Gap Down Backer.

[Soapy]

Kennesaw State's Skyler Williams II is cashing in on the checks that
head coach Bubba Mack wrote
By Lamar O'Neal
October 12, 2026

The two fumbles that Kennesaw State redshirt freshman quarterback Skyler Williams II had against Middle Tennessee is exactly why you don't start a freshman. The game-winning drive that Williams would led in the final minute is exactly why Owls head coach Bubba Mack did.

"He's just got it," Mack said of Williams after the game, "The kid is going to be a superstar."

Mack might have felt that way after Williams' second fumble but that wasn't the prevailing feeling as Williams came off the field, unbuckling his helmet as Mack trailed behind him. It was an especially bad decision for Williams, the Georgia native, who held onto the ball on a busted play that had no chance of working.

"I was just reminding him, very aggressively, to throw the ball away in that situation," Mack says with a smile, "I try to limit the cussing but the good Lord is going to have to forgive me on that one. I was pretty excited after that play, I'll leave it at that."

Williams said after the game that the sideline dust up, if you could call it that, didn't affect him as Mack went up to him a few minutes later to remind him that he still believes in him.

"I think the coaches do a good job of being hard on us but they also show support," Williams said, "I don't take it personally and I don't think of any of us do when they get mad or scream at us. It's usually because we did something wrong and they've taught us better."

The relationship between Williams and Mack is a pivotal one as Mack named Williams the starter before the season in a shocking move, beating out juniors Amari Odom, who was the backup last year, and Raheim Jeter, who the Owls brought in from the transfer portal. It was widely viewed in the offseason as a battle between Odom and Jeter with Williams being a distant thought.

It was a gamble by Mack that appears to be paying off after a shaky start where Williams had three turnovers in the Owls loss to Georgia State. Since then, Williams had thrown for three touchdowns in a win against Arkansas State, completed 71 percent of his passes against Tennessee in a ten-point loss to a top-three team in the country and started conference play with wins over Jacksonville State and Middle Tennessee, two teams the Owls lost to last year.

[Soapy]

(4-2, 2-0 C-USA) (3-3, 1-1 C-USA)
Kennesaw State Owls at Florida International Panthers
Pitbull Stadium - Sat 10/17/26, 6:45

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Team Schedule
at USF (4-2): L 52-35
vs. Buffalo (6-1): L 34-20
at Florida Atlantic (3-3): W 38-19
at UAB (3-3): W 37-30
vs. Missouri State (2-4): W 27-17
vs. Jacksonville State (4-2): L 32-30

Team Leaders
Passing: Tyler Proctor 57 cmp%, 1932 yards, 14 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Anthony Carrie 486 yards, 5.2 ypc, 2 TD
Receiving: Kyle McNeal 45 receptions, 650 yards, 3 TD
Defense: Lamont Green Jr. 26 tackles, 9 TFL, 3 sacks

Last Meeting
CFB 2025 Regular Season, Week 9 - Pitbull Stadium, Miami, Florida
(3-4, 1-2) Kennesaw State Owls 14 - 25 Florida International Panthers (4-3, 2-1)
--- QB Dexter Williams II 20-34, 171 Yds, TD, INT
--- LB Donelius Johnson 11 Tkl, TFL
--- QB Keyone Jenkins 25-44, 252 Yds
--- HB Kejon Owens 24 Car, 139 Yds, TD

Injuries
RT Jaheim Buchanon (Junior) Broken Thumb (Out)
HB Anthony Carrie (Junior) Dislocated Hip (3 weeks)
G Takaylen Muex (Freshman) Dislocated Hip (4 weeks)
G Matias Garcia (Freshman) Foot Fracture (8 weeks)

Players to Watch
WR Kyle McNeal (R-Jr) | 6′1″, 178 lbs | 75 OVR, 92 SPD, 95 ACC, 86 CTH
‣ The Owls secondary got lit up last week and nearly cost them the game. The Panthers might have lost quarterback Keyone Jenkins to the portal but they still have some good receivers, led by Kyle McNeal who is averaging over 100-yards per game this season. While McNeal has primarily been a chain mover, he has the top end speed and juice to explode for a big play which KSU has been susceptible to this season.

