2021 NCAA FCS Championship Second Round - Kennesaw State vs East Tennessee State

[Applause] we welcome you to the fcs division one championship second round we're at green stadium on the campus of east tennessee state for this certainly very emotional affair as the owls of kennesaw state come in to tangle with the buccaneers of east tennessee state last week for kennesaw state their outstanding quarterback xavier shepard total four touchdowns on the day playing for three of them through this deep bomb the xavier hill for a fourth as the owls roll to the 48-21 win over davidson to work their way into the second round speaking of let's take a look at this second round today and you'll see at the bottom of the bracket uh the buccaneers of east tennessee state university in this one today the seventh seed the winner today will tangle with either 2c north dakota state or southern illinois next week in the quarterfinals hi everybody great to see you delighted you're here michael reggae my partner gerard cherry that's a great thing about the fcs playoffs gerard it said hey you better put the w in the win column or uh the season ends exactly the motivation is really simple for the coaches either win or you're going to go home and i'm pretty sure both these teams do not want to go home yeah no question about that we just saw the offensive exploits of xavier shepard this tremendously talented player of the year for the the owls of kennesaw state and gerard again eight touchdowns on the ground in each of the last two football games this is a dual threat quarterback that is absolutely deluxe exactly they call him xavier because he's exceptional in what he does on the football field he can beat you on the ground he can also beat you in the air very very talented guy and he did not win big south conference player of the year offensively that is for no reason and then on top of that not to be outdone michael you have quay homes for eastern tennessee state this is a prototype nfl caliber running back and that clay holmes has not been stopped by fbs opponents or fcs opponents he has been sensational as well and he is the southern conference player of the year offensively all right quay homes ready to go you're ready to go the atmosphere as we said is tremendous here and in johnson city tennessee what a fabulous saturday in the month of december first saturday december for football 59 degrees virtually no wind to speak of and kennesaw state owls are going to get their hands on the football first as we are underway and that boot is going to be downed in the end zone and kennesaw state will get to their offense on the football field and that means the young man we just told you about xavier shepard gerard the big south offensive player of the the year he was absolutely fabulous throughout the course of this season yeah catch a lot of teams off guard because you think about kennesaw state you think of the running three back old school option but they have the ability to beat you in the air as well but i'm with a firm opinion michael the team that runs the football the best today will be the winner of this football triple option attack xavier shepard and the first snap of the football game and a triple option attack and how about that gerard he's going to put it up and throw the football he connected with uh wideout will hegler hagler made the grab well that's something you don't expect they got five on first down although shepherd you know let's see jarrod under 19th pass for him on the year he does hit at 62 percent and a key part no interceptions but only three interceptions in the course of the year so that's pretty impressive what he can do in the air triple option shepard will keep the football and he got taken down and then on that hit four east tennessee uh state is uh elijah want pickleton now up to 255 pounds came in this program jarrod as we take a look at brian bohannon tremendously successful seventh year at kennesaw state you see that record and he certainly has written a book on how to rebuild and build a program at the same time very impressive what he's done in his seventh season at kennesaw state all right this is third down and we'll call it five for xavier shepard he'll start that triple option ship has got a first down to the 40-yard line he's so adept at that coming up to make that hit for east tennessee state was tyree robinson robinson the free safety [Music] he's one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in all of college football forget about division yeah right well on that particular play the defense is going to have to do a better job of forcing the issue of xavier if they let him hold the football to make a fortune to make a decision they're gonna have a long day trying to stop him now shepard again keeping a football he got hit at the line of scrimmage and then tyree robinson came up to take him down again so robinson the free safety who wears number three um what did head coach tell us randy sanders the nfl comes and practices and they look at tyree robinson yeah when you have that prototype size and speed that will get a scout into your college room to check out how you're playing and if you have the skill set necessary to get to that next level till now shepard looks to put it up pressure coming shepard had his arm hit as he delivered and that football will fall free once again all over shepherd as they've had good pressure it's elijah juan pinkleton who wears uh that number zero for the buccaneer and elijah on pinkelton shows great athletic ability because right here michael he's out of position he has allowed shepard to get content outside of containment but he does a great job of coming back into the plate using that speed decides to bat his arm to make that a incomplete pass great job on the part of penguinton yeah etsu runs at 3-4 you mentioned pickleton timmy dorsey and max evans got standing the end third and six that quick throw is hauled in as shepherd is able to connect with his uh wide-out xavier hill hill just ran that quick now route gerard and that's the beauty of having a running attack in which the defenders have to honor the run they all jumped the run thinking it was a running play but to his credit shepard finds open receiver right there in the middle of the defense picks up the first down shepard threw for 1300 yards on the year 15 tds just three ints we mentioned he accounted for 23 touchdowns with his legs now shepard will uh run that that quick first man on that triple option and on that kerry was kyle glover flags flying east tennessee state uh going to take advantage of this as uh kennesaw state just got hit with that chop block they called it that zion katina the uh the right tackle and that is now obviously chop blocking is not legal but part of their offensive blocking assignments is to get low on guys and to cut down the defenders so that they can't make runs down alliance commission you have randy sanders of the fourth season at etsu has done a phenomenal job in his own right of holding it down and making rebuilding this program for the bucks everything bunched up in this triple option attack for quarterback xavier shepard shepherd again gonna go to kyle glover and the front of etsu's d-line said no you won't jarrod folks jarrod quite a story for this young man here in johnson city tennessee and a great job of meeting the running back at the point of attack on part of jared folks this guy has been in college for a very long time he showed you right there he's very astute at the game of football as well young man from harrisburg pennsylvania started his career at temple as you see and he's 26 years old so 19th excuse me 2014 he began his career with the temple owls shepherd on that option look again this time they'll keep the football and get knocked down at the 45-yard line so shepherd is going to be looking at third down now and that uh that chop block penalty got him way behind the sticks gerard exactly and this is where you want to be at the east tennessee state and that you have got them off schedule and now they face a third and forever situation and you like your opportunities as a defender because now as a defensive line what can you do you can pin your ears back and get after the quarterback durden 21 that line to make is at the 36 yard line shepard pressure set time the etsu bucks getting all over that timmy dorsey dorsey wears number 74 and also big mac sevens we just mentioned this uh d-line on the 3-4 they are aggressive and they like to get to the quarterback yes they do i love the aggressive play call on the part of defensive coordinator billy taylor however etsu just got hit for a a defensive hold that they were going to get off the football field gerard but this is going to keep the drive alive at least for this third down opportunity again for quarterback xavier shepard certainly the downing distance definitely got more manageable for the owls but if you're east tennessee you have to be smart and secondary there is no reason to hold with third and forever caleb o'neill the receiver down at the bottom of your screen third down and 11. xavier shepard now he got flags flying from the back judge it's probably going to be a delay a game that play clock ran out on xavier shepard yeah very uncharacteristic on the part in kennesaw state not highly penalized for the course of the season and free snap ponies like that will drive you crazy as a coach a referee today is uh marcus thornton a gentleman you've heard from a couple of times already with the uh the white hat certainly mr thorn to find official but we don't want to hear from marcus thornton or or any white hat in any college football game too often do we elsa keep it moving third and 16 shepherd again lot of pressure shepard with his legs kept it alive uh got back a couple of yards but this pressure from uh the bucks of etsu is uh certainly unyielding here again jared folks i'm stopped man this is a simple three-man rush in which the defenders for etsu get the job done and put the pressure on shepard by simply having the wherewithal to get through that line of scrimmage and break the point of attack and put pressure on him to get him down and now the punt unit is on the football field for kennesaw state putting the football away will be ben moran pressure coming after it moran will get a good tail drag on that and it'll settle out of bounds right at the 10-yard line all right when we come back we'll see tyler reichdel and the etsu offense scoreless [Music] back inside green stadium great you are with us as all roads lead to frisco texas in a few weeks which will be of course for the fcs division one championship game michael reggae gerard cherry all of our crew real good one going on here two absolutely explosive offenses we're going to see uh quarterback tyler reidel there he is rydell the red shirt freshman out of tampa florida has had a very strong year 16 touchdowns just three int's and of course last week gerard how about 26 for 29 for 265 yards at three tds as uh etsu beat mercer to win win with that um win over merchant the southern conference championship last week right a crowd of over ten thousand we're here to witness that on the part of tyler rydell putting in the work getting the job done to get to the spot where they won the southern conference keep an eye on number one who's uh to the left of rydell and that's quay holmes on the first down carry but holmes uh got stacked up this is a this is an outstanding kennesaw state defense folks they are uh number one in the fcs giving up just 18 points a game in dread actually they're number one in uh the fcs in four different defensive categories well michael their assignment will be really simple today stop the guy with the number one on his jersey he wears a number one for a reason because he's one of the best in the fcs when it comes to running the football second and eight run that tall sweep this is quay holmes look at holmes power his way over the uh near the 20-yard line which we'll see depending on the spot cole loden came up the free safety to make the hit well there it is let's see there's the defeat defense gerard i just mentioned yeah let's get the job done when you're only allowing 18 4 points per game that lets me know that you are a stingy defense and you don't like to have team scoring that you're very efficient in the red zone area and also getting off the football field and forcing those three and out scenarios two quay homes carries picks up the first down to move the chains for etsu make it three straight carries for holmes look at quay homes well nfl teams uh with scouts also looking at holmes from etsu he's six foot one about 220 pounds to run and you can give it to him 35 40 times a game if he need be yes yes he can hound the work mode and when you have that size coupled with the speed that he possesses as you see right there as he gets outside the boundary to pick up more positive yards you're gonna get a bunch of scouts looking at you and again 238 yards will almost work almost 1500 yards in the season that's getting the job done rydell to put it up swing his pass out on the right side and that throw was hauled in by jacob sailors now sailors is the backup running back nikoi homes to run how many number two running backs do you know that start the day with 968 yards of rusty offense out of the year and he's the number two guy right and with ten touchdowns on top of that and he's second on the depth chart very impressive what they have in the backfield for etsu all right this is second dallas third down now let's call it uh long two that line to make is at the 30-yard line tyler rydell with that throw he was able to hit nate napkins atkins stretching out the football with his left hand and depending on where that line judge spots the football that might move the sticks excellent heads up play on the par nate act as a junior from knoxville tennessee and what i love about the route michael is a telling he realizes he's not near a stick but let me be a smart football player reach my hand out there and hopefully get a advantageous spot and he certainly did because he got the first down they will move the change as you get a good look at tyler rydell five eleven hundred seventy pounds so not a a large quarterback and now off that inside zone read that first down carry for etsu [Applause] that's what we call just simply keeping the defense honestly attack that middle and see if there's something there and as we just described jacob sails is certainly capable of taking it to the house from anywhere on the football field very talented individual yeah 195 pound junior out of a jasper tennessee jacob sailors and this is sailors trying to get outside the numbers sailors with that quick burst needed the 40-yard line for the line to make he's going to be put down uh at the 38-yard line so second down now or check that to be third down and uh let's call it uh a little bit more than two again the line to make is at the 40. and so far both defenses have done a fair job of making these offenses work for every yard that they're trying to gain no big breakaway plays of any sort of been executed thus far very impressive what i'm seeing now the defensive units for both these football teams we told you about kennesaw state etsu averages 35 points a game and over 440 yards a total offensive game and referee marcus thornton flags whistles [Applause] randy sanders got that timeout before the snap were scoreless first quarter second round fcs playoffs [Applause] espn's coverage of the fcs championship continues next weekend with complete quarterfinal coverage on the entire family espn espn2 and espn plus for more information go to ncaa.com it's the official online home for all 90 ncaa championships great to have you along the enthusiasm level is at a fever pitch here green stadium the home of the buccaneers of etsu michael regan my partner jarrod scoreless here first possession kennesaw state had to punt after their first run toss sweet that's quay holmes looking for a block from that pulling offensive line he didn't get there you see some of these defenders for kennesaw state like chance bates their linebacker wears number 49 putting up that close fist gerard they know they got fourth down exactly when you blow up the initial blocker like that enforce penetration on the outside and get containment along with it you're able to get a very talented running back in the backfield and bring that point unit on for etsu a chance bates the mike linebacker evan thompson and garland banyard the will in the sand this is a terrific linebacking crew it's a terrific defense to be sure nate bracket the punter for etsu will hang that high and that return and the fair catch from gabriel medyard kennesaw stay with a football we get back [Applause] [Music] as we mentioned couple of times already atmosphere tremendous here the buccaneers of etsu they are with the home field advantage against this just outstanding kennesaw state squad that has i've talked about they've won 10 in a row and now you get that uh that read option for quarterback xavier shepard but the footballs on the ground shepard went to that that late pitch to irving smith and jarrod the football was on the ground kennesaw state got it back but that that's something you don't want the triple option no you don't sonny smith has to make sure that he catches that football because shepard made the correct read but great job on the part of etsu of swarming to the football and making things happen deep in the backfield for kennesaw state javarius harrison who wears a number 33 on that first hit against this multi-dimensional extremely talented quarterback xavier shepard he's keeping the football and down he goes coming up to make that hit donovan manuel what a tough durable linebacker jarrod i would add he can run too he certainly can run and he is a playmaker 103 tackles on the season but what i love best michael is the fact that he's decisive in where he wants to go and bringing down a very talented runner in xavier shepard that's how you get the job done and that's how you get kennesaw state off track to force him in a very bad passing situation obviously with it being third and long jerrod and i talked to defensive coordinator billy taylor what is needed now on the xavier's shepherd throw as he's able to hook up and connect with wide receiver caleb o'neal but that's going to come up yards short of that first down opportunity so the three and out and after the after that uh that option pitch was put on the ground it got them behind sticks yeah and the key part is first play