KENNESAW, Ga. - Charleston Southern's fourth-quarter rally fell just short on the road at No. 9 Kennesaw State as the Buccaneers were unable to secure the late onside kick in the 24-19 loss.

Trailing 24-7 with 10:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers (0-1, 0-1 Big South) mounted a furious comeback attempt with a pair of late touchdowns. Jack Chambers capped the Bucs' first scoring drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to narrow the gap down to 24-13 with 7:46 remaining.

Following a KSU 3-and-out, the Bucs went back to work from midfield with Chambers again capping the scoring drive with a touchdown carry, this one from one yard out, to narrow the gap down to 24-19 with 1:46 to play. Kennesaw State (2-0, 1-0 Big South) recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Owls ran out the clock on their way to recording the key conference win.

Chambers went 14-of-23 through the air for 160 yards and a touchdown in his first action of the 2021 spring season. The redshirt junior quarterback added 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the day to pace the Bucs on the ground.

Garris Schwarting (Four catches, 55 yards) and Geoffrey Wall (four catches, 43 yards) were Chambers' top targets on the day, while Demetrius Jones added two catches for 37 yards, including a key third-down catch near midfield on CSU's first scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, seven different Buccaneers recorded at least 10 tackles on the day led by Cody Cline and Anton Williams' 14 tackles apiece. Williams added CSU's lone sack, while Shaundre Mims had three of the Bucs' eight tackles for loss in the contest.

KSU's Jonathan Murphy paced the Owls' offense after going 4-of-5 through the air for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Murphy added 113 rushing yards and a third score to highlight Kennesaw State's rushing game. Caleb O'Neal was his leading target with two catches for 77 yards, including a key 51-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter.

Bryson Armstrong paced the Owls' defensive efforts with a team-high eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
 
How They Scored

• Charleston Southern jumped on the board early in the second quarter as Chambers found Cayden Jordan on a post pattern over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown reception at the 12:35 mark to cap a nine-play, 71-yard drive. The drive featured a key seven-yard completion to Garris Schwarting on a 3rd-and-6 on the play prior to the Jordan touchdown.
• Jonathan Murphy targeted Kyle Glover for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 5:55 to play in the first half to even the score at 7-7 to cap a 13-play, 72-yard drive.
• The Owls took advantage of a late blocked punt to go ahead 10-7 just before the halftime break as Nathan Robertson connected on a 23-yard field goal.
• Murphy added to the KSU lead midway through the third quarter as the Owls' quarterback took it in from seven yards out with 8:14 to play to cap the 13-play, 49-yard drive.
• Kennesaw State added their final score with 14:53 remaining in the fourth quarter as Murphy found O'Neal down the right sideline for the 51-yard touchdown connection to put the Owls ahead 24-7.
• Chambers' first rushing touchdown of the game came at the 7:55 mark in the fourth quarter as the redshirt junior quarterback capped off the seven-play, 56-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to narrow the gap to 24-13.
• Chambers' second rushing touchdown, a one-yard plunge up the middle, capped a 10-play, 50-yard drive that spanned 3:30 in the game and came with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring in the game.

Inside the Numbers

• Kennesaw State held the 226-84 rushing advantage in the contest with the Owls averaging 3.3 yards per carry, while the Bucs posted 3.0 yards per rush.
• The Bucs went 14-of-23 through the air for 160 yards with CSU averaging 11.4 yards per completion in the contest, while Kennesaw State went 4-of-6 through the air for 108 yards.
• Kennesaw State held the 19-14 edge in first downs and the 40:20-19:40 edge in time of possession in the game.
• The Bucs were 3-of-3 in red zone scoring chances in the game and 5-of-11 in third-down conversions.
• Kennesaw State was 7-of-18 on third downs and 5-of-7 on fourth downs on Saturday afternoon.
• Neither side turned the ball over in Saturday's contest.

News & Notes

• CSU fell to 1-4 all-time in the series against Kennesaw State following Saturday's loss to the Owls.
• The Bucs fell to 0-3 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in the series.
• The loss on Saturday afternoon ended the Bucs' four-game winning streak dating back to the end of the 2019 regular season.
• Cody Cline, Anton Williams, Garrett Sayegh, Shaundre Mims, Hombre Kennedy, and Justin McIntire all posted career-high tackling numbers in Saturday's contest against the Kennesaw State Owls.
• Shaundre Mims has recorded at least one tackle for loss in each of his las four games as he paced the Bucs with 3.0 tackles for loss in the contest.
• Anton Williams has posted at least one sack in his fifth consecutive contest dating back to the November 2, 2019 contest against Gardner-Webb.
• Jack Chambers recorded his first multi-rushing touchdown game of his collegiate career.
• The touchdown pass from Chambers to Cayden Jordan in the second quarter was Jordan's first collegiate touchdown reception.
• Geoffrey Wall has at least three receptions in each of his last four games played.

Postgame with Coach Denson


Up Next
Following Friday's announcement that the March 20 contest against Robert Morris has been postponed due to COVID cases within the Patriots' program, CSU's next scheduled game is set for March 27 in West Long Branch, N.J. as the Bucs travel to take on Monmouth University. Kickoff at Kessler Stadium is set for 1 p.m.