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12 hours ago
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As the seconds wound down, Jerry Mack stood on the soaked turf at Fifth Third Stadium, surrounded by his players, drenched fans, and a decade of the program’s history washing over one moment.
Kennesaw State played its first ever college football game in 2015 and are now headed to a bowl in 2025.
“Ten years from now, whenever we come back, this 2025 Kennesaw State team will be the first bowl-eligible team in the history of the program,” Mack said. “You can’t ever take that away from us.”
The Owls defeated UTEP 33-20 on Friday night to improve to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in Conference USA, earning the program’s first-ever FBS bowl berth — and doing it in their first season eligible for postseason play.
Last year, Kennesaw State competed in Conference USA but was still in its transition from the FCS ranks, making the program ineligible for a bowl. The Owls finished 2-10 in 2024, enduring growing pains that set the stage for one of college football’s fastest turnarounds.
“It was raining, it was colder than normal out there,” Mack said. “Those guys stayed all the way to the end. Our student section, our fans, it was still a packed house. You just don’t understand how much that means to our program.”
Kennesaw State’s offense sputtered early, prompting Mack to turn to Amari Odom at halftime. The sophomore quarterback responded with 86 passing yards and a rushing touchdown, while Chase Belcher powered the ground game with 113 yards and a score as the Owls rolled up 150 rushing yards.
“We couldn’t get in a rhythm more than anything else,” Mack explained. “We felt like Amari could give us a spark. He wasn’t 100 percent going in, but you do what’s best for your team.”
As it has all season, the Owls’ defense and special teams did the heavy lifting. Joshua Huiet averaged more than 40 yards per punt and twice pinned UTEP inside its own 10-yard line — one leading directly to a safety. The Owls also scored on a fumble return.
“I’m a coach that plays the field-position game,” Mack said. “It’s hard for me to believe anybody can consistently go 95 yards on our defense. That safety and the punt return changed the whole feel of the game...This group right here — they’ve earned everything…When you go from 2-10 to 6-2 in back-to-back years of FBS football, that’s not luck. That’s belief, depth, and hard work,” he said.
And even as Kennesaw State celebrated its first-ever bowl season, Mack’s message stayed grounded.
“We’ve still got meat on the bone,” he said. “We’re undefeated in the conference. Being bowl eligible was the first goal, now we want to keep stacking wins. There’s no reason we can’t compete for a conference championship.”
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