Brian Bohannon didn't go apoplectic like the elder Jim Mora, but he did not want to talk about the possibility of the playoffs ahead of this week's game against Charleston Southern.
The Owls (6-2, 2-1) will host the Buccaneers (7-1, 4-0) in a key Big South matchup Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. A Charleston Southern win will clinch a share of the conference title and the automatic qualifying spot in the FCS playoffs. A Kennesaw State win will mean a possibility of three teams atop the conference with one loss each. Should the Owls continue by winning their remaining games at Coastal Carolina and at Presbyterian, they will make the playoffs.
But don’t talk about it around Bohannon.
“I know our guys can’t help but pay attention to that stuff,” he said. “I don’t. I won’t. I haven’t from the beginning.”
After a Kennesaw State assistant coach heard a freshman on the team talking about the playoffs, Bohannon gathered the team together and said this:
“If you want to go the playoffs, you have to beat Charleston Southern. That’s how it works.”
Asked if Bohannon’s declaration stopped the chatter, safety Taylor Henkle paused — giving away the truth — for a second before answering.
“I don’t really hear much,” he said. Henkle said the older players, including the four seniors who will be honored Saturday before the game, do a good job of keeping the players grounded and focused only on what’s next.
That’s what Bohannon wants to hear.
“It’s not that I’m minimizing any of that stuff,” he said. “But we have to take care of each day. Even moving forward, we don’t need to worry about all that. Ultimate goal is to compete for a championship.”
Bohannon said he’s more excited about the possibility of finishing the team’s inaugural season undefeated at home. The team is 5-0 after Saturday’s 23-13 victory over Monmouth, which also secured a winning season.
Bohannon said going undefeated at home wasn’t one of the team’s goals before the season because he said they didn’t talk about it in such definite terms. Instead, they stressed, “protecting the nest,” one of the many references to our feathered friends that the team has adopted.
Henkle said the players have taken pride in that.
“We never want to walk out of our locker room with a loss,” he said.
Winning on Saturday won’t be easy.
Charleston Southern is coming off a 33-25 victory over then-No. 1 Coastal Carolina. The Bucs rank No. 1 in FCS in total defense (244.1 yards per game), No. 7 in scoring defense (15.5 points per game) and No. 12 in rushing defense (105.8 yards per game). The Owls are No. 3 in rushing offense (322.5 yards per game), No. 20 in total offense (455.3 yards per game) and No. 17 in scoring offense (35.6 points per game).
Bohannon said the key for the Bucs is that their players believe in what they are doing, and their first- and second-teams are filled with experienced players.
“By far playing as good as anybody in the league and probably as good as anybody in FCS,” he said.
