Gap Down Backer.

[redsox907]

this man guaranteed to be better than 2-10 and barely squeaked by FCS

Ignore the fact that I gave up 27 points in S1 with Coastal to FCS

Indiana was rough, but that's the best team you're going to play the rest of the year. C-USA is a different animal, gotta start stacking the winnable games

[Captain Canada]

Struggling against an FCS school isn't ideal, but this first season seems like its going to be one hell of a grind

[Soapy]

here we gooo... but brah gotta fix ur images

might be on your end, loc, they're coming up fine on my side.

this man guaranteed to be better than 2-10 and barely squeaked by FCS

Ignore the fact that I gave up 27 points in S1 with Coastal to FCS

Indiana was rough, but that's the best team you're going to play the rest of the year. C-USA is a different animal, gotta start stacking the winnable games

We're already halfway to matching our record

Struggling against an FCS school isn't ideal, but this first season seems like its going to be one hell of a grind

idk what the offensive line was on that game. We ran well against Wake Forest and even against Indiana, we just didn't run as much as we wanted to but for some reason them boys at Merrimack was beating our blocks off the snap

[Count]

lmao Indiana gave you the business

[Soapy]

Owls on the Prowl: Coach Mack gets his first win, recruiting heats up, conference play nears
You always remember your first one and Kennesaw State head coach Bubba Mack had plenty of takeaways from his first ever win as a head coach as the Owls beat the Merrimack Warriors to improve their record to 1-2. The Owls are still searching for their first FBS win of the season and they'll get a chance to do that with three straight home games coming up, including the C-USA opener against Middle Tennessee State in two weeks.

• The Good
  Despite being a senior and having experience at the Power 4 level, Dexter Williams II was not guaranteed to be Kennesaw State's starters and there were plenty of chatter around whether or not redshirt sophomore Amari Odom might have more upside and eventually overtake him.
  
  It's still early but through three games, Williams II has played well enough to quiet those talks and firmly established himself as not just the starter at quarterback but arguably Kennesaw State's best player, something that Coach Mack spoke on.
  
  "I think Dexter [Williams] has been great for us," Mack told 107.5 The Fan after the game, "He's continuing to get better and as a team and coaching staff, we have to continue to put together the right pieces around him to put him in situations for him to succeed. He's a great kid, great family, we're excited about how he's going to play this year."
  -
• The Bad
  The Owls put together just 269 yards of total offense, averaging 4.1 yards per play and on the ground, it was even worse. The Owls ran the ball 39 times for just 74 yards, less than two yards per carry. Against Wake Forest, they averaged 3.9 yards per carry and then averaged 2.4 yards per carry against Indiana. The running game is trending in the wrong direction as they head into the teeth of their schedule, a trend they'll need to flip if they want to find some success.
  
  "The guys know they need to get better," Mack said of the running game, "We have the right guys in the locker room and on the field to be a team averaging [150-175] yards per game on the ground. I know that, I know we can accomplish that but we have to do it."
  
  Arkansas State, Kennesaw State's next opponent, gave up 3.2 yards per carry against Iowa State and 3.4 against Arkansas so it'll be a good test to see if the Owls can get this running game back on track.
  -
• The Bleep That Gets You Beat
  Another game, another slow start for the Owls. They had the talent advantage this time around and was able to dig themselves out of it and get the win but it was some nervous faces in the stands and probably on the sidelines.
  
  The Owls have yet to score in the first quarter this season, a trend that is turning into their M.O. after they failed to get on the board against a Merrimack team that clearly was outmatched. Even in the loss to Arkansas, the Red Wolves scored fourteen first quarter points and got points on the board against Iowa State as well in that first quarter. Kennesaw State cannot afford another slow start, not against this Red Wolves team which has shown the ability to get off the ground running.

Owls receive Crystal Balls for three offensive prospects
Kennesaw State seems poised to land their first commitment of the 2027 recruiting class with 247 Sports writers logging in Crystal Balls in their favor for 3-star quarterback Lynn Landolt (Jacksonville, Fl.), 3-star receiver Hasheem Nwokeji (Moultrie, Ga.) and 2-star tight end Tyrone Hoyt (Powder Springs, Ga.).

It's too early for congratulations to be in order but by comparison, Kennesaw State signed four high school athletes last season that were ranked as three-stars. If Mack's staff is able to close the deal on Landolt, who is considering Wake Forest, he'd be the highest ranked high school quarterback signed in the program history. The Owls are also recruiting Landolt's teammate at The Bolles School in three-star defensive tackle Tobias Singleton.

The focus on northern Florida and the state of Georgia has been evident in the Owls early recruiting efforts under Mack. Among the fourteen players that posted official offers from the Owls on their social media pages, ten were from the state of Georgia. The other two, outside of Landolt and Singleton, are from South Florida in cornerbacks Garret Flood (Miami, Fl.) and Jacques Ahmed (Hollywood, Fl.)

