Mistakes and missed opportunities Saturday haunted Kennesaw State, which lost to conference rival Austin Peay 31-14 at Fifth Third Bank stadium.
Kennesaw State started strong, scoring on its first drive of the game, going 66 yards on 14 plays, and took a 7-0 lead with 6:11 left in the first quarter. That would be their only score until there was 5:51 left in the fourth quarter.
As Kennesaw State (5-5, 1-3 ASUN) could not overcome four turnovers by quarterback Xavier Shepherd, who threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. The turnovers led to coach Brian Bohannon replacing Shepherd with senior Jonathan Murphy early in the fourth quarter. Shepherd had replaced Murphy going into Kennesaw State’s third game following losses to Samford and Cincinnati and had started every game since.
“You turn the ball over four times in a conference game, you’re not going to win,” Bohannon said after the game. “You’re only as good as you do on a Saturday afternoon, and today, we were not very good. When we turn over the ball like that, we don’t have a chance. If we take care of the ball, we at least have a chance to win the game though there is no guarantee of that.”
On Senior Day, the Owls also had muffed a punt and converted only 4 of 17 third-down plays, as the entire offense struggled. Shepherd finished 3-9 passing for 47 yards, but he rushed for 96 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown. Murphy was 5-of-10 passing for 61 yards and rushed for 15 yards on eight carries. He had a rushing touchdown for the Owls’ other score.
KSU had chances to build on its 7-0 lead, thanks to its defense and special teams. Leading 7-0, the defense forced Austin Peay (7-3, 3-2) to punt on the first play of the second quarter. The ball hit off a Governors player and was recovered by Isaac Foster at the Austin Peay 19, though an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on KSU’s Chance Gamble moved the ball back to the 34.
Still, with a prime opportunity to score, Shepherd made a bad pitch on an option and fumbled. Austin Peay recovered and drove down the field before turning the ball over on Deontre Morris’ nice toe-drag interception by the left pylon.
“In order for us to have won a game like this, we needed to capitalize on those mistakes,” Bohannon said. “We recovered the fumble and gave it right back to them. It’s frustrating, but that is how it’s been all season. Not being able to score off those turnovers was a big part. It had a big impact on the score and (on the Owls) mentally.”
Sitting at a 5-5 record, Kennesaw State will play its final game of the season at 3 p.m. Saturday at Eastern Kentucky and look to avoid the first losing record in the program’s history.
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