in the series of getting them off target pretty much ruined this opportunity for kennesaw state but giving credit to that defense because they were electric for etsu of getting after quarterback and gang tackling doing the proper things necessary to force the punt unit for kennesaw state onto the football field all right ben moran is going to boot the football and a fair catching for etsu is elijah huzzy now again the the defense of kennesaw state no no there's they are formidable that stout was at the uh the top of that side of the ball coming into this one but etsu the bucks d has been most impressive yeah certainly they're saying we're forced to be reckoned with as well but what we have right now ladies and gentlemen is what i call old-fashioned field position defensive battle football game now we knew they were going to run the football to begin with but both teams are electric in that regard but what you're seeing right now take place is simply exchanging the punts and ultimately one of these teams will get a better field opportunity and more unlikely score from it will hussy julian price malik murray those are the three white outs that you see for quarterback tyler rydale he'll fire inside and that's hauled in by will hussey hussey just ran that uh that in route and got got seven on first down to bring up second at three and just being smart with the football was tyler rydell in that situation not forcing anything you have a receiver in the middle of football field the easiest throw to make no one in that region throw the football there don't make it too complicated no need to do that now 12th personnel gerard has a pair of tight ends come out of the football field here noah west wears number 40. he's more of the blocking tight end and the pass catching tight end is nate atkins who wears number 44. going to take a shot deep a little bit of contact he was looking for malik murray the only senior on the ctsu bucks offense pretty good coverage that was jakory burks berks who wears number 11 had good coverage there and that's secondary yeah and a nice job on a part of burks of playing with the receiver running down the field with him he could make the argument a little bit out of position because he was ahead of him but the key point to all is make sure that you can play the hands and receiver and he was certainly in the position to do just that all right third down we'll call it three and these third down converts this year this etsu bucks offense been real good 46 will reidel continue that here pressure coming rydell will float that throw incomplete landed on that white boundary by the etsu bench rydell was looking for malik murray again and now it's kennesaw state's d highly acclaimed that gets the stop certainly and on that particular play michael rydell would have been better served running for the first down he had an opportunity right there and that indecision on waiting for his receiver to come open with the out and up just in transfer he should have ran the football there and probably would have picked up the first down so now punting this football away for e.t.s.u and i gotta call that fair catch again is a gabriel as that boot a real good one as we take a look at this defense of the the bucks of etsu and what you notice is that you have guys getting after the quarterback making sure they do not allow xavier shepard to get open or get loose and putting all the pressure on him because the one thing that you need is penetration especially when you're going to get the talented quarterback like xavier shepard and certainly etsu is providing that thus far in the game on the defensive end well let's see with this offensive coordinator now of um the owls of kennesaw state grant chestnut to ron they picked up three first downs in that first drive but since then they've been in the backfield it's almost like etsu knows what they're gonna call shepard gonna put it up and that throw is hauled in he hit will hagler hagler the wide receiver with his 13th catch of the year will heigler out of tallahassee florida and that is the beauty of the kennesaw state offensive attack you think it's gonna be run but now we're gonna have a guy slide out into the boundary no one's there shepard makes a good throw picks up the first downs because again if you're the defense you have to defend the boundary and there was no one there for etsu defending the boundary easy pickup for the first down yeah the leading receiver on the squad the the man that just got in the slot cable kneel on the air now off this triple option look again this time xavier shepard will pitch the football to iron cousin cousin and xavier shepard is down inside the 30-yard line as he took a hit there mike price made the tackle on the the ball carrier ian cousin you see the athletic training staff of kennesaw state on the lookout of xavier shepard right now and that is not a good sign for kennesaw state you need your field general out there and obviously he took a hit in the process of that play but again what we're witnessing out of both of these teams on the defensive end is just simply doing a great job of open field tackling and right there ah you hate that to happen when the guy comes down on your heel like that so we can see why he's limping because essentially had a defender falling back on your back of your leg as you're trying to make that pitch so hopefully shepard's okay yeah he'll get attended to and now the focus is on this young man the junior out of the los angeles california started his career at long beach community college out there this is jonathan murphy he's thrown 12 passes on the year there you see it six of 12. as this first quarter comes to an end well a lot went out in this first quarter one thing that didn't go on neither squad put points on the board we're scoreless after one in the second round of the fcs championship back to johnson city in a moment [Music] [Applause] no score as we start quarter number two but the main story right now is the health of that highly successful quarterback the big south offensive player of the year xavier shepard you see right here second round with the seventh seed etsu and kennesaw state winner gets the winner of the second seed north dakota state southern illinois next week in the quarterfinals all right michael reggie jarrod cherry with uh quarterback jonathan murphy the left-hander under pressure murphy is going to throw the football at the last moment and almost got it picked off but elijah want pickleton was all over murphy and then he almost i don't know how he stayed up to rodman and that that late throw he almost got picked by karan de lentz the outstanding corner yeah donovan manuel initially had him but murphy has to make smarter decisions with the football you don't want to force your head and i understand you don't get that many opportunities but when you are out there you better be smart with the football because that situation right there was almost an interception just the 13th pass he's thrown all year now third down and eight he's going to run the speed option and keep the football kind of slivered his way uh going to be put down at the 38-yard line and let's see if head coach brian bohannon is going to get the punt team out yep here they come now there's some confusion on this one's unit is saying blunt team rather saying running office now typically speaking kennesaw state is known for going forth on fourth down but coach is saying not in this situation guys we're not going to take our chances this year gerard cherry 27 times they've snapped the football on fourth down converted 22 of them all right still scoring us we'll see when we get back scoreless as we begin this second quarter in johnson city tennessee and a moment ago head coach brian bohan look at that one team fixer coming on offense is ready to snap the football giraffe that's right because they're accustomed to going to it with fourth and short scenarios but not this time coach mohanis said i do not want that smoke [Applause] well and bohannon finally uh brian bohannon with 63 big south career wins has been just absolutely dominant in his time there oh look at this boot from ben moran he hit a beauty and got it to turn over elijah hussey with that fair catch and etsu will start at their 17 yard line [Applause] tyler rydell will come out uh for this first possession for he and his bucks offense of etsu [Applause] as we said you know a couple of dominant defenses yes of course both these offenses have the ability to be extremely explosive but through 15 minutes the defenses have gone center stage they certainly have and what you appreciate about these defensive efforts is that they are getting after the quarterback and just swarming and playing a relentless brand of football and we have ourselves a simple field position football game and ultimately one of these teams first makes a mistake he's more likely going to lose his game because i get pretty both units and airplane exceptionally well hence the score is zero that's jacob sailors who wears that number eight the back up to the the outstanding leading career rusher here at etsu quay homes sailors as we said though the first time he touched it today could go over the thousand-yard mark today as a ground gainer he needed 32 yards coming into it got one on that screen pass right now that's hauled in by will hussey that quick in route puzzy gotta like the size to rod six three 190 pounds markeith montgomery on the kennesaw state stop and look at the toughest display by tyler rydell and that he stays in the pocket knows he's about to get hit but sticks in there and throws a strike to his receiver [Music] as we said that first possession now tyler rydell tough guy gritty guy not real big giraffe for a quarterback these days at 5 11 about a buck 70 the redshirt freshman they say he makes it all up in his heart though sailors look at sailors lower to pads jacob sailors just crushed his way to nine yards he met the xavier reddick and uh the linebacker probably won't like us saying this but the running back won that toronto let's see who was going to deliver the blow and right there it is fair to say that sailor sailed right through the tackler would be tackling that is right now it sends michael that etsu has a flow and a rhythm going on offense that we haven't seen in the earlier stages of this football game sailor's got a off the play faith [Applause] again under pressure as uh that was carrick reese reece had a lot of heat coming from that defensive end spot on that young man the quarterback of the bucks of etsu tyler rydell tyler did the correct thing throw that football away do not force the issue and put it somewhere it doesn't belong both these uh both these defensive units uh the the front lines have really had a lot of pressure on the quarterback drop neither one this isn't like blitzy this is just uh you know it's a 3-4-4-3 that kennesaw state runs their base defense 3-4 for etsu [Applause] that ineligible man down the field throws them off you had second and short and that would have been an opportunity to take that deep shot to the end zone now you have to go to a more conservative approach more than likely to coach bohannon for the bucks [Music] [Applause] check that coach sanders for the bucks i just heard again from our referee today officiating crew here in green stadium and johnson city tennessee all right second down now we'll call it seven the line to make is up at the 39-yard line for quarterback tyler rydell a lot of time fires that throw he just delivered a dart to malik murray murray again the only senior that starts on this offense he's got a first down this is what you call throwing into a tight window you have three defenders converging on the football but rydell has the ability to get into his receiver malik murray and pick up the first down irwin bird who wears number 20 the sophomore out of powder springs georgia ever been to powder springs gerard no i hear it's nice down there this time of year though honestly i i went through it that's okay it's good to know that a young man is for potter springs is playing college football rydell he's going to take a shot loaded up deep he got picked off he got picked off by the young man we were just discussing a moment ago what coverage there let's take a look at it again so tyler roddell taking a shot and through the int the first turnover of the afternoon that quick change of possession then rydell is going to put it up and going deep but he got picked off in that secondary we'll be right back still scoreless as we take a look at tyler rydell's wretched freshman quarter he took a shot gerard cherry but another freshman chance gamble for kennesaw state had another idea yeah he certainly took the shot but as you see right there he's not trying to intentionally throw at the chance gamble chance gemma was in great position throughout the course of that particular play so tyler rydell you have no business throwing that football when the defensive back is in that greater position if that play unfolded you know you'd like to say it looked like that chance gamble was his intended receiver and now we get back to offense for kennesaw state of course we saw xavier shepard had his knee bent back and had to leave the field for uh a couple of snaps max evans there's evans he just made the hit on the back up quarterback jonathan murphy so murphy got four it's going to be second to six again jonathan murky murphy zayn xavier shepherd's back up young man from los angeles jared folks showing blitz a lot of heat coming murphy did a nice job to work his way for a couple of yards before he got hit with the helmet coming off of javarius harrison the senior linebacker harrelson's got a lead field gerard for a play as he lost his helmet that's right and kennesaw state in their mind though it's starting short that's exactly where they want to be now the question becomes can the defensive line for etsu get that penetration if they decide to run our pass to force the punt unit once again onto the football field so again this triple option offense that is uh usually triggered by xavier shipper the big south offensive player of the year murphy nowhere to go nowhere to go as he got rocked once again max evans keep an eye on him folks he wears number 93 and what did the d coordinator billy taylor tell us he's undersized but he's going to pack a wall up on it that's right and the penetration right there sets everything in motion on a part of max evans that penetration he got slows down everything in the backfield now and allowing merkel to make a clear decision with the football and then the rest of the cavalry if you will comes along with the bucks to make the play to get that stop and now once again we're seeing the punt unit for kennesaw state on the football field kennesaw state uh certainly not used to having to punt the football they averaged 33 points per game and 400 yards a total low ben moran will hang that high puzzy from the 27. this is elijah huzzy it's going to come back as we just had a block in the back might get another one that might be either a horse collar and that is going to go on iron cousin there's two flags down the side judge also threw his hat and jarrod that first flag of course is probably going to be a block in the back or a hole on the return but uh we will uh let marcus thornton the gentleman with the white hat sort it all out was saying this is a nice guy he has collagen the side judge there who threw his hat that's ryan thompson he was a busy man ran out of penalty flags [Music] [Applause] [Music] now we apologize for the audio difficulties for marcus thornton's bike still scoreless when we get back [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's v week here at espn and our partnership with the v foundation highlights the urgent need for cancer research and the elimination of racial disparities and cancer outcomes you can learn more help visiting uh support by you visiting v.org donate 100 of your donation goes directly to cancer research well great crowd here at green stadium on the campus of east tennessee state university in johnson city tennessee no points on the board as of yet for these highly prolific offenses the defenses certainly in the spotlight gerard cherry good field position here though uh for the uh the bucks of etsu yeah the best it's been all day for them on the offensive end and right now michael tyler rydell really has to settle himself down and not force the issue and take advantage of this great field position [Applause] rondelle with the dual running backs on either side of them and that first down carries jacob sailors sailors uh got uh knocked down before i might have gone back to the line of scrimmage but that's about it neither one of these football teams why defense is so dominant how so take a look at the rushing yards for both these prolific ground gaming teams and they all got the memo coming to the season what are these teams known for they're known for running the football and as you see on today 30 and 35 is not getting the job done but that's a credit to great defense being played for both of these football teams again kennesaw state they lead the big south and points allowed russians allowed yards allowed in total offense allowed against their opponents they've been tremendous rydell gotta throw a seam rod in the middle that is hauled in by the tight end nate atkins atkins second team this year what a good pass catching tight end he is and this is what you like about rydell's decision-making there's no one in the middle of a football field so he finds this guy nate hatkins right there throws him a catchable football and the good decision making on his part right there not forcing issue and once again showing the ability to throw into a tight window yeah i know we're both defensive guys but i gotta tell you i love seeing routes to tight end when they're running free like that big time that's big time and this is a big time running back too that's quay holmes but again look at kennesaw state get off blocks gerard cherry and run to the football that was tyler moore the senior linebacker out of phoenix city alabama right we all anticipated it would be a prolific running attack on both parts for these offenses today but what we're seeing is a team that's throwing the football the best right now is doing the most damage on the offensive end [Music] gotta look there momentarily at evan thompson thompson chance baits garland benyard terrific linebacking trio here for head coach brian bohannon bad snap rydell had to make like a short stop and what