Kennesaw State, which entered the day on an 11-game winning streak, took on No. 3 Jacksonville State at Burgess-Snow Field in a second round matchup of the FCS Playoffs.
The Owls took the field for warm-ups in their "White Thunder" uniform combination.
A physical, hard-fought first-half battle between the two defenses forced a combined seven punts, 153 total yards and just 14 first downs over the first 30 minutes of action.
Junior RB Darnell Holland's 9-yard touchdown run with 10:29 remaining in the third quarter gave the Owls their first lead of the game and never looked back.
Junior QB Chandler Burks' 2-yard touchdown run with 14:57 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Kennesaw State a comfortable 17-7 advantage.
He became the first quarterback in Big South history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in a single season. Burks also became the Owls' first 1,000-yard rusher for a season.
Kennesaw State treks to 6th-seeded Sam Houston State for a quarterfinal matchup. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST (8:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, Dec. 9 on ESPN3.
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