Up Next: Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee State, Louisiana Tech
While the games against Wake Forest and Indiana were interesting measuring stick games, the success of Kennesaw State's first season under Coach Mack will largely depend on how the next few games go. Arkansas State isn't a conference game but its certainly going to feel like one for fans and neutral observers in trying to gauge just how good this team is and if the four-wins goal is feasible, doubling their total from last year.

They then open C-USA play against MTSU, at home, and then one more home game against Louisiana Tech on Thursday night against a Bulldogs team that beat them 33-0 last year in the season finale. There's also two byes in three weeks between the MTSU game and LA Tech and then another bye week after that before they go into the final, likely decisive six game stretch to end the season, which features four road games.

If the Owls are going to make it to four wins, they need to avoid going winless in this stretch and allow themselves some wiggle room for that six-game run where going .500 would be a solid record.

[Soapy]

lmao Indiana gave you the business

they're a sneaky team, might be a fun team to play with on CFB 26

[Count]

I dunno if you can call a team coming off a CFP appearance “sneaky”

[Agent]

Yall bullied this man into reverting to his previous layout

[Soapy]

I dunno if you can call a team coming off a CFP appearance “sneaky”

Yeah but I don't know if people view them as one of the top teams like that

Yall bullied this man into reverting to his previous layout

told me i fell off, i needed that

[Soapy]

(1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) (1-2, 0-0 C-USA)
Arkansas State Red Wolves at Kennesaw State Owls
Fifth Third Stadium - Sat 9/20/25, 12:00

---

Arkansas State Team Schedule

DATE	OPP	RESULT
8/30/2025		W 62-27
9/06/2025		L 45-27
9/13/2025		L 42-13

	2025 Team Stats
34	Pts/G	22
273	Pass Yds	253
94.7	Rush Yds	102.3
38	Opp Pts/G	29.7
332.7	Opp Pass Yds	174
92	Opp Rush Yds	177.3

	2025 Team Leaders
Jaylen Raynor 61 cmp%, 819 Yds, 10 TD, INT	Passing	Dexter Williams II 57 cmp%, 759 Yds, 5 TD, 3 INT
Kenyon Clay 27 car, 143 Yds, 2 TD	Rushing	Coleman Bennett 70 car, 243 Yds, 2 TD
Hunter Summers 21 rec, 269 Yds, 6 TD	Receiving	Tykeem Wallace 15 rec, 147 Yds
Marcus Bradley 9 tkl, 4 TFL, 2.5 sacks	Defense	Adam Watkins 15 tkl, 4 TFL, 3.5 sacks

Team	Player	Injury
	C Gabe Fortson (Sophomore)	Pulled Groin (2 weeks)

Last Meeting
First program matchup

Players to Watch
QB Jaylen Raynor (Jr) | 6'0", 201lbs | 81 ovr, 89 thp, 84 sac, 80 mac, 83 dac
‣ Don't let the record and blowout losses to Arkansas and Iowa State fool you, Arkansas State is a formidable opponent and closer to Wake Forest in terms of talent level than the historical branding would suggest.

It all starts with quarterback Jaylen Raynor, who threw four touchdowns in the loss to Arkansas and isn't afraid of pushing the ball down the field, connecting for a 74-yard touchdown against Iowa State. He's athletic, elusive and is at his best when he's making things happen in the backfield. The Owls defense has struggled to finish off quarterback pressures and turning them into sack and Raynor might be the most athletic quarterback they've faced thus far. He might be due for a big game.

HB Kenyon Clay (Rs Jr) | 6'1", 220lbs | 83 ovr, 86 spd, 89 acc, 77 btk HB Ja'Quezz Cross (Rs Sr) | 5'9", 197lbs | 83 ovr, 90 spd, 93 acc, 88 cod
‣ Pick your poison with this duo as Kenyon Clay is your traditional elusive bruiser with enough top end speed to break away with a long run if you let him get going while Ja'Quezz Cross will get the ball in a variety of ways, capable of scoring from anywhere on the field.

They should get plenty of snaps and touches against a Kennesaw State defense that struggled to stop the run against Merrimack, an FCS opponent. Indiana also had success running the ball and while the Red Wolves don't have the type of firepower, they should hold the talent edge at the line of scrimmage and be able to create openings for their pair of talented running backs.

LB JaVante Mackey (Rs So) | 6'1", 222lbs | 79 ovr, 78 spd, 86 prc, 88 tkl
‣ The Owls best chance at winning this game might be a ball control offense that squeezes the game and helps limit the explosiveness of the other team's offense. In order to do that, the Owls need to run the ball and the Red Wolves best front seven player might be JaVante Mackey.

Mackey returned to Arkansas State this past offseason after spending an injury plagued season with the Memphis Tigers last year. He's led Arkansas State in tackles every game this year and had eight tackles against Arkansas.

He's not as effective in coverage so the Owls could choose to challenge him in that manner but if they have any shot at winning this game, the running game needs to come back online.