2017 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
Program outlook
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.
Since Sep 14: L 26-27 vs Jacksonville State; L 21-24 at Missouri State; L 6-34 vs Liberty; W 44-28 at Middle Tennessee. 2-6 this season.
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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.
Kennesaw State has won 62% of its games since 2015 — 75% at home, 48% on the road.
81-49 all-time · 11 seasons · 2015–2026
Home
49-16
Away
30-32
Neutral
2-1
76%
2010s
49%
2020s
The CFP era
11 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
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Kennesaw State’s 2015–2026 record is 81-49.
Jerry Mack
Jerry Mack is in year 2. The methodology is taking shape.
Era Jerry Mack · 2025–presentPrev: Brian Bohannon (2024)OC: Mitch MilitelloPrev OC: Mitch Militello (2025)DC: Marc MattioliPrev DC: Marc Mattioli (2025)
2
years · era
Moments in Kennesaw State history
- Kennesaw State 48, Liberty 42Nov 29, 2025
- UTEP 43, Kennesaw State 35Nov 9, 2024
- Kennesaw State 27, Liberty 24Oct 23, 2024
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 year · 2026
Lost 9-42 at Tennessee
Week 3 of 2026. A reckoning loss — the data point the next season must answer.
2023–2023
Kennesaw 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 Bears
Chicago Bears
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Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 2-6
Season standing · 2026 · 2-6Kennesaw State is 2-6 — below .500 in FBS.
Below .500 in FBS play. The rebuild bar.
FBS sub-.500
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Conference USA standing · 2026
9th in the Conference USA
Kennesaw State is 9th of 10 in the Conference USA at 1-3. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on bowl access and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 4-0 |
| 2 | Liberty | 4-0 |
| 3 | Delaware | 2-2 |
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 2-2 |
| 5 | Missouri State | 2-2 |
| 6 | New Mexico State | 2-2 |
| 7 | Western Kentucky | 2-2 |
| 8 | Florida International | 1-3 |
| 9 | Kennesaw State | 1-3 |
| 10 | Sam Houston | 0-4 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Jerry Mack
- Hired Chandler Burks (interim)
- Brian Bohannon departs
- Chandler Burks departs (interim)
- Hired Brian Bohannon
Coordinator 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 · Chandler Burks (co) / Stewart Cook (co)2025 · Mitch Militello2026 · Mitch Militello
Defense2024–2026
2024 · Greg Harris2025 · Marc Mattioli2026 · 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
Recent postseason (2025): 0-1
Most recent: 2025 Myrtle Beach Bowl — loss 41-6. Last 5 postseason: 0-1.
2025 LReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
268
[Postgame Thread] Kennesaw State Defeats FIU 45-26
180
[Postgame Thread] East Tennessee State Defeats Kennesaw State 32-31
All-time top community posts
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