TE Sean Burke (So) | 6'5", 216lbs | 77 OVR, 75 SPD, 78 ACC, 77 CTH
‣ MTSU tight end Hunter Tipton was a thorn in the Owls defense side all game last week and Sean Burke is an even tougher matchup. He has seven touchdowns on the season and is a flex tight end that will primarily be used as a receiver. The Owls do get top linebacker Donelius Johnson back into the lineup which should help with covering Burke.

EDGE Lamont Green Jr. (R-So) | 6'3", 229lbs | 79 OVR, 79 SPD, 87 ACC, 89 FMV
‣ Green was certainly a big win for FIU's coaching staff in terms of keeping him out of the transfer portal and he's already paying dividends with three sacks, matching last year's total along with nine tackles for loss. Green will need to be more of a pass rusher and help out in slowing down this running game which might be where the Owls will be able to attack the lighter Green.

[redsox907]

"I think the coaches do a good job of being hard on us but they also show support," Williams said, "I don't take it personally and I don't think of any of us do when they get mad or scream at us. It's usually because we did something wrong and they've taught us better."

i.e. Soapy threw his controller after the fumble

[Soapy]

(5-2, 3-0 C-USA) (3-4, 1-2 C-USA)
CFB 2026 Regular Season, Week 7 - Pitbull Stadium, Miami, Florida

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KENN | 7 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 52
FIU | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6

‣ Welcome back, Carter! KSU linebacker Donelius Johnson had seven tackles for loss in his first game back from injury with two sacks.

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Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
Robert Czeremcha, 38 Yd FG (11:44)
Eric Weatherly 1 Yd pass from Skyler Williams (4:10)

Quarter 2
Davis Bryson 5 Yd pass from Skyler Williams (14:56)
Davis Bryson 2 Yd pass from Skyler Williams (9:46)
Erik Calvillo, 21 Yd FG (2:06)
Everett Hunter 2 Yd pass from Skyler Williams (0:15)

Quarter 3
Skyler Williams, 1 Yd run (10:35)
Kyshon Franklin Jr 5 Yd pass from Skyler Williams (0:44)

Quarter 4
Robert Czeremcha, 32 Yd FG (9:39)
Eric Weatherly 23 Yd pass from Skyler Williams (5:10)

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Player Stats
QB Skyler Williams (R-Fr): 32-47, 356 yards, 6 TD, sacked 3 times, 11 carries, 45 yards, TD
QB Tyler Proctor (R-Soph): 13-25, 131 yards
QB Ethan Houck (R-Fr): 5-6, 70 yards

HB D.J. Scott (R-Jr): 17 carries, 102 yards
HB Kyshon Franklin Jr. (Jr): 6 carries, 36 yards, 6 receptions, 55 yards, TD
HB Sterling Joseph (Soph): 18 carries, 24 yards

TE Tyrone Hoyt (Fr): 5 receptions, 70 yards
WR Davis Bryson (R-Sr): 5 receptions, 47 yards, 2 TD
WR Haskeem Nwokeji (Fr): 4 receptions, 55 yards
TE Everett Hunter (Sr): 3 receptions, 65 yards, TD
WR Eric Weatherly (R-Sr): 3 receptions, 36 yards, 2 TD
WR Kyle McNeal (R-Jr): 3 receptions, 63 yards
WR Jarriett Buie (R-Jr): 3 receptions, 60 yards

LB Donelius Johnson (Sr): 14 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
LB Thomas Durbin (Fr): 11 tackles, 5 TFL
CB Cameron Miller (R-Sr): 14 tackles, TFL
DT Su Agunloye (R-Sr): 5 tackles, 2 TFL, sack

[Soapy]

"I think the coaches do a good job of being hard on us but they also show support," Williams said, "I don't take it personally and I don't think of any of us do when they get mad or scream at us. It's usually because we did something wrong and they've taught us better."

i.e. Soapy threw his controller after the fumble

them bitches $70 a pop, can't do that anymore

[Caesar]

What's that Williams fella's dealbreaker? Any risk of him transferring for bigger ponds?