happened this is quay homes inside the five homes to the pylon no signal now there it is touchdown quay holmes etsu be it running out of the backfield catching the football out of the backfield way homes put on full display why he is one of the more dynamic running backs in the fcs and right there that was an excellent job of run after the catch showing his ability as a premier running back to get the job done now this fumble of the snap throws everything off schedule so rydel makes the right decision and going to his outlet that being kwai holmes out of the backfield and he does the rest of the damage whoops makes a guy miss there and i have the ability to run through tacklers and take it to the end zone great job on the part of fue holmes and rydello connected on that particular plate to finally put some points on the board for the pucks partner i just told you how much i like tight ends and seam rods also loves wide receivers it'll block right how about the block julian price got on when holmes hit about the 20-yard line to allow him to come free to the house the ultimate team sport no one does it alone that was a great job on the part of clay holmes showing his athletic ability but that block right there helps bring him loose to pick up those positive yards so to get the score for quay holmes his second touchdown catch of the year of course as all uh as all the touchdown plays potentially are and here's a good look at the 220 pound red shirt junior out of powder springs georgia quay holmes rod and i heard a whole lot about him this week and he's living up to it look at that cut back and then the stiff arm the billy do that but then right here what i love is the ability to run through cole loden's tackle to get to potentially end zone we're still waiting for the signal to be confirmed [Applause] but i won't say this michael get in that great field position and just that as they call the touchdown but that horse caller set all that up yeah that one mistake set everything up for etsu when kennesaw state made that error on special teams all three phases have to complement each other and right there for kennesaw state one mistake costing poor bill position and put etsu in a great position to score these prolific offenses if you told me is going to take first 22 minutes of football before somebody's going to uh enter the house with touchdowns i would have said no way but uh that's exactly what's happened adding the uh the p-a-t ford the the bucks of etsu tyler keltner and uh yeah you see that uh that brings a lot of excitement to those that are wearing the uh the blue and gold here of these buccaneers of etsu it's a game of yards and inches when you set a team like this up for success by putting them near the 50-yard line they're going to take advantage of that opportunity it's rotten eye again the last couple of days been uh checking out the campus and everything that uh we could we could feel the enthusiasm and then we're taught this this football strong community an area and remember they this university uh ended football right and then brought it back in 2015 after the uh the program had uh gone on hiatus seven nothing for the buccaneers of uh etsu now this kickoff return handled for kennesaw state that's gabriel uh ben yard that's how you bring the pay [Music] so was it uh 2003 yeah 2003. that uh you know what it caused you know there's a lot of consternation about it here gerard right and then you know you lose a football program and then i'm so most important they come back and immediately become this successful and that's a testament to break coaching great support and finding guys to buy into the program that's the key to it all but they have this level success so fast has been very impressive but i'll say the same for kennesaw state as well they've done an excellent job of building the program speed option being run by the backup quarterback jonathan murphy the 195 pounder out of los angeles showing you his wheels there that was a straight speed option but jarrada again we have not heard but we this is the second series now that xavier shepard not back on the football field that's right miss two missed tackles will lead to poor defensive play on the part of etsu you have to bring murphy down and you have to bring obviously if he's in the game xavier shepard down on that speed option now i'm gonna run that quick dive off this triple option and that is uh kyle glover lover is uh you know in essence the fullback or the blocking back uh there's glover he wears number one iron cousin is running at the uh the tailback if you will because he cousin you'll see who wears number three he'll also slot out a little bit jarrod formation right yeah if i can get eight yards out of my full back i'll take it every time [Applause] [Music] again uh look at how tight this formation is murphy wants to put it up gonna load it deep and completely open and running three is iron cousin touchdown kennesaw state excellent job on the part of kennesaw state of executing the scissors route in the middle of the football field forcing the safety and the cornerback to make a decision and they both chose to go with the same guy in results touchdown for kennesaw state wow did they sell that well we just mentioned i and cousin he lined up at the slot in gerard he ran free without a etsu defender within 10 yards of them and crossing routes are one of the more difficult routes for dbs to cover in the open field if you have that type of confusion you will get exploited and right there it took place on the part of etsu you have to do a better job of communicating the secondary blown coverages will not get the job done the answer how about that huh after a quay holmes took that that screen pass and rambled to the house the answer from backup quarterback jonathan murphy playing for the injured xavier shepard and working with uh iron cousin there's shepherd with a tie and jarrod you know he doesn't have his helmet on i mean he's got a towel on his head and talking to his back up jonathan murphy and giving him the kudos saying great job of reading that scissors route you had two defenders jump the same guy going to the corner and not iron the post rule number one and defensive football always cover the middle of the football field it's the easiest throw for the quarterback to make an exploit in the middle football field never leave a guy wide open in the middle of a football field and as soon as somebody else is going to go with him it's easier to stop a corner out but you don't want to give up the middle of the football field partner while i uh agree with you a million percent that is defensive guys why do we see the middle of the field then with the receivers completely running free at every level of the game i've always wondered that given uh you know as you stated that is just a a prime thing you got to do defensively how about this return that is jacob sailors for the bucks of etsu so we've had the etsu touchdown with quay holmes the response from backup quarterback jonathan murphy on his td throw to iron cousin and now immediately that terrific return by uh the bucks jacob sailors good operating position jarrod here with uh 610 left in the second quarter and this one tied at seven a piece quay holmes is now offset to the right of quarterback tyler reidel i like to see clay homes in another situation where this football back will be a pass a run rydell gonna throw that faded quay holmes almost kind of a wheel route holmes came running free out of the backfield cole the free safety finally had to come over and get a corral this is what we call creating a mismatch and on top of that you have to run with way homes that's the guy you don't want to leave wide open now have that ball been on time he's probably still running to the end zone right now but great job of executing least picking up the first first down and positive yards and crossing the 50-yard line on the part of etsu but once again get the ball in the hands of your playmaker play home because he's a mitch match waiting to happen they ran that wheel route beautifully now blitz coming this is holmes mahomes wasn't able to shake the tackle of kennesaw state's chance bates makes the mike linebacker second team all mixed south just a terrific read and react linebacker as we heard from uh head coach brian mccannon yesterday well kennesaw state has the memo on how you stop play holmes from running the football but one thing they don't seem to be prepared for today is what to do with him when he's catching the football out of the backfield so on the move again tyler rydell redshirt freshman quarterback out of tampa play holmes on the carry wow bouncing off hits way holmes got a couple finally rocked down by chance loden nicole loden again but uh holmes probably turned what could have been about a four-yard loss gerard into getting back to the line of scrimmage yeah making it third and manageable and you love the effort on this part you run into the middle it's clogged up nothing there be a running back that just doesn't settle for less and pick up more positive yards again michael i like the idea of etsu using the passing game work homes out of the backfield kennesaw does not have anyone that can stick with him from the linebacker position will hussy julian price malik murray the three wideouts rydell will step up and doubt he goes excellent what a terrific takedown that was evan thompson we just told you about the mic linebacker chance banks to run again i love that these linebackers from kennesaw state they are just so fast to the football jerod they're always around the football and this is what you call just making a play and selling out and diving because if he doesn't make that play rydell is going to pick up the first down but you love this type of effort and this is fbs fcs playoff football is what you look for you appreciate great effort on the part of both these football teams as they're giving it all and landing on the line today 47-yard field goal attempt from tyler keltner got a lot of leg and he hit it from 47 yards the sophomore from tallahassee florida tyler keltner wooded head coach [Applause] what did randy sanders tell us yesterday what do you think what's uh what's his maximum end game 51 and a little tail win [Music] tyler keltner that was uh with a lot of room to spare jarrod that would have been good for 51 well he got that hook action right there yeah that would definitely boost your confidence so for the first time today we get the field goal kickers involved tyler keltner explosion all of a sudden yeah we have 17 points put up in the last couple of minutes here in the second quarter but there it is our outstanding production crew in the truck all over it we were mentioning you know again if you told the first 22 minutes and 35 seconds with these two football teams there'd be nothing happening on the point wise like you said no no no way well you wouldn't believe it and it'll be interesting to see what form of attack unison state goes with because if i'm them i'm going to test that secondary again michael and see if they have cleared up the confusion gabriel ben yard on that return again ben yard has been handling the bulk of the the kickoff returns and had a punt return for a touchdown this year that young man the freshman out of irwin county in the state of georgia so back to the owls of kennesaw state this football team this year that they've won 10 in a row their only loss was at week two at georgia tech and then they've ripped off 10 straight wins take could tie the uh most wins ever in uh the season with a win today and this is back up quarterback again jonathan murphy murphy running that uh that speed option and he's out to the 39-yard line again if you're just joining us the big south offensive player of the year first team all big south quarterback xavier shipper jarrod it looked like a lower leg injury as his right leg buckled under him when he was waggling out in the pocket to throw back in the first quarter that's exactly what it was and what we're seeing right now michael is a great job on the part of kennesaw state of breaking through tackles and picking up those positive yards murphy in trouble but again keeping the play alive and ripping his throw to uh adeolu abella first time he's touched the football today the 185 pop senior out of conyers georgia ran for 361 yards a couple of tds this year dropped you called stand alive right there did a nice job on the part of the receiver of digging it out of the turf to pick up that first down uh day lou a [Applause] murphy murphy in trouble got his throw away and it should have been caught quite honestly is not able to hold that in was naikim farrow pharaoh sophomore running back out of cochran georgia and naked you gotta make that play that was critical wide open in the flat murphy does an excellent job of staying alive avoiding would-be tacklers keep the play alive moving around with that left arm motion has ability throw across the body you have to catch that pass and yes you are visibly upset if you are xavier shepard saying you gotta catch that well shepard uh walking around now i gotta go back to the uh the dive portion uh you know on the triple option you got the dive right you've also got uh the quarterback of course that can keep the football that's why we said gerard all eyes gotta be on uh quarterbacks and we were talking yesterday to uh etsu's defensive coordinator billy taylor boy he was pretty adamant about all of that wouldn't he certainly preaching the idea you have to be disciplined you have to be patient but more importantly you have to get kennesaw state off track on first and second down murphy again that's just a straight speed option with uh no ball handling fakes attached to it jared fox put him on the ground that eighth year performer for etsu but not before murphy's got first down right and what you're starting to see is kennesaw state is wearing down these defenders because in the first quarter it was one guy making the tackle now you're seeing murphy for example breaking tackles and etsu is having very difficult time bringing down the tacklers for kennesaw state but that's what a triple option will do to you over time it just wears you down and when you get to that second half part of the game you start seeing these runs that are going for two yards now obviously you can go for eight nine ten and longer and that is jarrod folks you know they list him as a fifth year senior but again it is his eighth year of eligibility and he was the defensive player of the year of course the the socon the southern conference as did the big south they played spring season this uh 2021 year girard to make up for the lost 2020 colvin season and put that in perspective he has been around for two recruiting classes that's right to go four years through 26 years of age right yep there you see it and uh he began his career with the temple owls in philadelphia imagine being 26 years old been told it's your old man yeah i don't know about that dealing with 18 year olds oh man and again yeah we looked at it and a great job by our production team the first ncaa athlete ever any sport ever that has been granted an eighth year of eligibility he has had quite the journey he's a very physical player and sure he wants to get back on that football field because his presence will be missing if i am kennesaw state you know where i'm going i'm going directly to the person who's responsible for taking his spot as he goes out of the game you see it alive murphy off a play fake will step up and throw the football away didn't have much really that was that was a two receiver route gerard and i'm not sure one of them xavier hill uh he was not even uh looking for the ball to be potentially thrown to him over here on this this uh this sideline in front of the etsu bench it appeared to be some sort of a screen action but it got blown up simply because of the penetration on the part of defensive line murphy took his credit throw it away and he did that very decisive manner keep an eye on iron cousin now murphy on that triple option murphy still alive oh he was one big stride away from busting that big as uh was it javarius harrison the linebacker and watch how many missed tackles you have right here one missed tackle two missed tackles and then finally they get him down but you have to attack and attack cool the initial defender has to make that play michael if he doesn't get him down he's gonna go for positive yards murphy is putting on the show right now you won't even know that the big south player of the year offensively is not in the game [Applause] well what a testament to not only jonathan murphy but the offensive coordinator grant chestnut brian bohannon the head coach and we saw xavier shepard himself with the uh the tutoring of his backup malik murphy went uh the offense is uh off the football field that tutoring is helping he has a future as a coach right now murphy is looking prolific he's running with conviction keeping plays alive with his legs and it's a passing down and is doing a phenomenal job of simply making the plays because of the fact that the defenders for etsu are not tackling to the same level conviction they were doing earlier in the game so on the move are the kennesaw state owls at late pitch first down and a whole lot more is that late pitch jared folks made the stop that was nakeen faro pharaoh the sophomore second carry of the game but he's been big this year averaging almost eight yards of carry with a couple of touchdowns he wants to get a mistake in the secondary defensive football that sound has a guy that's responsible for contain and got responsible force to contain men allow the ball to get outside them pick up positive yards you have to force it back inside to your other defenders we're down to 65 seconds a minute and five left in the first half now that dive that first read to that triple option absolutely blown up as trying to hold the football in the mesh point was jonathan murphy with kyle glover and jared folks good to see folks back at the football field just blew that up that's right jarrod said we are not folks as he penetrated the defense offensive line right there and got to would be full back for the loss that's how you get them off track great job of a run blitz kennesaw state just called their uh what was their second time yeah second timeout they've got one left now as they approach the red zone here we expected this now jerrod and i've been alluding to expected it to be you know more high scoring than it is right now but this is a tremendous second round fcs football game and right now if you coach defensive coordinate billy taylor what you're saying in your squad is be disciplined do not go for the play fix and whatever we do do not have any miscommunication in the secondary simply do your job this is third down and a long two for backup qb jonathan murphy running that speed option he gave up the football football loose the bucks of etsu say they not only uh banged it loose they're on it as well donovan manuel had that hip on quarterback jonathan murphy we just gotta wait until this on files you call this a script yeah or scrum in rugby that's right e-t-s-u comes away with the red zone turnover they've got the football fumble from jonathan murphy and we talked so much about impatience having patience and being smart with football no reason to push this football there you have to keep it you have two defenders surrounding you and that's just excellent team defense on the part of etsu because they gave murphy no decision of where to go with the football because he was surrounded you have to hold on that football forcing the issue always leads to poor decision making and bad plays on the offensive or defensive end yeah that uh the mike linebacker donovan manuel for head coach randy sanders he made the hit we'll have to see who recovered the fumble manual made the big hit it might have been zach west one of the linebackers this is kway holmes holmes runs that delay and he's got about seven to the 26 yard line clock is running he's not their friend right now they've got two timeouts but uh right now right now head coach randy sanders not using them that clock is running and again quay homes he's got the first down carrying tackers tacklers across the 30-yard line to the 32 they'll stop the clock momentarily to set the chains with 12 ticks left now they'll start it and and again head coach randy sanders is going to let it run i think we've seen our final snap for this first half old decided he'd rather go in with three-point lead as opposed to taking a shot now the first half coming to an end did not get another snap 30 minutes in the books with that field goal on that last uh etsu drive putting them on top 10 7. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so we're at halftime uh here in johnson city tennessee all right let's uh go down and check in with uh head coach of brian bohannon ryan good drive there uh that you tied the football game up got the offense going consistently but uh you know i'm sure you want to get the turnovers eliminated yeah well if we're going down there but right before the half to have a chance to get some points and we can't turn the ball over um we've struggled a little bit being in sync offensively they've done a good job on defense and uh melissa it's a 10-7 ball game you know it's playoff football we got to come out play a really good second half real quick brian you've got to be tremendously pleased with the job jonathan murphy's done and then xavier does he have a chance to get back in the football game yeah i'm not sure right now uh mertz played a lot for us he actually started to begin the year um so whoever's in there has got to help us go win the football game brian good luck in the second half thanks thank you brian bohannon the head football coach of uh the kennesaw state owls we're at halftime the score is 10-7 east tennessee state on top we'll be back [Music] winner of this fcs football championship second round advances to the quarterfinals next weekend 10-7 the bucks of etsu on top of kennesaw state i know you're enjoying this one they've got football pulse you got to enjoy this one michael regan my partner jarrod cherry a lot of uh real hard hitting and uh certainly the late second quarter action finally drew up a couple touchdowns the big thing is for kennesaw state they lost their starting quarterback the big south player of the year xavier shepard not sure for he's going to get back in certainly but to their credit murphy the backup has done an astounding job of just simply going there at the end of the other half made a mistake with the football but for the most part he has held his own and done a great job and as we see the highlights michael i am so impressed with the defensive effort because early on it was all about the defense you had a situation where xavier slipper simply could not get rid of the football could not make plays because etsu was all over him right there shepard does not know where to go the football but he does go to the ground because manuel makes the play and then more decision making on the part of rydell throws it to the defensive back gamble who makes the play against the interception but here we go now we start to see the offense unfold as you get the ball into your playmakers and queen holmes southern conference office player of the year right there he puts it on full display wide he make will be attacked with miss but tonight to be outdone kennesaw state comes back with a quick scoring option by taking advantage of mistakes made in the secondary on a part of etsu but right here play of the half from my opinion michael you have to be smart with the football if you're murphy you can't force the issue you have two guys surrounding you hold on to the football yeah kennesaw state wasn't able to do that so 10-7 east tennessee state on top second half's coming up don't go away all right join before we start the second half by head coach randy sanders randy big big turnover your defense got uh with kennesaw state drive and your defense has been flying around to the football you got to be thrilled with that yeah i am that's obviously that's the way our defense has played all year we try to take a lot of pride as a football team but particularly on defense playing playing hard playing fast playing physical and playing smart and it was a good first half by our defense uh offensively we got it we got to do a little bit better we got to find a way to run the ball better than we're doing but um you know we got 30 more minutes of football yeah that 30 minutes is over let's let's go in this 30 minutes randy we appreciate your time best of luck in the second half great thank you all right randy sanders he locked in both head coaches are locked in no question about that jarrod uh atmosphere is fantastic here today as we've said a few times this is a winner put the helmets down for 2021 let's take a look at our numbers what stands out to you from that first half what really stands out for me michael is the rushing yards you see kennesaw stayed at 105 and you have etsu at 49 but what also he did not anticipate was that the passing attack for etsu would be more prolific than the running game but right now what we're seeing more so than anything is that the team that's not making mistakes on the other end with penalties that have been costly from a field position standpoint you're getting the job done and that's why you have etsu right now winning they've won the turnover battle and they're not making the same mistakes from ability standpoint big question again that see that cut line down below time of possession that's something we will keep an eye on and whether or not xavier shepard can come back and uh play football for east for excuse me kennesaw state shepherd of course left the game late in the first quarter there's uh the just fantastic dual threat quarterback for this football team the big south offensive player of the year first team all big sub and gerard that sign he's running a little bit here on the sideline uh trying to get warm and get ready possibly to go back in the football game yeah possibly but i will say this in his backups defense in that jonathan murphy has done an excellent job the only mistake he's made was pitching that football get the bumble when they were in scoring position just before the end of the first half all right the uh the home clad bucks of etsu gonna get the first offensive opportunity with their 10-7 lead and there's that uh pop-up floating kick that comes down to the up man at the that's one of the tight ends it's noah west the up man at the uh they're gonna put that out of bounds did he call a fair catch yes he did he called a fair catch so [Music] they will mark the football where he called the fair catch and that looks like it's going to be around the 27-yard line and you're probably saying to yourself why did they pooch kick it well jacob sequels almost ran one back to the house that's what you call respecting his ability as a playmaker to get the job done all right so let's bring out tyler rydell impressive first half for tyler right now yeah he wants that interception that he threw back but in my mind michael that turned out to be just a glorified punch but it's going to count against him statistically but he's made some really good decisions with the football and he's done a nice job of controlling his offense and moving them up and down the football field especially in the second quarter well he has to when you look at that i mean they averaged virtually 240 yards a game on the ground with quay holmes and jacob sailors but of course i mean east kennesaw state absolutely that you could make a case they're the top defensive football team against the run in the fcs it's jacob sailors the running back who in essence backs up quay home with the first toke here in quarter number three and jacob has gotten a lot of opportunity today so i'm wondering is the game plan we're gonna rest homes and when we get to the fourth quarter we're just gonna unleash him sailor has definitely gotten sailors has gotten more carries than anticipated this far in the game when you have holmes on the sideline [Applause] this very stout 4-3 defense of of of statement he said they're right at the top of all defensive categories rydell in trouble broke away from a potential sack and then through the football incomplete his throw up was intended for jacob sailors but oh he had uh pressure and trying to pull away from big desmond scott the 290 pound senior out of the state of alabama yeah sailor does a phenomenal job just simply staying alive because that should have been a tackle for a loss or also known as a second that did not take place because of his ability to elude the defender and finally get rid of the football will hussy malik murray the wide receivers nate atkins in at the tight end pressure again for the backside and that throw from rydell sailed high over the head but look at the flags block yeah but look at the flags that's what we call a bailout call in my opinion malik murray really did not have a chance to catch this football now if you look at the other angle you'll probably see him getting hit in the backfield but one of the things that you don't want to do as a defender is bail out the offense when you're doing a great job of slowing them down a foul out of the secondary the pass interference call and uh gerard you think uh maybe that uh that could have gone without the laundry being thrown huh certainly because the timing looks perfect to me in that you hit him just as the ball is getting there but then again i'm a bias defensive back i'm glad you clarified that because i was gonna that's why i always say you and i are defensive guys you know i always do that in our telecast i noticed that to make sure everybody knows rydell is going to loft the fade almost picked off well that was tremendous coverage again they run that wheel route fade jacob saylor is the intended receiver to write how about the coverage of junior 210 pounder evan thompson yeah and evans does a great job of simply sticking with the receiver but you know what i'd like to see in that situation have a convert call that when you have a defender running with you that's what they do in the pro game they do what's called fade stop well you simply let the momentum of the defender go by you but that's maybe asking too much for guys in collegiate game but that's what i would do as an adjustment rydell will fire the expert going up high using his hands to pull that down is malik murray murray the fifth year senior irwin bird in the coverage there's another thing i told you about scene routes and how much i love it loud receivers that catch the football right the old school curl route balls up in the air grabs it takes it out of the sky and brings it to his body because he did what as you just described caught it with his hands got two putting all points of the fingers on the football let's call that textbook actually yeah wonderfully done malik murray jarrod and i are all about it this is quay homes look at holmes he just gained seven eight nine yards after first contact the 220 pound red shirt junior jahan myers finally got him on the ground look at that and koi says i am in the weight room i am squatting i am doing clean and pull and everything else because you see the strength on full display with that effort right there on the part of koi homes another big day for the etsu career rushing leader showing you why that's just straight inside power football ladies and gentlemen as he'll belt his way through tacklers to the 32-yard line first down holmes and etsu football is all about willpower and right now clay holmes has more willpower than the defenders for kennesaw state and their ability to bring him down to tackle love what i'm seeing out of kuwait homes right now michael conviction in which he's running the football yeah well there it is you see up here strong this was entering today san diego state is playing today by the way and uh holmes i checked it as a south dakota state right gets another carry this time only got a yard and what you're starting to see what you did not witness in the first quarter especially is just simply first down carries quay home has picked up more than two yards and getting past the would be tackles initially [Music] second down and nine now on this uh this drive to begin the third quarter for red shirt freshman quarterback tyler rydell and the buccaneers of etsu holmes holmes got a scene quake holmes will spin is still alive touchdown one of the best you'll ever see in 2021 from the electrifying quay homes i said it to you earlier football is a game of wills and willpower and right there what you saw along with excellent premier talent is cue homes willing himself to the end zone he had three guys with an opportunity to bring him down but no one could do it and there's a fourth guy right there but get off me i'm gonna get into the end zone very impressive run on the part of kwai holmes they told us you know a lot of nfl scouts coming to practice all right now you see why we said it the first time we saw him he's got nfl back written all over them at 6-1 220 pounds this red shirt junior uh hello quay homes you make your statement young fella east tennessee state on top by 10. [Music] [Applause] hover join our 2021 division one football championship the football championship subdivision second round michael reggae gerard cherry holmes dude we'll take about him in a minute a second round that's going on all of it to the espn plus today last night montana the sixth seed put it on eastern washington and uh they're gonna see the three others going on today three winners today from james madison southeast louisiana etsu kennesaw state and north dakota state two seats [Applause] this is gabriel bernard oh when he got rocked ben yard got rocked check that uh it was nakeen farrell on that return all right there he is koi holmes he is what put an s on his chest he's playing superman today and he has no kryptonite in the form of the defense for kennesaw state and what's so beautiful michael is that spin move right there the ability to keep his balance and this is where all good running backs are measured i take a hit and i keep on ticking and that's exactly what he did to get to the end zone for the score [Applause] as we look at this kennesaw state offense yeah quake go ahead flex up flex up quay homes but kennesaw state must stay with their backup quarterback who's done a real fine job now jonathan murphy he brings his offense back murphy's gonna run that read option that late pitch and the etsu defense is absolutely all over iron cousin and that was coming up from the corner gerard the lens the field corner a four-year starter all right quran has some issues earlier in the game with that particular play but right there he gives you a textbook example of how you force the issue at the cornerback position when you're responsible for bringing that pitch man down on the tackle that's becoming it it seems more and more likely that the highly decorated big south offensive player of the year the quarterback xavier shepard is not going to return today murphy will check down and that throws hauled in good throw by backup quarterback jonathan murphy as he was able to connect with xavier hill hill ran that quick end and murphy put it out of gerard he certainly did good throw by murphy but even better run after the catch on the part of hill as he runs out of a couple tackles to pick up more positive yards took jalen price and uh excuse me mike price and jalen porter to finally get [Music] xavier hill on the ground but just nothing there with those dive plays today girard as kyle glover just got absolutely eaten alive by jared fox that's right the veteran don't say that in the collegiate game but when you've been around for eight years even allowed that privilege but i will say this i love the fact that kennesaw state is not coward they're being aggressive they're trying to get after it and this is one of those moments from a psychological standpoint where you might want to quit you might want to wave that flag and say we want no more but then i have the heart of a champion and i love the fact that they're still battling and trying to bring it alive again on that read option this is jonathan murphy look at murphy fly inside the 35 um etsu they'll spot that well we'll see it'll be around the 35 yard that's big though it certainly is you don't get to the second round of the fcs by being a soft football team you have to have heart you have that conviction right here murphy shows you he also has speed and he has talent as he gets outside once again no one to contain or to force the issue they're going to pick up positive yards you have to correct that if you the defense of etsu and i'm pretty sure defensive coordinator is going over that as we speak saying we gotta solve that problem block murphy got two for that big fullback kyle glover moving in that backfield murphy gonna keep the football this young man from los angeles he'll give a leg he'll take it away he's got some big