterback. Now the Kennesaw State sophomore is on the verge of becoming an elite player and is one win from leading the team into the conference championship game.
A win Saturday when the Owls (8-3, 6-1 Conference USA) travel to Liberty (4-7, 3-4) will put Kennesaw State into the CUSA title game. With a victory, KSU will play in the championship game Dec. 5 against the winner of Saturday’s game between Western Kentucky (8-3, 6-1) and Jacksonville State (7-4, 6-1).
“We’ve only got one scenario that we’ve talked about and that’s to win the game on Saturday,” KSU coach Jerry Mack said. “I don’t care about any other scenario. The only thing that matters is to go out and win the game. If they do that, all their hopes and dreams will come true.”
Mack said the team is focused on keeping alive its dream of playing for a conference championship, something that seemed far-fetched in August. A win also would enhance the team’s appeal for bowl selectors.
“We have a process that we go through, and we’re not going to change anything about the way we go about our business,” Mack said. “We’re going back to the drawing board and see if we can put a great game plan together to get a tough road win.”
Odom has been one of the hotter players in the conference. Last week he completed 24 of 34 passes and set school records for yards (387), passing touchdowns (five), total offense (419) and touchdowns responsible for (six). He threw the winning touchdown pass with 27 seconds left.
As a result, the Furman transfer was named Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week and Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week after last week’s record-setting effort against Missouri State.
It was remarkable comeback for Odom, who one week earlier had endured two sacks and three interceptions in loss to Jacksonville State.
“Obviously, I had a bad week, but just regrouping and flushing it on Monday,” Odom said. “Just trusting the work that we put in all week and then showing out on the field. That’s what we do.”
Mack said Odom’s turnaround started with his preparation and attention to detail.
“He was extremely intentional about protecting the football,” Mack said. “There were some decisions that he made the previous week that he’d like to get back. This week you saw a guy a little more careful, a little bit more intentional about not making those (risky) throws and not taking those chances.”
Odom shined on the final drive after the Owls took possession after the defense sniffed out a fake field-goal try and gave the offense the ball and its own 39 yard line with 1:07 remaining. Odom wasted no time. He ran for 7 yards, hooked up with Christian Moss for a 40-yard reception, and found running back Chase Belcher over the middle for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left.
“Football is a game of momentum, and we had it right there,” Mack said. “Going to be honest, I felt like he was going to go down field and not just get an opportunity to score a field goal, but was going to get an opportunity to put one in the box like we did. He was just playing at a very high level and our team and our energy was off the roof right there.”
Winning at Liberty won’t be easy. The Flames will be playing their final home game and they lost to Kennesaw State a year ago. Liberty cannot become bowl eligible, making this game a quasi-bowl game.
Liberty has an outstanding offensive combination in Georgia Tech transfer Evan Dickens (1,072 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns) at running back and Ethan Vasko (1,961 yards passing, 10 touchdowns), a transfer who played quarterback for coach Jamey Chadwell at Coastal Carolina.
Odom was joined in the national spotlight this week by defensive coordinator and safeties coach Marc Mattioli, who was named as one of 63 nominees for the Frank Broyles Award given each year to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Mattioli’s aggressive philosophy has resulted in the Owls ranking second in CUSA in sacks (26) and allowing 22.7 points against league opponents.
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
