Coaching Era · Kennesaw State2017 FCS Playoff upset of Jacksonville State
In just its third season of existence, an unseeded Kennesaw State team upsets third-ranked Jacksonville State in the FCS Playoffs
Kennesaw State
1-1Conference USA · Jerry Mack, year 2 (11-5) · Fifth Third Stadium · 11,040 · 11,040 avg in 2026
The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#126 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #95 (-7.4) · FPI #114
The marketTennessee by 35.5at Tennessee · our model 7% Kennesaw State · a number, not a pick
LastL 17–31 vs Georgia State · Sat Sep 12 · Rickie Collins 260 pass yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Nextat Tennessee · Sat Sep 19 · 7:45 pm ET · Neyland Stadium · Tennessee by 35.5 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
The CFP Era
10 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
TRAJECTORY · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program Quality
AP Rank (inverted)
CFP Appearance
Kennesaw State's 2015–2025 record is 79-43. The era is still being written; the CFP line is the one the program is arguing for.
Program outlook
Kennesaw State played its first football game in 2015. Ten years later, it fired its only-ever head coach mid-season, hired his replacement, and won a conference championship the very next year.
Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs
There was no Kennesaw State football before 2015. Brian Bohannon built the program from that starting point into a real FCS power — 62 wins against 18 losses across seven seasons, four FCS Playoff trips, three Big South titles — including a moment that still gets told at Owls tailgates: in just the program's third year of existence, an unseeded Kennesaw State team upset third-ranked Jacksonville State in the FCS Playoffs.
The move to the FBS in 2024 was brutal. A 2-10 debut season bottomed out at 1-8 after a double-overtime loss to UTEP, and the university fired Bohannon the next day — the first coaching change in program history. Jerry Mack took over that December, and what happened next is one of the fastest turnarounds college football has seen in years: a 9-3 record in 2025, 7-1 in Conference USA, CUSA Coach of the Year honors, and a 19-15 win over Jacksonville State in the conference title game — the same program Kennesaw State had upset in the FCS playoffs eight years earlier, in a rematch of a regular-season meeting.
Then the Myrtle Beach Bowl happened: Western Michigan 41, Kennesaw State 6. A jarring gut-check right after the biggest win in program history, and a real question mark heading into 2026 for a program that just signed Mack to a six-year extension after Tulane came calling. Worst-to-first is a real story either way — the bowl score is just the reminder that the story isn't finished being written.
On the field
A program still discovering its FBS-level identity — Jerry Mack's 2025 turnaround was built on a completely reshaped roster installed in waves through spring practice and the summer, with the on-field system still being proven against a full slate of Conference USA competition.
All-time record · Kennesaw State
Kennesaw State has won 65% of its games since 2015 — 78% at home, 50% on the road.
80-44 all-time · 11 seasons · 2015–2026
Home
49-14
Away
29-29
Neutral
2-1
76%
2010s
52%
2020s
Coaching Era · Kennesaw State
Jerry Mack
Jerry Mack in year 2 of the rebuild. The methodology is taking shape.
Era Jerry Mack · 2025–presentPrev: Chandler Burks (2024)OC: Mitch MilitelloPrev OC: co-Chandler Burks / co-Stewart Cook (2024)DC: Marc MattioliPrev DC: Greg Harris (2024)
2
years · era
Program memory
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2024
Bohannon fired at 1-8
The program's only-ever head coach is dismissed the day after a double-overtime loss to UTEP drops Kennesaw State to 1-8 in its first FBS season
Wound
2025 Conference USA Championship
Kennesaw State beats Jacksonville State 19-15 to complete a worst-to-first turnaround from 2-10 the year before
2025
Myrtle Beach Bowl blowout loss
Western Michigan routs Kennesaw State 41-6, a jarring comedown immediately after the CUSA title
Heartbreak
Moment of the season — so far · Kennesaw State · 2026
Moment of the season — so far · Kennesaw State · 2026Won 47-0 vs West Georgia
Week 1 of 2026. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.
NFL Draft Pipeline
2023–2023
NFL Draft PipelineKennesaw State has sent 1 player to the NFL Draft since 2023 — none in the first round.
Thin. Roster development still maturing.
1
picks · 0 in round 1
#218
Travis Bell
Defensive Tackle · 2023 · Chicago
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Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 1-1
Season standing · 2026 · 1-1Kennesaw State is 1-1 and unranked in the season's first weeks.
Even or better through the season's first weeks. The resume is still forming.
FBS competitive
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Jerry Mack
- Hired Chandler Burks (interim)
- Brian Bohannon departs
- Chandler Burks departs (interim)
- Hired Brian Bohannon
Coordinator lineage
Unit lineage
Kennesaw State’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2024–2026
2024 · co-Chandler Burks / co-Stewart Cook2025–2026 · Mitch Militello
Defense2024–2026
2024 · Greg Harris2025–2026 · Marc Mattioli
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
The Worst-to-First Turnaround (2024-2025)
since 2024
more
Kennesaw State fired founding head coach Brian Bohannon the day after dropping to 1-8 in a double-overtime loss to UTEP during its rocky first FBS season (finishing 2-10). Jerry Mack was hired that December, and in his first season, 2025, the Owls went 9-3 (7-1 CUSA), won Conference USA Coach of the Year, and beat Jacksonville State 19-15 in the CUSA Championship Game -- before a 41-6 Myrtle Beach Bowl loss to Western Michigan closed the season at 10-4.
The Brian Bohannon FCS Era (2015-2024)
since 2015
more
Brian Bohannon was the program's first-ever head coach, building a 62-18 record across the Owls' first seven FCS seasons (2015-2021), four FCS Playoff appearances, and three Big South Championships (2017, 2018, 2021). In 2017 -- just the program's third season of existence -- an unseeded Kennesaw State team upset third-ranked Jacksonville State in the FCS Playoffs.
Cultural identity
Bowls
Bowl / Postseason Ledger
Bowl / Postseason LedgerRecent postseason (2025): 0-1
Most recent: 2025 — loss 41-6 (away). Last 5 postseason: 0-1.
2025
Reddit blowups
r/cfb moments
268
[Postgame Thread] Kennesaw State Defeats FIU 45-26
180
[Postgame Thread] East Tennessee State Defeats Kennesaw State 32-31
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