jump plays today geron running the football out of this triple option right and right here he shows you his nifty ability to make guys misses still run through tackles and we will be remiss by not letting it be known that hey start off as a starter on the season and you see why very talented runner in executing his offense on a part of murphy xavier shepard supplanted him with the job he ran into uh man he's trying to do many times today max evans evans had the initial hit uh it was cleaned up uh that was rodney wright who just checked in rodney wright that young man there wears number 89 the redshirt freshman he comes in a lot of times he's that edge rusher that they'll put in alongside max evans at what point they're gonna get rodney wright a d-line number 89 to throw you off like he's playing receiver at tight end but to his credit he did a great job of bringing murphy down all right don't go away we'll come right back 17-7 etsu leads kennesaw state [Applause] sort of a large crowd here at green stadium on the campus of east tennessee state university in johnson city tennessee you saw the the uh the concern there for uh donovan manuel who has been superb today yeah there's a good look at it i'll tell you what this this they'll fit ten thousand plus in here with a shoehorn right partner that's right they might be close today they may be close terrific crowd great atmosphere driving right now the owls of kennesaw state same route nobody home for etsu touchdown from quarterback jonathan murphy as he hit kyle glover who was running free in the etsu secondary correct me if i'm wrong michael but i believe i was said earlier that if you leave the middle of the football field wide open bad things are going to happen but give credit to kennesaw state from corner exit play when you fake the dive to your full back which does a really good job of faking it but he runs through wide open because everyone is anticipating the run but it was a pass great job of execution on the part of kennesaw state great concept huh they got it that's twice now they've got exactly what they wanted with receivers running free for tvs in the middle of the football field we'll discuss that more we get back kyle glover welcome to the house three-point lead for the buccaneers [Music] espn's coverage of the scs championship continues next weekend with complete quarterfinal coverage on espn espn2 and espn plus if you'd like more info go to nca.com that's the official online home for all 90 ncaa championships what an answer from that offense as the the owls of kennesaw state twice after they've been hit by explosion play touchdowns from ptsu gerard have responded with tds and how about jonathan murphy to get the job done for the injured starting quarterback xavier sheppard right they scored not on the ground but passing the football in the process very impressed with obviously not jonathan murphy again that short pop-up kickoff uh gonna find uh the the tight end and noah west west has had a couple of those very short returns all right let's go back and take a look at it how does kyle glover run three in the secondary juror run run that's what the defense is thinking run run but no it was a pass and on top of that the play action fake was not even a good play action fake but when you make assumptions on the defensive end bad things are going to happen you said when you make assumptions yeah i can't finish the rest this is esp yeah well i think that tells the story you're good there i mean when you're assuming things defensively you're probably going to run into trouble yes sir all right let's see what uh quarterback for etsu uh tyler rydell gets done and then now you see some of that momentum trying to seep into that very strong kennesaw state defenses they were able to on that first down call put down running back jacob sailor sailors that was carrick reese there's reece where's number 94 right fine defensive end on the stop yeah trying to regain that momentum and what i appreciate about kennesaw state is that they have plenty of moments in this start of the third quarter in which they could have tucked their heads and said we want no more but they're fighting like champions rydell oh he is gonna have to be flushed in his throws off the hands of tight end nate atkins and incomplete it's gonna bring up a third down and long third and 11 gerard and so kennesaw state oh would they love this is after their touchdown they get off the field defensively with a three and out that's exactly what the doctor would say was ordered because that's what you want to do you have the momentum in your favor your offense is just went down the football field methodically on etsu and then if you go out of defensive end and get a three-in-one scenario momentum is certainly in your hands and you're fired up on the sideline ready to get that offense on the football field to see what they can do 250 pound tight end nate atkins is there in the slot to the left with three wide receivers rydell will pull the football down rydell's in trouble and down he goes near the line of scrimmage kennesaw state got their three and out evan thompson the linebacker running up to make the hit [Music] just a great job of getting after the quarterback and getting penetration and putting rydell in a situation where he could not make a decision with the football and another great job on the part of secondary of providing no open space for rydell to throw to a would-be receiver inside the seven-minute mark now in this rapidly rolling third quarter with east tennessee state's lead down to three great field position on top of it yeah that punk didn't turn over the way that nate brackett would have hoped for the buccaneers and yes outstanding field position gerard will this be starting from their own 45-yard line well potentially it's a drive if it winds up with a touchdown that could reclaim the lead for the owls of kennesaw state and trying to drive 80-plus yards on etsu is a difficult job to get done but if you are kennesaw state right now you're saying we can handle 45-50 we can certainly handle that number at halftime we ask randy sanders the head coach of etsu about his defense and very very pleased with him should be blitz coming murphy in trouble down he goes donovan he just absolutely blew everything up in the egg gap by the time the murphy got the snap emanuel was on him there's a daniel manuel to his credit hurt his hand comes back in shoots the a gap slows down murphy puts him in a position where he has nowhere to go in the football that's what you call a blitz run excellent job of shooting the gap on the part of manual they put a pad giraffe on that left wrist yeah manual back on the football field 230 pound red shirt sophomore shooting the gaps state of georgia second at 10 now backup quarterback jonathan murphy runs that speed option now that late pitch the late pitch iron cousin cousins got a first down a gerard cousin has kind of become what do you say in this triple option when they run the uh the read option it's been cousin who has uh done most of the work here yeah has done an awesome job of getting outside and what took place on that particular place zach west was playing the outside linebacker he has to make a more definitive decision with the football and attack murphy and not just let him sit there and pitch the football he did a poor job on that particular play of reading it murphy wants it all taking that big shot he overthrew his intended receiver as he was looking for xavier hill hill the speedy sophomore out of the state of alabama you know you want to talk triple ops triple option hey take their shots up top don't they they certainly will try you and see if we can get a shot on you love what you saw at a from aggressive standpoint but i love even more so being a former db what i saw out of elijah hussey excellent position do not let the receiver get behind you and he certainly did his job on that now they'll run the dive portion of the triple option and uh that is kyle glover glover caught that touchdown pass 220 pound well you know kyle glover is a team guy gerard because you know he lines up uh you know he's always in a three-point stance yes and taking a lot of abuse at that position like hey man i don't even got the football and they still are hitting me but to his credit he's been very productive today on offensive end with the touchdown as well as a couple runs in which he's picked up positive yards but here michael is a key situation what an atmosphere too what an atmosphere here at green stadium in johnson city murphy kept the football he held that thing on the mesh point yes he did he held that on the mesh point it seemed like forever and drought almost had to extend fully to pull it back to himself and what makes this happen is a great job on apartments offensive line william nada faboo does an excellent job of providing the lane and running space for him to pick up that first down with that block that he blocked down on the defensive end it doesn't happen without that level of blocking great job we haven't done it enough of giving credit to this office line because they have done a tremendous job today of dominating nutrition [Applause] big 285 senior out of columbus georgia now that late pitch again on the triple work in that time yeah how about that hit well murphy kept it and then late pitched that and the pitch was to gabriel ben yard ben yard the freshman took the pitch now ben yard 13 carries on the year so usually though he's used more as a receiver jarrod that time they had him uh running as the uh the receiving pitch man his twin brother plays on the defensive side now murphy looks to put it up pressure from manual did that throw get caught nah they're saying it could play well laying out was xavier hill and whoa was there pressure though from donovan manuel into quarterback jonathan murphy manuel has been fantastic today right now coaching point for etsu on the defensive side do not fall for the run fake if it is a pass and on top of that make sure that you force the issue and do not allow them to get outside and break containment there's a lot there but you have to do it good look at brian bohannon towels waving here at green stadium they go to the dive play that again is the big fullback kyle glover triple option what's the first reading the dive yes and i would have got food on that about the defense coordinator because i just told you to guard the outside and what they do they go right down the middle of football field once again excellent job on the part of kennesaw state of taking advantage of weakness in the middle of the football field you have to defend the middle football field well kyle glover is having a big day folks he's not the most highly acclaimed in this offense tremendous offense but oh he showed up big today he's the backbone though yes he is and he'll go to the dive again back up quarterback jonathan murphy and now it's like kyle glover's taking this thing over [Music] [Applause] and you see they've done a decent job if you will in the red zone obviously like to have those numbers better but on fourth down and third down they've been excellent the red zone numbers could certainly be better but right now they're trying to change all those ills see if they can get a score either tied up or take the lead down by three on the move quarterback jonathan not out of murphy murphy will keep the football on that uh straight speed option didn't read it there and give that potential dive handoff speed option and they keep attacking zach west because he's not forcing the issue at the right outside linebacker for etsu he has to do a better job of forcing murphy to pitch the football and hitting him and not allowing him to go to the football freak and worrying about the pitch man but now if he's in a situation michael where he's also responsible for the pitch then he's in no man's land and hints to us to why he's playing the way he's playing third and two they could pick up a first down the four-yard line murphy will keep it depending on the spot where the line judge and the side judge gerard are running to the football there from their respectives on each side of the football field i think that's going to be a first down it looked like it but we'll see guys on etsu have begged a different but they're saying first half move the sticks first and goal first and goal as we see now with the clock running again as we're inside of middle 45 left in the third quarter we knew it was going to be this way and it is murphy will keep it behind the block of his center william nana faboo didn't get in didn't get in got knocked down just short of the goal line pretty good pushing apart his offensive line those guys will blame that up for boo are moving the crowd and in this situation michael you're always taught that the low man wins that's right in goal line situations generally speaking on offensive line and defensive line play the low man wins especially down here have you ever seen a bunch formation like this triple option or not murphy's in the end zone the backup quarterback who's been terrific today kept the football to regain the lead for kennesaw state that's what you call taking momentum away from the home crowd because it is silent in here right now great job on the part jonathan murphy of orchestrating a drive on a short football field and if you're the special teams unit for etsu you have to do a much better job of flipping the field and not putting your defense in the short field because kennesaw state will take full advantage of it and they just did right there with the score now looking to add the p-a-t uh for the very very resilient owls of kennesaw state nathan robertson how about and right here just being patient as a runner and finally going behind william the knife once again to pick up the score and the yards necessary to get the job done but i love it on the sideline how he's giving it back to the fans of etsu and tell him i can't hear you i can't hear you and right now i'm pretty sure his offensive coordinator is on the phone telling a great job of working straight into offense because he certainly is doing a phenomenal job no absolutely i mean you cannot ask any more than this you wonder jarrod as you said he was a starting quarterback you know earlier but you know what i know right during the course of the week 10 of the snaps if that right but you would not he has not missed a beat so that shows you his level of professionalism his level of preparation again he has on the sideline ahead of him the offensive player of the year and by the way in which he's playing he could have been a candidate for it all right again this popped up kick off you see wait see what uh etsu did there they instead of their normal man and that either noah west or nate atkins tight end that was a smart adjustment okay you're gonna keep pooch kicking it we're gonna put our normal return guys in that situation because you obviously didn't pick it up and notice that we made the switch great job of adjusting an excellent field position for etsu that man trey foster right there just an 18 year old freshman folks he gonna be a real good one out of knoxville tennessee here with his etsu bucks program all right late third quarter what kind of answer does tyler rydell have rydell pressure coming lost the football fell out of his hands whoa tombow dodging one etsu got it back gerard but tyler roddell and again he's shown all day today he'll spin out of a tackle and keep retreating before he throws the football right not simply trying to make a play and stay alive and the snap was fumbled from the get-go so that threw everything off but right here great job of just getting a rush on him and putting the pressure and he simply lets the football slip out of his hand and very fortunate that it was not recovered by kennesaw state i don't know what you got in the playbook for second down and uh 34 but you're looking at it right now simple hand the ball to play homes rydell will fire the out oh he had it on julian price and when price came out of his right gerrard he simply lost his footing or that would have been a big play julian price you have to keep your feet that is your first down that is getting you back on track turf monster said no you're not allowed to continue running you have to keep your feet in that situation that was critical [Music] [Applause] [Music] these big moments you have to be the one to step up and not fall down with a football at the 17-yard line third down and 33 this possession started at the 40 for etsu the line to make is right at the midfield strike third and 33 for rydell pressure coming rydell in trouble and down he goes both of those white shirts just keep coming after rydell carrick reese was in on that hit there's reese maybe he had some help joel parker all right 45 minutes of football in the books 15 left to decide who's going to the fcs quarterfinals kennesaw state leads by four [Applause] 45 minutes into books we don't have anything decided gerard cherry michael reggie we told you it was going to be decided maybe final possession of the fourth quarter these two superb fcs programs the seventh seed the bucks of etsu and of course kennesaw state both of them very now becoming dominant at playoff time gerrard in the fcs battle test is showing heart showing conviction and really has been on full display why both these programs are so premiere in the fcs that line drive boot is not going to turn over for nate bracket he didn't hit it real well as uh that football is now going to come into the hands of again the owls of kennesaw state and that man their terrific head football coach brian bohan and jarabas here's our game summary by all the numbers here and uh you know you're looking at kennesaw state with their backup quarterback uh a plus 144 here in the total yard package today and that's the part that's really so interesting michael is that you're seeing not rush sharks but passing yards being out there for both these squads where we assuming it be more or less than running the football all day but it's been all about the pass and ability to do that again this is kyle glover who's uh certainly carried the load here in this second half glover got four he got stood up and rocked pretty strongly by jared fox who we've talked about a lot today and if you're the defense unit for etsu you have to get off the football field and put the offense out there as we have a veteran aka upperclassman folks on the ground right now hoping he's okay but it looks like it's a cramp situation more so than anything he's been very active today