Head Coach: Kennesaw State is lead by Brian Bohannon who is the program’s only head coach ever and is entering his 10th year leading this program. He has a 71-30 record which is pretty incredible considering he built the program from the ground up plus last season was a weird transition year where they redshirted a lot of players and played as an independent.
Program Outlook: This is a pretty incredible run, from just starting out to FBS in 10 years. Excitement around the Owls program has never been higher. It may seem silly but it’s a fact that their move to FBS gained more fanfare than usual because EA Sports College Football 25 is coming out and the Owls being a new program will make them a popular build in the game.
How does the 2024 Roster look?: This is the most challenging roster to figure out in the sport. If you looked at last season with a narrow lense you would instantly think this is the worst team in FBS, but context needs to be added. Kennesaw State aggressively punted on last season, shortened independent schedule and redshirted all players they felt would be key for this year. One finding was that Kennesaw State will have a pretty deep defense. They seldom gave up more than 24 points last year and they have a fun group of linebackers plus what is expected to be a good secondary. There’s some veteran experience up front too. They run a very fun pistol option offense that will be a challenge to defend when it works well. QB is a tough question, Davis Bryson is expected to be the starter, he is an electric runner but only completed 2 of 11 passes in his limited action last year. They have some weapons in RB Michael Benefield who played his games late last season and played well, Gabriel Benyard is an all utility player he’s considered a RB but he made his biggest impact through the air last year. The offensive line will mesh some experience with transfers. The Owls will be dangerous on the ground but how good the offense is will be determined by what they can get out of the passing game.
Screenshot from fbschedules.com1
2024 Schedule Thoughts: This schedule is tough. UTSA and Louisiana are both expected to contend for their conference and San Jose State is on the road. Even UT Martin will be a challenge because the Skyhawks are a FCS playoff contender. Their conference schedule will be trial by fire with some of the toughest games early, fortunately there’s a chance for some late season momentum because they have a winnable ending stretch.
Vegas Projection: Kennesaw State’s win total is set at 2.5 and the odds are even for the over and under. It’s not a huge stretch of the imagination to see them hitting the over here.
2024 Best Case: Kennesaw State finds a lot of success on offense and their defense plays great. They’re surprisingly competitive with UTSA but it gets even better when they upset Louisiana the next week. The Owls continue their flying start with a win over San Jose State, UT Martin and they even take down their rival Jacksonville State. All in all the Owls end up with a great 8-4 season in their first year in FBS. They get even luckier with a lack of bowl eligible teams so they make a bowl in their first season and take on Georgia Southern. The Owls run all over the Eagles to become the 2nd program ever to win a bowl in their first FBS season.
2024 Worst Case: Well…this could take a while. Kennesaw State isn’t ready for FBS and the Owls struggle immensely all season, they aren’t even able to beat UT Martin on their way to a winless opening season. Meanwhile Jacksonville State has yet another great year and every other program from Georgia makes a bowl.
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