The Bucs secured an FCS playoff home game against the Kennesaw State Owls, the first home playoff game since 1996.
After the Bucs secured the SoCon title against Mercer in a back-and-forth battle, the Bucs were picked as the 7th seed by the selection committee for the 2021 FCS Playoffs and given a first round bye. Kennesaw State won the first round matchup against Davidson 48-21 and punched their ticket to the second round to meet the Bucs and set up an interesting storyline for the game.
The Bucs football program that shut down following the 2003 season was given life in 2015, and the regular season opener for the newly restored program saw the Bucs return to the field vs Kennesaw State. The home game was played before a capacity crowd at Kermit Tipton Stadium and unfortunately saw the Bucs struggle in their debut, losing 56-16.
Times have changed since then.
The 2021-22 season for the Bucs have proven that the program is a much more established and competitive program than years past.
Head coach Randy Sanders, who was named SoCon Coach of the Year said, “We must remember who we are and how we win, and that will help us in accomplishing goals along the way. … Yes, we are SoCon champs, but that doesn’t change who we are and how we win games.”
The ground game for the Bucs has been front and center all season long, and it is going to take another strong showing for ETSU to advance in these playoffs against a Kennesaw State team that has only allowed 200+ rushing yards once this season.
The new all-time rushing leader for ETSU, SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, Quay Holmes (Powder Springs, Ga.) will look to contest those numbers. Averaging 130.1 yards per game with 16 rushing touchdowns on the year, Holmes will be key to the Bucs’ success against the Owls along with Jacob Saylors (Jasper, Tenn.), who he shares the backfield with.
Kennesaw State has given up much more in the air than the ground this season, allowing a total of 16 passing touchdowns.
Bucs quarterback Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.) is coming off of the best game of his career at ETSU, throwing 26/29 for 265 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
