Gap Down Backer.

[Soapy]

(5-6, 3-4 C-USA) (11-0, 7-0 C-USA)
Kennesaw State Owls at #24 Liberty Flames
Williams Stadium - Sat 11/29/25, 12:00

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Team Schedule
vs. Maine (FCS): W 31-28
at Jacksonville State (3-8): W 20-10
at Bowling Green (5-6): W 27-0
vs. James Madison (8-3): W 35-30
at Old Dominion (4-7): W 33-21
at UTEP (6-5): W 44-7
vs. New Mexico State (4-7): W 28-27
vs. Delaware (4-7): W 28-20
vs. Missouri State (4-7): W 31-22
at Florida International (6-5): W 30-20
at Louisiana Tech (2-9): W 38-10

Team Leaders
Passing: Ethan Vasko 63 cmp%, 3036 yards, 23 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Julian Gray 551 yards, 4.2 ypc, 5 TD
Receiving: Reese Smith 69 receptions, 1039 yards, 6 TD
Defense: Joseph Carter 86 tackles, 9 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 3 INT, 7 PBU

Last Meeting
CFB 2024 Regular Season, Week 7 - Fifth Third Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia
(5-1) Liberty Flames 24 - 27 Kennesaw State Owls (1-6)
--- QB Kaidon Salter 22-40, 206 Yds, 3 TD, INT
--- LB Joseph Carter 11 Tkl, 3 TFL
--- QB Davis Bryson 16-20, 189 Yds, TD
--- CB Tyler Hallum 6 Tkl, INT, 3 PBU


Injuries
DT Mikes Jones (Senior) Torn Labrum (2 weeks)

Players to Watch
QB Ethan Vasko (R-Jr) | 6′3″, 220lbs | 77 OVR, 91 THP, 81 SAC, 81 MAC, 71 DAC
‣ Vasko had big shoes to fill with the departure of Kaidon Salter, who started the better part of the last three seasons. He replaced Grayson McCall at Coastal Carolina and was no stranger to this task and he's knocked it out of the park, leading the Flames to an undefeated season and on the brink of making their playoff debut. Vasko doesn't wow you with any of his physical attributes but his decision making and his low turnover rate has made him special.

WR Reese Smith (R-Sr) | 5′10″, 205lbs | 83 OVR, 88 SPD, 92 ACC, 89 CTH
‣ After dealing with injuries in the last two seasons, including missing all of 2023, the former West Virginia transfer has been one of the better receivers in the conference. He should draw the matchup against Jerico Washington Jr. which would be one of the best matchups of the season for both players. Smith has been uber productive with 1,039 yards on the season and is averaging fifteen yards per reception so he's just not a possession receiver as he does have a 90-yard touchdown on the year.

LB Joseph Carter (Sr) | 6′0″, 235lbs | 85 OVR, 81 SPD, 89 TKL, 77 ZCV
‣ Carter is a sideline-to-sideline linebacker with no clear weakness in his game as he's equally equipped to stop the run as he is to patrol the middle of the field. He's stuffed the stat sheet with his versatility with sixty-three tackles, nine tackles for loss, three interceptions and seven pass breakups.

[Soapy]

redsox907 Captain Canada Caesar The JZA YaBoyRobRoy Google[Bot] djp73 Count

Will be streaming the game on 7/30/2025 7pm EST.
https://www.youtube.com/@dynastysportsgaming/streams

[James]

Damn getting even get mentioned. What am I? Chopped liver?

[Soapy]

Damn getting even get mentioned. What am I? Chopped liver?

i went by folks that commented on the last page

now why you aint on there

[James]

I'm here now!

[YaBoyRobRoy]

I’ll be at work but I’ll be with you in spirit

[Captain Canada]

11-0 away game? Them boys gon' have you tooted up. I'll be there for the stream

[Google[Bot]]

salter bouta wax datass

[Soapy]

I'm here now!

owls nation, let's ride.

I’ll be at work but I’ll be with you in spirit

hoot hoot

11-0 away game? Them boys gon' have you tooted up. I'll be there for the stream

salter bouta wax datass

Salter not on the team, my boy

[Soapy]

Projecting Kennesaw State's odds at keeping their top players ahead of Transfer Portal SZN
KingHootMan -- KSUOwlHowl.com Football Contributor

As soon as the final whistle blows in Kennesaw State's regular season finale on the road against Liberty, the most important part of the offseason period will begin, especially for program like Kennesaw State: the retention period.