so i can understand why the muscle fatigue is kicking in all right we'll keep an eye on jared folks when we come back kennesaw state up by four [Applause] told you the atmosphere here outside green stadium on the campus of east tennessee state university [Applause] yeah we listen that's us after the game today yes sir that's us let's make it happen the branch bucks but a tailgate's jerrod and i were you know we came about three hours before the game started today and oh the tailgate looked divine right now though the uh homestanding bucks uh gotta find something to their liking against this very hot and inspired kennesaw state team playing with their backup quarterback jonathan murphy on that that triple option quarterback keep murphy going to come up three yards shy and they called it third and three now nice play design michael because it's designed to be a misdirection in which the quarterback fakes one direction goes opposite but credit again the etsu are playing sound defense and getting the job done let's see what murphy gets on third and three he's gonna fire quickly and that is hauled in making the grab once again iron cousin what a day iron cousin has had jerrod and ian says if you're gonna leave me alone i'm gonna make it happen and no one covers iron and murphy twist credit spots open receiver and gets the first down from the 34-yard line again murphy there's that lake pitch lake pitch and it's got another first down outstanding tyree robinson finally had to get that hit on uh delicate a delegate was uh again giraffe we thought he was going to be more involved today that hadn't been the case it's been more iron cousin and kyle glover but that's a big carry for a delicate oh it was and when you have more offensive players at the point of attack than defenders that is what is going to occur positive yards being picked up i'll go back to the big fella kyle glover just pounds his way inside the ten down to the nine yard line he lines up in that three-point stance folks yeah he's got to do blocking quite a bit but i'll tell you what he's been big today that's right and right now what do you seeing out of kennesaw state is that they are wanting it more than the defense for etsu wants to stop them you're gonna have to man up you're gonna have to shut things down but i love what i'm seeing out of kennesaw state because they are on the attack etsu hold kennesaw state to three here murphy inside the five lowered his shoulder who's in the end zone touchdown quarterback jonathan murphy kennesaw state [Applause] on display what happens when you have a quarterback that says i refuse to be stopped and right here murphy says i refuse to be stopped keeps pushing and you have receivers more importantly block it down the field and give credit receivers for kennesaw state because they came to college to catch footballs but when they're going to attend kennesaw state they're going to do more blocking than they will pass catchy and these guys do an excellent job of it that's what you call selflessness and you appreciate it absolutely and they've done it wonderfully well today to add the p-18 nathan robertson to make this now a 10 point making an 11-point lead at 28-17 two-possession game courtesy of kennesaw state's jonathan murphy [Music] 21 second half point son does that tell you the story that's what has been manufactured by the backup quarterback where's number four right there young man out of los angeles jonathan murphy took over today in the first quarter for the uh the big south offensive player of the year first team all big south qb xavier shepard xavier hurt a lower leg we believe and has not returned but murphy's been spectacular and the lead is now eight excuse me the lead is 11. there's that pop-up kick again that is uh going to come down to uh the up man nate atkins the tight end atkinson tight end on it all right gerard let's go back and take a look at murphy here run this speed option yeah you love murphy's effort obviously but what i love more than anything michael is the fact that caleb o'neill number 86 the wide receiver is out there blocking doing his job and showing selflessness because we'll have to reiterate it they don't get opportunities to have received a position to catch the football for kennesaw state absolutely uh last possession turned into a disaster for tyler riedel how does etsu get that offensive mojo back that they had mostly the whole first three quarters get the ball in the hands of the guy who has number one on his chest he's running the wheel route right now the throw off the uh the back of linebacker was running with him i think that was evan thompson it was gerrard that wheel route that's been so good we just mentioned it to kwai holmes today but evan thompson the linebacker watch up run run stride for stride with him he does and the adjustment to that if you are etsu is run the fade stop that's 15 to 23 yards right there you don't need the home run hitter right now you still have a bunch of time left in this game convert that route to a fade stop and you have a positive place for it and jerrod this projects what we were talking about they've rallied four times to win when trailing in the second half and football is up in the air almost picked off it just hasn't been a continuance of real strong play these last couple of possessions you're right yeah etsu and quarterback tyler rydell evan thompson again broke that up and almost picked it right you get a bat in the air and then to the credit of the defenders for kennesaw state if you're going to stare down the receivers they're going to make blaze of defenders so rydell has to do a better job of his eyes and moving around and negotiating the pocket not just simply staring down receivers because if you do that bad things are going to happen and he avoided a bad play right there should have been interception kevin thompson almost picked it jahaan myers broke it up look out pressure coming the throw was incomplete uh there was big heat again on tyler rydell his throw intended for jacob sailors over his head and incomplete and again evan thompson continues his dominance yes and to the credit of kennesaw state and evan thompson in particular they are bringing the heat they are putting the pressure on wydell and forcing him to make plays and for the last two series michael unfortunately for the fan base of etsu he has not been able to get the job done so the buccaneers down by 11 and 28-17 they're going to put the football away nate brackett another line drive shot and that is fair caught by gabriel benjard now let's check it that was a nike pharaoh all right get us on stable football they lead by 11. [Applause] now the lovely little ladies certainly enjoying what's going down here in the fourth quarter and assault stay with a 28-17 lead over the number seven seed etsu all right there's the top half of the bracket now we're in the second round this weekend number five villanova beat holy cross last night and so now today you got sam houston the number one seed in carnet word also montana state against ut martin sacramento state and south dakota and as we look at the bottom half of the bracket we've showed you this a couple of times montana has already uh moved their way to the quarterfinals it's going to be an interesting possession gerard jerry because going to see the back up quarterback jonathan murphy and let's see i don't know is there still is it maybe for head coach brian maybe dial down and not snap the football as quickly as they normally be here is an excellent coaching point from a just a game management standpoint milk the clock do not give etsu any opportunity to get the football back in their hands murphy really has nothing there and he's going to run out of bounds didn't have any receiver that was anywhere near available something critical too right there michael yep don't stop the clock yeah it's your friend right now that's where i again you know you and i discussed this last week with a very up-tempo kent state team when you got the lead in the fourth quarter are you able to uh pump the brakes you have to and run play clock before you snap the football game management matters you cannot you have to figure out from a game situation standpoint where we're at and for murphy he's done admirable right there milking now he's gonna of course run that that option and he depending on the spot he might have picked up enough for the first down [Applause] it looks from up here and again depending on the spot he did pick up the first down they're going to move the sticks to rod as we come inside the 11 minute mark yeah murphy says game management's management as long as i'm picking up first downs who cares yeah so now they're still there now they're staying up play clock start 16 15. they're dialed in to us guess again you and i just discussed this last week in the kent state miami game stay with that triple option on the dive play of course [Applause] it is amazing how low that offensive line for kennesaw state comes off the football michael as you see ten straight wins six longest active streak in the ncaa and they're seeking their 12th win today and that would tie a record which is very impressive oh absolutely that man right there head coach brian bohannon and his owls uh again they they've been tremendous they won the big south by a game over monmouth and now they're going to go to adelu on the lake out of the lake took a hit there he did he took a shot that's their version i guess you know they they line up running backs and receivers just outside tackles gerard so i don't know if you want to say that it's their version of an inside reverse it is it really is i mean what else would you again because like uh there right it's vanilla lined up right outside the tackle right very interesting concepts with this and for example there's your offensive line right here watch how low they come off the football murphy he didn't get there this time no that got him on track right there that was huge initially though where was he at now it depends on spot he's very very close he's very very close max evans there's max he has been terrific today first down sticks move that all right that's two first downs and jarrod they have used almost three minutes now yeah [Music] and if you are consulting you said milk the clock because we're okay if we do give the ball back in the hands of putting pressure on rydell and see if he can force the issue and prevent big plays on the defensive side but right now they're having all the momentum go their way and how they're going after etsu murphy again the backup quarterback you wouldn't know it though no we weren't telling you it was such hell sir this this young man has been absolutely superb and taking over for the injured and xavier shepard he's a little hobble right now and if i'm him i would walk to the line take your time and if they're gonna keep on picking up five yards on each first down yeah this ball game is going to be over pretty soon you have to stop them on that initial down look at xavier shepard he's become the uh the biggest cheerleader on this football team today at least the most decorated that's right kyle lover with that carry and lover picked up a couple and now this is going to be third down and uh we'll call it two girando but now they're in place well i'm going to say that in this situation i would go for it scenario that's who they are and what they do exactly so why go away from that exactly be who you are all right let's see can the ctsu defense rise up by third and two murphy first down sticks move the third first down in this drive and what you're witnessing ladies and gentlemen is simply put the offensive line for kennesaw state is just beating and i emphasize the word beating down etsu's defensive line right now because they have no answer for this low firing off the football you have a fullback who doesn't have the football in his hands michael getting down the football field as you see right there jake lasseter first team right first team all uh big south and the center you talked to there is a big fella william nada fabu [Applause] dominating yeah yeah you're seeing that murphy again there you have it got another first down right now kennesaw state is flat out gashing and jarrod [Music] you can hurt my feelings by passing but if you really want to take emasculate me run the football on me and at this point that's what they're doing right now the will of this defense has been taken on the part of the offensive line with kennesaw state in that they're just punching punching and punching and coming in this game they knew it was going to be the physical type of a battle and right now kennesaw state is certainly winning it it looks like donovan it is donovan manuel down again for the third time today that's a great look at this uh beautiful east tennessee state university campus here in johnson city tennessee [Music] a lot of this capacity thrall [Music] [Applause] now the sticks have been moved again for the backup quarterback who continues to excel jonathan murphy gerard [Music] this east tennessee state university d is just a gasp yes they are and when you face an offensive line and if you watch to play the office line it's just simply battering ram battering ram battery ram and at some point if you are banged up defensive line which they are for etsu it takes its toll and is certainly doing that right now now i'm going to run that inside this is a big defensive play though as i and cousin got rocked by donovan manuel donovan manuel here's a big clap of the hands for you today uh my friend because giraffe showing a lot of heart he's been on the ground three times and had to leave the field due to injury right he's coming back and making plays and the reason why he's on the ground because they are attacking him when you play linebacker against a deep offense like this you have guards you have guys out with you by a hundred pounds play after play after play hitting you and it takes its toll yeah the uh the buccaneer crowd they know they got to get a stop here on third down and long murphy in trouble broke a tackle but oh he did take a shot short of the first down jarred folks absolutely drilled jonathan murphy gerard is going to bring up a fourth down fourth down and three go for it well that's yeah we said it two minutes that's what they do this is who they are on fourth down this year this uh this offense of uh kennesaw state on the season and fourth down 23 of 28 now after converting once here today all right go for it because time is on your side you've had a quarterback in tyler rydell that has struggled to pass the football and you assume outside of quay homes making a big play the likelihood of them doing one via the passing game is limited so bottom coach field goal truck oh well that makes it out of reach two score game brian bohannon telling reggae cherry now you know yeah you may say that's what i do but i want to make this a 14-point lead if we can see if you can make another miraculous comeback in five minutes all right it's gonna be from 45 yards away on the season nathan robertson is nine of 13. from 45 yards a lot of lag does he have the accuracy yes he does he hit it with about 10 yards to spare nathan robertson the senior out of columbus georgia did he possibly just put this one in the ice box for his football team kick is up and it is good [Music] just right inside let's get those three points and make a two touchdown 14 point lead brian right head coach says that's why i got to robertson my field goal unit out there well right now the special teams unit four etsu needs to get great field position or either take it back to the house some form of a quick score coupled with the defense getting off the football field is the only way to get back into this football game again they've got trey foster look at brian bohannon's offense in the second half gerard cherry one head coach wouldn't take do you get every kind of goats will tell you you give me 24 points in four possessions i'll take it sign me up yes i'll take it yeah and they knew it was a matter of time going against this type of offense it's about patience eventually breaking your will and that's what they've done first time today gerard they're gonna boot it deep and this is uh jacob and sailors got popped before he reached the 25-yard line all right [Applause] well this is uh gotta have a time partner for the uh the outstanding buccaneers of east tennessee state it's our second home playoff game the first since 1996 when they beat villanova we've told you about how they've rallied to win four football games this year when they've trailed in the fourth quarter will this be number five we'll find out sailors nothing not much there as they went to that delay the late draw to jacob sailors and he got belted as that front line again in on that stop demetric barnes is in there number 56 jahan myers number 58 and this is tyler riddell he'll throw and come underneath the nate atkins atkins made the grab [Applause] but well short of the first down with this moving clock that is now approaching four minutes to go we'll call it third down and uh this is a healthy four rydell got to have some get rid of the football gotta have something he got something again with nate atkins the 250 from knoxville tennessee caught the football so back-to-back throws from tyler rydell when he most needed in gerard yes and i was saying you have to get rid of football but he his offensive line gave him all the time in the world finds his guy and atkins wide open picks up the first down and puts him in a position to make a quick score but how about that crushing collision between atkins and cole loader yeah he did well let's see loden has given up what kyle loden weighs in at about uh buck 85 and nate atkins gerard yeah there you go and we have another you go we have another kennesaw state player on the field as well that's tyler moore a defensive end [Applause] that's been very enjoyable today just as we thought it would be well they're going to need a couple more efforts like this on that drive with the offensive line providing that level protection to score because this game a lot of people are leaving the premises but it is not over yet all it takes is and they've recovered alongside kicks before but obviously they need to score first and foremost before i go down that path well this is a wonderful football program on this uh terrific etsu campus journalist city of johnson city and bristol surrounding it partner i've never understood as we're glad that uh tyler moore is up and moving i've never understood