Kennesaw St. wins third straight game, 24-16 over Middle Tennessee

Audio By Carbonatix

KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Amari Odom threw two touchdowns, and Chase Belcher, Gerard Bullock Jr., and Gabriel Benyard each recorded receiving touchdowns in the first quarter in Kennesaw State’s 24-16 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday night.

Bullock Jr. caught a 13-yard pass to open the scoring, and Belcher followed it up with a 53-yard touchdown. Benyard caught a 29-yard pass to go up 21-3. Kennesaw State didn't score again until the fourth quarter, off a 39-yard field goal from Daniel Kinney.

Odom was 11 for 17 with 162 yards. He left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury to his throwing shoulder.

Jekail Middlebrook had two rushing touchdowns for Middle Tennessee (1-4, 0-1 Conference USA). He ran for a 109 yards on 20 attempts.

Nicholas Vattiano went 28 for 42 with 285 yards and one interception.

Kennesaw State (3-2, 1-0 C-USA) has won three straight games, and its first Conference USA opening win since 2022.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football