Even if Kennesaw State upsets Liberty and qualifies for a bowl, the focus for the next few weeks for the Owls coaching staff will be convincing (read: paying) their top players to not enter the transfer portal. For a team that is losing its starting quarterback, leading rusher, top three receivers and tight end on offense, a mass exodus in the portal is the last thing that head coach Bubba Mack and the rest of his team needs right now as they look to gain momentum from a promising season.

Here are the top players with eligibility remaining on the roster and Kennesaw State's odds on keeping them

CB Jerico Washington Jr.
Class Rs Sophomore
Hometown Atlanta, Georgia
2025 Season Stats 49 tackles, 4 INT, 11 PBU
Portal Odds Likely

Mack and Co. were able to keep Washington home last year when they took over as the All-Conference selection certainly would have had interest in the portal had he entered following the firing of the coaching staff. It's hard to see Mack being able to convince Washington to stay at Kennesaw State as he could garner some legitimate Power 4 buzz following another standout season that is certainly All-Conference worthy.

This would be a tough loss and something that the staff should spend resources on trying to keep him (read: money) but the price tag may just get too high on a player in Washington that could very well be playing for a playoff contender by this time next year.

The potential replacements aren't clear and probably not on the roster as the Owls are losing their next two starting corners to graduation but a name to watch in the spring would be cornerback Devin Ross, whose played in all eleven games this year and has racked up eighteen tackles with a pass breakup.

LB Donelius Johnson
Class Rs Junior
Hometown Patterson, Georgia
2025 Season Stats 90 tackles, 12 TFL, FF
Portal Odds Toss Up

Johnson has just a year of eligibility so he could ultimately decide to want to play his final season at a more premier program, even if its not at the Power 4 level. The reason why a return to Kennesaw is more likely for Johnson than Washington, who are arguably the best players on the team, is that Johnson's pro prospects might not be that of Washington.

He's a bit undersized at linebacker at six-foot and 220 pounds and with just one year left of college football, he also could, alternatively, decide to just finish it out as Kennesaw where it all started with him and his brother, Danarius. The coaching staff has spoken very highly of Johnson and he'll be a priority, especially if Washington ends up leaving (read: more money left for them to spend on Johnson).

S Isaac Paul
Class Rs Sophomore
Hometown Panama City, Florida
2025 Season Stats 53 tackles, INT, PBU
Portal Odds Two and Possible

You've always got to keep an eye on out of state players like Paul, even if he is from the panhandle of Florida which is more Georgia/Bama than true Florida. He's started every game for the Owls this season at safety and has been one of their better players.

A jump up in competition could be in order for Paul but, unlike Washington and Johnson, the only question is how much of a market would there be for Paul? He's likely looking at another C-USA/Sun Belt level program or potentially being a depth piece in the American Athletic Conference. I think if the Owls want to keep (read: pay) Paul, he comes back but if he decides to test the portal, I'm not sure what the appetite would be for the Owls to spend money on a player that they might be able to upgrade from themselves in the portal if the price tag gets too high.

EDGE Marcus Patterson
Class Rs Junior
Hometown Crestview, Florida
2025 Season Stats 38 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, FF
Portal Odds Unlikely

Ignoring everything I said about Paul and Florida players, Patterson is probably returning for his senior season with the Owls. Unlike Paul, Patterson was recruited by this coaching staff and came to Kennesaw State, from Western Kentucky, to play for this coaching staff.

He probably doesn't want to make another lateral move within the conference, like he did going from WKU to KSU, and hasn't shown enough to garner a potential promotion to the AAC and should be back at Kennesaw State where he'll be counted on to be one of the leaders of the defense next year.

WR Javon Rogers
Class Sophomore
Hometown Montevallo, Alabama
2025 Season Stats 24 receptions, 320 yards, 4 TD
Portal Odds Likely

The first and only offensive player on this list, which highlights just how senior laden this year's offense was (except for the offensive line), Rogers has been the best non-senior receiver on the team with solid production as WR4 and saw some starter level snaps when Gabriel Benyard missed time with an injury.

The quarterback situation for next season isn't clear for the Owls which could make Rogers consider entering the portal. If they are able to make it to a bowl game, that would be another game where Amari Odom could potentially play and not only answer question for Rogers and the receivers on the roster about next year's outlook but for other portal receivers.