and you know again it's that this happens everywhere but i don't understand you come to a football game and you're rooting for your team and you know guys are playing hard and why you want to leave before it's over i guess the desire to beat traffic is that great oh that's the only thing i can explain that can't be an f4 on the forefront of anybody's mind yeah it must be good come on man this is football you've got especially when you're rooting for your team man we gotta ride it out yeah and there are a few people here still riding it out yeah there are yeah and they're making noise too they know if they can get in the end zone here some of those people may turn around to come back rydell pressure oh rydell what table they had living to make a play but they run don't they that front uh for derrick reese to take down quarterback tyler rydell tyler just simply has to learn through his maturation process to get rid of the football you can't hold on forever and once the inside pocket collapse get outside make it easier for yourself don't stay in that area where they're flying at you rydell now he'll check down put it in the hands of the outstanding running back quay holmes i think it's a late hit yes sir gerard i think and tyler rydell we told you right away kids got a lot of guts a lot of grit [Music] [Applause] roughing the passer on getting so state [Applause] right definitely back to rydell though he's 5 10 a buck 70 maybe right maybe red shirt freshman growing into things but you know that's that's in in today's college football that's a small quarterback certainly is and the thing that you appreciate though you've seen it on display today he plays with a lot of heart yeah no doubt in that rydell again under pressure he's got quay holmes again holmes will step out of bounds you know now it's down to what 304 gerard that makes some shots it ends on them they've got two timeouts left though not to go take him now you're right i just you got to take a couple of shots that can uh for for them hopefully beat that uh explosion play get them on the board quick so they can outside kick and here's the perfect route for them right now it's worked all game except they refuse to do the fade stop it's a hard throw to execute but do that route and stop it around the 10 yard line pressure again set up holmes broke two tackles holmes to the 27 line he's got a first down he broke two tackles what a performance today by quay holmes shows you once again why he is the southern conference officer player of the year 2 36 left and now again we've got an injured uh owl bailing out of kennesaw state you got to stay up fake it fake it you got some way to get off the football field man my part time is against just oh against you i'm my partner uh with the exclamatory statement uh for players that need to get off the football field you just gave them a huge break you gave them opportunity to rally to figure out what their play is now granted we're all about player safety but do your best to get off the football field yeah while we got a second we certainly want to thank our crew today uh outstanding job our producer brett wilinski our director tj mcginnis all of our terrific production crew great job done by our spotter trey adams excellent work we've had a cast of thousands helping gerard and i out today here in johnson city and terrific work all you guys and gals well done so if you're that man right there gerard cherry that being uh one mr mr uh brian bohannon excuse me mr randy sanders you are uh looking at something to get in the end zone quickly that throw is broken up uh it was intended for julian price and welton spotsville first time we called spotsville today where's number five spotsville with a a real good shot to separate the football and julian's had a rough go with it i love the fact that rydell is trying to stay alive great job by spotsfield a bid on the spot to break that play up all right this is uh there's a second down now second down to 10. back inside that red zone there you've got to and the clock is the biggest factor uh that uh east tennessee state's got to deal with rydell [Applause] in trouble again rydell got to keep the football and got taken down from the backside on the excellent tackle by carrick reese and now here is where here's where head coach randy sanders is going to get this first etsu timeout [Applause] i say the first the first in this possession right that should be the second of the second half they started the possession with two timeouts left that'll be one now with 212 left [Music] if you are etsu from play calling standpoint you gotta figure out some way to beat to put the ball in the hands of jacob sailors and more importantly clay holmes figure out some way to get them on the one-to-one coverage and the zone obviously finds a way to put them in the area where they can have a football in their hands and take advantage of their skills [Applause] they come into today do the bucks of etsu 10-1 of the year they beat vanderbilt from the fbs of course in the opener the only loss was at chattanooga and they got beat in uh in the conference summer conference play back in mid-october they got beat by five 21-16 right now they're in cover four for kennesaw state rydell's throw that is hauled in and i don't know how he's a tough guy that's why nate adkins held on the football but he did and if they're gonna continue to run cover four for kennesaw state you got to go to your cover four beaters if you are etsu and what's the cover four beater anything that you have in which the receivers are crossing in the middle of the football field taking too many snaps though for and rydell now in trouble holmes is standing by himself he'll get out of bounds that's a first down at the 13-yard line so that's going to stop the clock there's a minute and 40 left gerard to me he's next if it takes moving faster this is not practice obviously it's a game and how do you saw holmes earlier in that play would probably have a touchdown does that allow the defense to rally to him yeah it's just a nice drive but it's taking too long it's eaten up a whole lot of time rydell gotta get rid of it rydell that'll put it up for grabs and that's incomplete [Applause] [Music] okay in situations like this find where you can isolate a receiver put all the guys on one side and create a one-on-one match matchup if they're in zone create a one-on-one matchup with your biggest receiver your best receiver your tallest guy who can win that jump ball that's what i would do in this scenario right here because you're running out of time well it's a rodney you got six foot four will hussy who wears number nine yeah that's malik murray malik murray is six foot tall they haven't taken any shots to here right right now it'll be the perfect time to run a corner route with hudson guy is six foot four take advantage of that height rydell wilfroenzo fuzzy get it touchdown we are so sayers gerard cherry now he didn't run a corner right he ran a post so we're gonna call it like it is but finally go to your big man that big target and let him make a play and he certainly did will hussy that's a sweet grab at traffic in the end zone hang on everybody hang on now tyler rydell look at hussy go up and get it like this is mine and on the year is the fifth touchdown catch for the six foot four redshirt sophomore out of georgia adding the extra point does nick brackett hang out now you know what's coming i believe it starts with oh with a minute and 28 left the tyler rydell touchdown throw there's rydell the youngster to will hussey gerard and i mentioned him before this snap watch it drop yeah he gets a nice inside move gets in the middle crosses the face with the fender and catches the football in traffic that's how you get the job done on the part of that's job will all right so okay so the hands team's coming out both ways and uh if you're etsu you like the uh you like the 79 yards on that touchdown drive and again we're picking but it probably took a little probably took a lot longer than head coach uh randy sanders was hoping for but jarrod how did uh you know do you like the high hops on the onside kick do you like that the best or do you like to maybe those ground balls that make it tough for an up man to have to play a short stop and go down i prefer the short stop scenario because it has a chance it's going to bounce off your helmet or your shoulder pads and back to the team doing the onside kick all right now this is tyler keltner that's keltner right there now if you got a kicker that can get that bounce 10-15 yards in the air yeah then you go that route let's see who goes tell those gunners who can dunk a basketball that's right yeah well again and that's kennesaw state right uh brian bohannon said now we're going to talk about this because i don't mean bohannon i don't want anything to go awry here and i'm looking at nakeem and i'm saying you can do it young man as you see the brackets right here yeah we're being told that the two seed north dakota state uh looks like that they are going to uh put that in the wind column against southern illinois so if that's the case any kind of thought barring the upset the winner of this one will get north dakota state in the quarterfinals next week uh location uh not solidified as of yet but the bucks of etsu say wait a minute don't call us out yet they're gonna outside kick here let's see trying to go 10 yards they had a shot still got it the buccaneers have executed the on-side kick how special was that that is what you call must be living right because they had two opportunities and an onside kick and actually recovered it how amazing is that and i love the slow roller idea and the kick is like i'll get involved but you got to make the play initially for etsu you got it but again getting after it excellent job on the part of the special teams onside kick unit look at all the uh look at all the dap indiana boys and gear that uh that tyler keltner is getting oh my god that was huge and that's why we broke up but we brought up most scenarios [Applause] but he just hit the top of the football and slow rolled it between the seams and then he said i need something well yeah yeah fire fire right go get the football you gotta attack that uh yeah you wonder uh you know randy sanders i you know he and his special team coaches they might have put a lot of work into that they got the football all right hang on now 26 left for quarterback tyler rydell and cover and cover two rydell [Music] that's how you beat cover two got the big fella nate atkins we've discussed that all day that is huge on the gun from rydell to atkins the weakness of cover two coverage is right down the middle in the seams and they exploit it perfectly what a day nate atkins is add the big tight end blitz coming right down going to take a what a phenomenal grab by nate atkins nate atkins is just absolutely on fire and that's what you call make it a next level catch watch as he climbs the ladder bring this football down keeps his composure holds on to the football that's the man who does not want to go home and wants to play another week of collegiate fcs football excellent catch on the part how good is this there's the parents of the quarterback tyler rydell it's selena they're loving it give the number one quay home see what he can do with it football at the nine blitz coming he'll throw enzo it is good but out of bounds by the flying white receiver once again oh look at that grab once again just like he did on the touchdown catch uh a moment ago was will and will climbs the ladder as well you want that ball a little bit more inbound so he can make a play with his feet but right he's forced out of bounce but excellent job of grabbing the ball could not keep his feet in bounds how good is this everybody i tell you what hang on to your chair you got wherever you're sitting or standing hang on tyler right dell has tried to lead his football team all the way back free play rondello put it up again hussy it's incomplete because he caught that football again he's caught back-to-back throws and carried him out of bounds and you love the effort again on the part of will hussy to make these plays but they're making too hard for themselves i'm telling you all you have to do is a simple outlet pass to quay homes he is wide open every time i love the theatrics right here you see hussy once again and then yeah he was out of bounds no it's not enough spacing jerrod i i if you're brian bohannon on that uh you know again that uh that falls that's offsides putting [Applause] for the touchdown pass in the end zone and now these two but right here michael they don't need the theatrics keep it really simple right here you have the best running back in the fcs would you run the football yes i would uh yeah all right let's see rydell roll out his throw is caught but short of the goal line is that throw was hauled in by jacob sailors oh but how about the aggressiveness of that defense kennesaw state running clock running clock they call it timeout with 34 seconds left this is going to be a third down is it not yes sir yeah third down for the 4 yard line you have a weapon he wears number one figure out some way to get the football in his hands what's your rod to me 34 seconds left i mean you got i know you you no longer you guys wait you do have one timeout brought in the football right they will not exp i don't think they'll be expecting it at this point or you know what play action fake it and go to evans i mean atkins he's been unstoppable some type of play action where you fake it to him make it to the quay and let atkins pretend like he's blocking i guarantee it's going to be open because i'd be making an assumption as defender that's a run there's a six foot four will hudson he's caught three passes they're right one in the end zone for touchdown one high two of them high pointed just outside the end zone all right here we go now 31-24 kennesaw state seven-point lead the second round fcs championship lander with us michael reggae gerard cherry this is now third down and goal for quarterback tyler reidel touchdown an extra point ties it and bring it right right run it gonna throw [Applause] they're within one do you go for two or do you go for one for two [Applause] head coach randy sanders says we're going to go for two giraffe look at holmes [Applause] that's what you call living dangerously but great job on the part of tyler ideal of fighting on the h angle is what we call that yeah and his running back quay homes running angle route getting inside no defender there in the middle of football field once again bad things are going to happen on the defensive end how good has this been partner with five minutes well actually it took it down to inside four it was 31-17 kennesaw state and the people that we them about good well we mentioned it when they stronger people left but when kennesaw state went up 31-17 a lot of the buccaneer fans started to head for the exits yes they did and they are missing a thriller uh this is this is what december football in the football championship subdivision is meant to be jerrod and i came on the air today you you win you either put it in the win column or you put the helmets and pads up the season's over and these two teams uh you know love it what are we doing for 59 minutes or 25 seconds now it's been phenomenal you've seen momentum changes you've seen the heart of champions on full display guys not quitting guys having their will tested but find a way to get back up and get the football game and you watch the team get a shot two shots and an onside kick recovered and then find themselves in position now to take not only the lead but more likely win this football game yeah and he didn't wait i tell you the head coach randy sanders immediately when the ball was caught in the end zone by quay holmes he came right he got out to about the numbers at 30-yard line we're going for two uh you i bet you but when they got the football he told himself in a stab when we get in the end zone we're going for two so here's here's a question we must try to answer what do you do you mean with a play call here you know before that because again it's been again these are two big runs if you're kennesaw state defensively here i mean how do you look to scheme this up personnel this up are you gonna cut are you thinking throw are you gonna come after rydel and send numbers in all right you're gonna come out i am bringing the house and i'm telling you that's your dp okay you're gonna have to win one play with man-to-man coverage because we've seen that when we pressure rydell he has not been effective as a quarterback throwing the football and partner real quick east tennessee state what do you think they're running here you think they're going to put it in rydell's hands and say make a play they're going to have to because he's gonna get that obviously that snap initially but again i'm going to the guy who wears number one all right get the job done now bottom of your screen again oh this is the mismatchy one it's ours that's will hussy it's the bottom of your screen yeah right there so that right there the defender tells me one thing i cannot allow will hussy to beat me inside they are doing an isolation round it already tells me right there's a defender they're going to number nine okay because they're isolating him from the rest of the team i'm gonna throw one more guy in there that was phenomenal to start this stride the 245 pound tight end nate atkins now before before that time i was called i was he was lined up right off off the hip of their left tackle right on that left side so you got i mean again you got hussy there's atkins so you got hussy he was down here in solo coverage you got atkins where we just said he was offset of the tackle and of course quay holmes too you certainly you can think one of those three emotions so so right now they switched the formation but you still have it where you're isolated but you got a guy out there to give him inside help so if your gamble you just have to take away the outside on this route and you can get the job done two-point conversion for the potential lead rydell fluenzo is caught up [Applause] that's why we brought him up to give the buccaneers of etsu the lead with 35 seconds left how good does it get college football fans nate hackers you get the game ball you get the night out you get everything coming your way you should be on social media because we don't put your name in the paper anymore but this play right here is so clutch on his part and credit actors for buying time not