[Captain Canada]

Skylar gone nuclear once again

[Soapy]

What's that Williams fella's dealbreaker? Any risk of him transferring for bigger ponds?

Pro Potential so could get sketchy

Skylar gone nuclear once again

My boy is a stud. he had a crazy run where he broke through three tackles to get the ball to the goal line. ive been careful about using him as a runner cuz he had some wear and tear on his back (ayo) but he's healthy now

[Soapy]

(5-1, 3-0 C-USA) (5-2, 3-0 C-USA)
Liberty Flames at Kennesaw State Owls
Fifth Third Stadium, - Tue 10/20/26, 7:00

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Team Schedule
at Coastal Carolina (2-4): W 38-16
vs. FCS Southeast: W 35-20
vs. Ball State (3-4): L 35-10
vs. Delaware (2-5): W 20-17
vs. Western Kentucky (3-4): W 45-13
vs. Middle Tennessee (2-5): W 24-6

Team Leaders
Passing: Ethan Vasko 64 cmp%, 1244 yards, 7 TD, INT
Rushing: Jaylon Coleman 618 yards, 4.4 ypc, 11 TD
Receiving: Jamari Person 27 receptions, 387 yards, 3 TD
Defense: Eli Hall23 tackles, 8 TFL, 5.5 sacks

Last Meeting
CFB 2025 Regular Season, Week 14 - Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, Virginia
(6-6) Kennesaw State Owls 29 - 24 Liberty Flames (11-1)
--- QB Dexter Williams II 26-45, 322 Yds, TD, INT
--- HB Coleman Bennett 19 Car, 100 Yds, TD
--- QB Kaidon Salter 22-40, 206 Yds, 3 TD, INT
--- DT Eli Hall 6 Tkl, TFL, INT, TD


Injuries
None

Players to Watch
QB Ethan Vasko (R-Sr) | 6′3″, 221lbs | 80 OVR, 91 THP, 85 SAC, 85 MAC, 75 DAC
‣ Vasko shined in the last matchup, throwing for three touchdowns and returns as one of the better quarterbacks in the conference after surprising some folks last year. His raw numbers are down from last season, averaging just 207.3 yards per game after averaging 270 last year but that has more to do with his supporting cast than Vasko. He remains an efficient quarterback with improved mobility this season, rushing for three touchdowns and averaging 50 rushing yards per game, up from 29 last year.

DT Eli Hall (R-Sr) | 6'3", 266lbs | 80 OVR, 78 STR, 82 BSH, 88 PMV
‣ The Flames have a couple of stud defensive tackles in Bryce Dixon and Eli Hall, two of the best interior forces in the conference. Dixon has eleven tackles for lost last year and is on pace for another big season while Hall leads the team with 5.5 sacks. Hall had a pick-six on a crazy play in last year's game and is a twitched up, disruptive pass rusher that the Flames will need to account for while also accounting for Dixon.

NB Nick Cull (Sr) | 5'11", 181lbs | 76 OVR, 92 SPD, 94 ACC, 77 MCV, 77 ZCV, 67 PRESS
‣ The change in scenery has worked wonders for Ole Miss transfer Nick Cull who has started in his nickel role for the Flames. The Georgia native sparingly played for the Rebels last season but has been a big time contributor for Liberty this season with thirty-two tackles and two interceptions with a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He's a game wrecker and someone that the Owls will need to avoid, if they can.

[djp73]

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KENN | 7 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 52
FIU | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6