What to look for: Owls at WKU

By: Austin Williams

The Kennesaw State Owls prepare for another Conference USA midweek as they travel to face the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, set for Wednesday, October 30 at 7 p.m. 7:30pm on ESPN2. Scroll below for what to look for during tonight’s competition.

Can the KSU offense keep rolling?

The Owl offense shined against the Liberty Flames due to a spectacular performance by the redshirt sophomore Davis Brysonearning him the week nine CUSA Offensive Player of the Week award. After being benched against Middle Tennessee, Bryson started the game 8-for-8 against the Flames and finished the night 16-of-20 with a pass. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Bryson had the third-highest passer rating in the country (92.5) and the sixth-highest offensive grade among quarterbacks (90.1) against the Flames.

Another factor in the KSU offense was explosive plays as the Owl quarterback, running backs and receivers were all able to wear down the Liberty defense. Bryson made Liberty respect the Owls’ passing attack with a 41-yard touchdown pass to the redshirt junior receiver Christian Moss and made critical throws to the freshman receiver Jaden Robinson and redshirt junior Blake Bohannon. The Owls finished the night with 323 total yards and look to continue their success against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who have the fifth-ranked defense in CUSA.

The Hilltopper defense ranks seventh in CUSA in pass defense, allowing 12 passes this season and averaging 225.6 passing yards per game. While the running game is the bread and butter of the Owl offense, this newfound confidence in the Owl passing attack could reveal a weakness in the WKU defensive unit.

Owls Special Team’s continued success

The KSU special teams unit has been a pleasant surprise for the 2024 season. Both kick Austin Welcha redshirt junior and punter Jacob Ulricha redshirt freshman, have excelled in their duties.

Welch is one of six active FBS kickers with a perfect field goal percentage. He is a perfect 11-for-11 on field goals this season; three of his kicks have been drilled from more than 40 yards and helped secure the first win for the Owls this season, scoring nine points against the Flames. His performance against Liberty also earned him the week nine CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week award. Welch was an unknown coming into this season, but the transfer from Eastern Kentucky is proving to be a critical scoring asset for KSU this season. If the Owls need points, trust Welch to put the ball through the posts.

Ulrich has been a consistent field punter for KSU and has the highest average yards per punt (46.6) in CUSA. Of his 35 punts this season, 11 have gone over 50 yards, which is important in keeping opposing offenses out of Owl territory. Keep an eye on this highly successful Owl special teams unit and expect them to make a decisive impact against the Hilltoppers.

Hinder the Hilltopper passing game

The Owl defense will be up against another dominant passing attack from WKU sophomore quarterback Caden Veltkamp. Veltkamp has completed 116 of his 164 passes, with 14 passing touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns and 1,428 passing yards this season. He leads CUSA in passing touchdowns, has the highest quarterback efficiency rating (164.7) and boasts the highest completion percentage (69.5).

The Owl defense did well against their last opponents who had a dangerous passing attack. They held MTSU to just 199 yards passing and zero touchdowns. The Owls also allowed minimal explosive passing plays against the Flames, which is one of the reasons for their win against the Liberty.

Key defensive Owls in this game include redshirt junior defensive back Tyler Hallumredshirt sophomore defensive back Jayven Williams and the redshirt sophomore linebacker duo Donelius Johnson and redshirt junior Garland Benyard. Hallum leads the KSU defense in pass breakups with nine and recorded his first interception of the season against Liberty last week. Hallum also earned the week nine CUSA Defensive Player of the Week award following his performance against Liberty. Williams also had a crucial pass breakup against the Flames, and this Owls secondary has played very disciplined over the last few weeks. Watch for this Owls secondary to fly all over the ball against this WKU passing game.