panicking and throwing a catchable ball twists excellent stellar tight end and nate adkins man this has been a ball game wow what with an exclamation point atkins lined up more outside the the seam and nor closer the numbers on that particular personnel look gerard he was more like a receiver right than a tight end and to the beauty of the play riddell stays alive atkins gets inside of the defender makes the play catches the football in that moment of pressure comes through in the clutch and uh folks this is far from over yes it is this is 35 seconds because that offense of kennesaw state you know they've been chomping at the bit geron to get on the football field they've got 35 seconds to deal with you better cover this kick that kick is going to come down in the hands of nikim farrow farrell gets piled up at the 20-yard line farrow on the return the the sophomore and the main thing coaching point secondary do not i repeat do not let anyone get behind you let everything stay in front of you they have 80 yards to work with with 28 seconds do not fall for the bait and jump any routes you have to stay disciplined in this situation have communication because if you don't oh you you sleep well tonight they've got the owls of kennesaw state we have one timeout their offensive coordinator grant chestnut their head football coach brian bohannon you know they've been thrilled we put a graphic up been thrilled with this offensive output today now though and remember field goal could potentially win it for that field goal keep that as an option absolutely right they're 73 yards away now that's not from field goal territory down by one let's see and this is where the defensive line has to get that pressure murphy came middle it is caught knocked down right away a couple yards shy of the first down that was kyle glover who made the catch running clock and now now brian bohannon said we 17 seconds the offensive lineman had to run down the football field gerard they had to use that last timeout right and you figured they got two more plays in it and you are thinking that point where they need to get field goal range it's probably around the 30-yard line gerard you know but there that particular throw was to uh uh again kyle glover coming out of the backfield would you like to see a throw though outside the numbers or near the numbers of potential that nominee gets first down but carry them out of bounds exactly because if you're going to make that play in the middle of a football field you got to pick up the first down or be at least near the sidelines partner i don't think they can afford to do it again no you can't throw it they're 19 seconds left no and you're on the timeout now and you're still 64 yards away and they have everybody dropping murphy he will throw the out and out of bounds it was over the head of xavier hill now with 12 seconds left and now the thing is gerard too the added thing to this without a timeout even if you hit a chunk play here middle of the field you may not be able to get the field goal right to get it uh you know to get it organized they're probably saying you guys told us to run the clock down clock management but i'm pretty sure you're gonna anticipate a remember well they were doing that when they led by two touchdowns you know that's the right way it was it certainly was because no one anticipates the onside kick one being recovered all right murphy gotta get rid of it it'll throw it up for grant almost was almost hauled in by xavier hill late in that coverage mike price who's played wonderfully well today there are only four seconds left this barring a penalty yes on east tennessee state university kennesaw state's got to get this football in the end zone right and let's say this memo one more time do not if you play quarterback if you play safety heck even if you play linebacker let the receivers get behind you i'm account four seven eight eight defenders that are between 20 and 40 yards off the ball for etsu that just made it more challenging with the five yards see i always say in this situation have at least four to five guys rushing in my opinion you don't want to give a quarterback that much time to throw something up there lucky and get a hell mirror [Applause] [Music] but the second level guys playing linebackers they're not going to really be involved to play down the field so why not rush it it's always been my perception and i know from experience to what can happen on the hell mary at least being on the negative end of one all right here it is 32 31 etsu on top final play more than likely with four seconds left murphy game clock is expired gonna unload knock it down it is incomplete you can book this fcs second round win to head coach randy sanders and the buccaneers of etsu remarkable comeback win from 14 points down one of the most amazing football games i have ever seen in my life michael ray guy what a great effort on both of these football teams part of just fighting to the very end and it came down to the last seconds and etsu to their credit lives to play another week of fcs playoff championship football wow [Music] [Applause] there will be a party on the campus for johnson city tennessee tonight well undaunted were the bucks of etsu gerard remember that they were down 14 and with with kennesaw state with all the momentum questions taking over the football game certainly taking it over time was not on their side but good gracious they showed you the heart of a champion just some will not die relentless attitude and yes feel for that man yeah you're doing shock mode because you're saying to yourself how in the world did that happen how are we up by 14 points everything on our side from a minimum standpoint and to find ourselves losing that football game so yes for coach brian bohannon you're in dismay because your football team fought like champions today you were down your best offensive weapon and found yourself in the fourth quarter leading this football game mishap on special teams obviously cost you the game it's a game of complimentary football it's all about company football and right there special teams let them down jerry let's not forget my man it started with the on on-side kick successfully executed by the bucks of etsu let's take a look at [Applause] and it we have what's called a slow roller you got to get it initially but to his credit he stuck with it and eventually got the football back but it is in there because now you have to score and here we have tyler rydell fighting the main man quell holmes for the touchdown but it wasn't over yet he didn't have to but they did and it ends up in the hands of nate actors who's had a phenomenal second half catching the football michael great execution in the two-minute drill and how you come back in the end that was textbook ladies and gentlemen that was an excellent effort on the part of etsu yeah it really was and again you feel for the quality program that is kennesaw state because gerard i began let's be honest yeah with their triple option they they did everything exactly how they wanted it scripted we'll go get the lead in the fourth quarter and to our lead and give our number one ranked defense you guys close it down we just gave you two boy uh two touchdown league yeah you shut it down you do your job what you've done all season we talk about it complementary football all three phases have to do their part and a special team simply recovers the football we're having a different conversation right now but instead we were witness to one of the most amazing comebacks that you'll ever see in a football game so credit to kennesaw state for being warriors for going out there and providing an excellent challenge to etsu but ultimately the better football team won in the end so impressive of what we saw today well and see there's the emotions that come with the ending of a football season and uh everything that goes with that and yes they're tears yeah and they're gonna feel yeah but if you've ever competed in this time and for anything really any sport have you ever competed and you know when finality happens and you're not raising the championship if you play a team sport that's tough man tough to deal with and for evan thompson you played your butt off today my man you were a warrior out there so i understand the tears because you left out there on the football field and he's getting some console but obviously a loved one he played it man he played a hard game today and you lost in a miraculous fashion that's the only thing you can really chalk it up to it took a miracle and they got the job done double digit tackles that young man evan thompson special football player special young man so there's heartbreak those that are wearing white today or whether you're rooting for white again this is we came on the air today the first thing we said was you know this is either wind or you're going to feel heartbreak because your season's over and the way it played out i mean was like uh you know hollywood movie type scripts yeah heartbreak heart attack and just dismay if you are a kennesaw state because you're saying to yourself how do you lose the game when we're up by 14 i believe at least three minutes remaining on the clock again with the number one defense in the fcs over the course of 11 football games they've proven that both by number statistically and uh how they're viewed and how they're looked at and giving credit to tyler rydell because for a good two series in that second half michael he was discombobulated not on target and just completely rattled but found a way to rally himself get back on track get the job done yes and through strikes and i must emphasize that strikes to his open receivers and you won't see a better sideline catch than what you got from mr atkins the player of the game in my mind at the tight end position on what he was hauling in yeah donovan manuel he was down with injury three times at least it might have been four i lost count but he kept coming back and kept playing and had a fantastic game yes he did and he showed hard he showed conviction conviction because when you're playing against a kennesaw state type of offensive attack they're just simply battle ramming you throughout the entirety of the game you have guards on you you have tackles on you you have centers on you and you're weighing in like 220 pounds and you have guys that have three bills plus on you all right we are joined by it's a jubilant uh green stadium here on the campus of east tennessee state university we are joined by the head football coach of the buccaneers of etsu randy sanders randy listen man first of all congratulations i mean down 31 to 17 right against this tremendous offense that you know really start to get it rolling where did the resolve come from where did the will come from and uh did you have anything to say to your football team at that point down 14 points entering the fourth quarter well the resolve the will that is who this team is you go back and watch us all year long as you guys mentioned the other day we were talking we had been down uh one five games being down in the third quarter the end of the second half but they keep playing they keep fighting um you know we were down 31-17 uh just kept telling the defense right there just you're a champion play like a champion get a stop give us a chance you know they were able to get get get the stop get to hold him to a field goal uh we get the ball back go down the field score uh onside kick you know our special teams we work hard on special teams and that's something we have worked for for a while on getting ready to have that boy did it pay off and you know tim state school going in there getting on that ball and then um just tyler right there on the offense you know sticking the thing in the end zone i didn't have any doubt i told tyler before he went on the field from the last drive if we got the on-site kick we were going for two you know our defense was uh we're beat up a little bit we're tired we're thin i just didn't think going to uh overtime was the right thing plus you get it to that position you got you got momentum so let's take advantage of it so proud of the team so proud of uh the individual players the the students the fans how great they have been all year long and uh you know scott carter our athletic director dr nolan our president just happy for them because they they've gone through a lot to bring football back and i'm just i'm just really excited to be a little bit a little part of it right now well coach with that type of effort and that type of display for the fan base and i feel for the people who went home and missed a miraculous comeback you're well on your way to getting more interest with your program outstanding job but going back to that decision to make a two-point conversion coach right i understand your defense is beat up you're realizing that momentum is on your side so it was not a shadow of a doubt once he did score to go for that extra point no we we had made up our mind i knew what we were going to do tyler and i had already talked about the specific play you know we had a couple other plays down for two-point situations but the way the game had gone we had already run them to try to score and get in that situation so uh that was one we liked you know it it gets uh 11 of our best players on the field anytime you've got quay homes you got jacob sailors you got nate atkins noah west and uh will hussey on the field at the same time you got some pretty good guys there to get the ball too so felt good about it we've worked it for a long time we've actually worked it for a couple years and uh worked out just like you hoped red shirt freshman you list them at 170 pounds out of tampa florida yeah that was until his girlfriend broke up i [Laughter] bottom line is and and there were some rough moments today but again jarod and i were talking about it this young man you know got the got the perseverance to be able to continue to take snaps and you're telling them we're going to get this done and we're going to find a way to win this football game what has he continued to show you in you making him the starting quarterback for the first time in his very young career i mean this is pretty prodigious stuff now coach well the big thing we sell myself the coaches since day one when i got here is you play the next place so what now what you can't control what's happened uh you can't control what the other team does what the weather does anything only thing you can control is what you do on the next plane so play the next play so what now what play the next play win the next play and he is one of a number of examples of that on his football team we got a lot of guys that just keep playing you mentioned the defense we're down uh they take a drive and run i don't know what was it six seven minutes off the clock seemed like they're five minutes off the clock um you know and then end up getting the field goal out of it looks like the game's over but the team just keeps playing tyler uh very resilient has has good ability he's not real big but you don't have to be real big to be a good football player [Applause] he to compete he's not afraid of the competition he has uh that natural moxie the charisma that guys want to follow and um you know when he gets going a little bit you see what happens guys believe in him and he just keeps playing and they keep making plays for him randy sanders absolutely phenomenal congratulations you will move to the quarterfinals next week kind of hope we're with you to be honest we'll see if we can make that happen but if not well i want you to tell i hope you are too because if you are that means i don't have to do a friday zoom thing save me a little time on friday you guys are pretty easy thank you sir for gerard and i though you make sure you grab mr nate atkins and tell him what a special special competitor and football player that gerard and i believe he is we love that kid coach well you're exactly right great competitor great kid great player you know it it's funny because i coached with his dad at university of tennessee i think starting back in 2002 2003 right along in there and um nate was doing diapers i think you know so i've known nate for a long long time and when we had the opportunity to get him here to sign him uh it was kind of a no-brainer because he he is a really good talent he's a great competitor uh and he cares about his teammates and he cares about etsu he wants to he wants to represent this place the right way and so happy for him his first game his dad's actually been able to come to his dad is a college football coach first game he's been able to come to so for him to have that kind of game in front of his dad with his brother here uh i bet his sister was here i didn't see her but had that happen in front of his family especially sanders we greatly appreciate your time again congratulations uh you and your football program my man uh your first class and uh you know continue with the best of luck as you roll through the fcs playoffs what a show you put on for everybody all over the football world today congratulations well thanks guys appreciate it appreciate the cutting words and uh we're just excited to be playing anytime you're playing after thanksgiving it's great and when you're playing with christmas decorations up you know you've had a good year we're excited to be playing now thank you thank you randy good luck all the best randy sanders he's already tried to get out of he's trying to get out of our conference call if it's you and me that's not a good sign let's look at this bracket i mean what do you think now so in the quarterfinals from the bottom part of it third seed james madness madison the sixth seed montana the seventh seed the bucks of etsu in a waiting north dakota state north coast state was up pretty handily weren't they fellas i think so it could be north dakota state that etsu gets and we'll be somewhere next week just not sure where jarrod phenomenal great job man excellent great job buddy appreciate it again uh a great job by all of our production team for uh our producer brett wielinski director tj mcginnis all of our terrific crew i'm michael regan i know you enjoyed it everybody 32 31. etsu goes to the quarterfinals with a wild win in the closing seconds so long everyone you

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 7,431

Keywords: 2021 NCAA FCS Championship Second Round, Kennesaw State, East Tennessee State

Id: NZ03krksg3o

Length: 175min 21sec (10521 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 05 2021