It was a surprise to many when Kennesaw State fired Brian Bohannon after Week 10 of last season. Bohannon had been the lone coach in the program’s 10-year history and guided a fresh team to plenty of success while the Owls were in the FCS. He had an overall record of 72-38.
On top of that, the past two seasons have been rocky for KSU as it went 3-6 in 2023 as an independent program and finished 2-10 last year in its first year in the FBS and Conference USA.
Now, Jerry Mack is leading the program after spending last year as a running backs coach in Jacksonville. He has held various offensive coaching roles for different programs and was the head coach at North Carolina Central from 2014-17 where he won three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles and was the 2016 MEAC Coach of the Year.
Kennesaw State Football’s Conference USA Title Betting Odds
Kennesaw State’s odds to win CUSA are +5000, via BetMGM.
Kennesaw State Football’s Betting Odds & Over/Under Win Total
Kennesaw State’s win total Over/Under is 3.5, with Over 3.5 at -150 and Under 3.5 at +120.
Kennesaw State Football’s 2025 Schedule
8/29 at Wake Forest
9/6 at Indiana
9/13 vs. Merrimack
9/20 vs. Arkansas State
9/27 vs. MTSU
10/9 vs. Louisiana Tech
10/21 at FIU
10/28 vs. UTEP
11/8 at New Mexico State
11/15 at Jacksonville State
11/22 vs. Missouri State
11/29 at Liberty
Bold indicates CUSA contests
Key Kennesaw State Football Returners
2024 All-CUSA 2nd Team
DB JeRico Washington Jr.
Honorable Mention
DB Tyler Hallum
Kennesaw State Football To Lean On Experienced Defense
There’s no denying the Owls struggled on both sides of the ball last season. They ranked last in the league with 16 points per game while the defense allowed 31.2 points per game. Behind some key returners, the defense should be much improved. Six of last year’s top seven tacklers will be back.
Not only do Washington and Hallum return at cornerback, but KSU also brings back its starting safeties in Milon Jones and Isaac Paul — who was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team. Antonio Stevens also joins the secondary after spending the last four seasons at Purdue and should bring valuable experience.
Donelius Johnson and Garland Benyard return at the strong and weak linebacker spots. Johnson started eight games and led the Owls with 89 tackles while Benyard started all 12 games and had 48 tackles and five tackles for loss. Both guys tallied 3.5 sacks.
Senior nose tackle Tylon Dunlap should be the key guy in the middle. He had 22 tackles and three sacks last year for the Owls. In-conference transfers Marcus Patterson (Western Kentucky) and Roderick Daniels (Liberty) should also play big roles for the defensive line.
The improvement on defense should take some pressure off of the offense. It likely won’t be trying to play from behind as often as it was last year — and a potent attack wasn’t the Owls’ identity. They only had six passing touchdowns and averaged 136 passing yards per game.
Behind Dexter Williams II, if he’s the Day 1 starting quarterback, KSU should have better success throwing the ball. Williams transferred from Georgia Southern where he didn’t see the field much but flashed plenty of potential. Williams should have some weapons on the outside with Christian Moss and Gabriel Benyard returning. The duo started a combined five games last year. They didn’t put up the biggest numbers, but the lack of a passing attack was the main culprit. I think they will do much more damage this fall.
The running back and offensive line room will primarily feature new faces. Guard JT Pennington is the only starting O-lineman returning, and the Owls lost nearly all of their rushing production. The only returnee is Alexander Diggs, who rushed for 29 yards in 2024. It’ll be interesting to see if an RB separates himself from the pack.
Kennesaw State Football Season Prediction
I don’t predict Kennesaw State to make a Cinderella run to the CUSA Championship, and making a bowl seems difficult for this rebuilding program. It’ll be exciting when KSU finds its footing, but as far as 2025 goes, I can’t see the Owls winning more than three games.
