Wake Forest Football Opponent Preview: Kennesaw State Owls
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It's the dawn of a new era in Winston-Salem. To kick off the Jake Dickert tenure, Wake Forest hosts the Kennesaw State Owls in Week 1. Perhaps you weren't plugged in to Conference USA or conference realignment last season and didn't even realize Kennesaw State fielded a football team – no worries, that's what we're here for. Below, find a full rundown of Kennesaw State for the 2025 football season so you can drop some Owls knowledge at the water cooler in August.
Wake Forest hosts Kennesaw State on Friday, August 29, to open the 2025 college football season. Catch the game at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium or on ACC Network.
We're nearing kickoff for the 2025 college football season and that means tune in every week with Wake Forest on SI for an extensive preview on every foe the Demon Deacons will play this season.
Kennesaw State Football History
You don't have to turn the page back very far to get to Chapter 1 of the Kennesaw State football story. The football program joined the Big South (FCS) and began play in 2015 under head coach Brian Bohannon. The Owls' gridiron debut came with a 56-16 whalloping of East Tennessee State and Bohannon led them to a first-year winning record.
Fast forward eight years, three conference championships, and four FCS Playoff berths later, and Kennesaw State made the jump from FCS to FBS, becoming its 134th member. Bohannon led Kennesaw State to a 5-6 record in 2023 as an FCS independent as many of its players took an intentional redshirt to preserve eligibility in the FBS.
The return of those players made little difference as the Owls finished 2-10 in their first year with CUSA. One of those wins was a truly stunning 27-24 win over unbeaten Liberty on national TV. In a seeming moment of haste, the athletic department parted ways with Bohannon and a large portion of the roster and coaching staff went with him.
2025 Kennesaw State Football At A Glance
- Name: Kennesaw State Owls
- Stadium: Fifth Third Stadium, Kennesaw, GA (capacity: 10,200)
- Head coach: Jerry Mack (1st season)
- Offensive coordinator: Mitch Militello
- Defensive coordinator: Marc Mattioli
- 2024 record: 2-10 (2-6 Conference USA)
Kennesaw State Football In 2024: A Rough Transition
It took until nearly Halloween for Kennesaw State to notch their first win as an FBS team. Their best opportunity before then came in Week 5 against still-FCS UT-Martin, but the Owls dropped that contest to the playoff-bound Skyhawks, 24-13. That first win came in the most unlikely game – as 26.5-point underdogs at home against the previously-unbeaten Liberty Flames. The best part for Kennesaw State–and equally worst part for Liberty–is that the game was broadcast nationally on CBSSN.
The Owls entered that game with a 114-point deficit and mustered just five points against Middle Tennessee State. But that game turned things around, at least for a time.
Kennesaw State lost by 17 the following week to Western Kentucky in a major letdown spot, but took UTEP and 10-win Sam Houston State to overtime each of the next two weeks; Kennesaw State nearly plucked Sam Houston in a wild back-and-forth endeavor. Following those two close losses, the Owls beat FIU before getting walloped 33-0 by Louisiana Tech to close the season at 2-10.
The overtime loss to UTEP wasn't convincing enough to keep Bohannon around. He and the program "parted ways" in a he-said, she-said feud that resulted in a pretty ugly breakup. It was a disappointing hole in the sail of the ship that appeared to be pointed in the right direction.
Alas, Kennesaw State moves on.
Kennesaw State Owls Offense Preview
The lineup turnover was so severe offensively that I had to dig up a three-year-old camp picture of a player two schools ago to find a relevant face. Indiana transfer (by way of Georgia Southern) Dexter Williams II comes to town, as does Kent State transfer Tommy Uliatowski, to compete for the starting QB gig this fall. Williams appears to be the leader in the clubhouse and presents a bigger upside with a decent enough rushing threat. But Williams–despite being valued as a high-three star recruit in 2020–played in just nine career games. Uliatowski got work for the Golden Flashes last year, starting seven games.
Sadly, Kennesaw State abandoned its modern triple option offense with the departure of OC Grant Chesnut in 2023 (who took his talents to Navy for a brief time). New OC Mitch Militello comes from UCF and Missouri and plans to introduce the Veer-n-Shoot to Kennesaw.
The weapons are few and far between with this turned-over roster. Former QB Davis Bryson now works as a receiver and presents a good athletic and rushing threat, should Militello choose to utilize him in the slot. Not that Kennesaw aired the ball out very often last year, but the receiving corps looks to replace its top three pass catchers (note: none went for over 300 yards). The real concern is losing the backfield, replacing production with Rice transfer Coleman Bennett (appeared in two games last year).
Three transfers likely get the start along the offensive line: Brandon Best (Georgia Tech), Elijah Zollicoffer (Arkansas State), and Jadarious Lee (FIU). All three constitute returning FBS starters and the size up front is decent.
The offense has almost no proven assets. That can work in one of two ways: (a) previously-unknown players rise to the top in dramatic fashion or–more likely–(b) this offense is going to be a mess in 2025.
Kennesaw State Owls Defense Preview
Generously, the offense returns three FBS starters, zero from last year's team. Relatively speaking, Kennesaw State's defense fares much better. Eight FBS starters return to this team this year, including six from a defense that was, at times, pretty darn good last year. Two All-Conference USA selections return at corner, JeRico Washington and Tyler Hallum. The two combined for 16 pass breakups and the two returning linebackers, Donelius Johnson and Garland Benyard (brother of WR Gabriel), combined for seven sacks.
OK, so the season-long composite numbers don't necessarily agree with "pretty darn good." The Owls finished 118th in opposing passer rating and 84th in points per drive allowed. But there were flashes of pretty darn good – Kennesaw State held four opponents under 3.0 yards per carry and six opponents under 30 points. For a team that finished 2-10 and 133rd out of 134 teams in power rating, that's a positive.
The secondary was and will continue to be disruptive. Returning Owl starter Milon Jones and Purdue transfer Antonio Stevens (10 starts for the Boilermakers) should add up to one of the better secondaries in CUSA. Johnson and Benyard are CUSA's best linebacking duo. Up front, there's questions and this unit is severely undersized.
If we're comparing offense to defense, there's way to more to like about the stop unit. There's a lot to like about the cast of opposing offenses, too – six foes turn over at offensive coordinator and teams like New Mexico State and FIU will be fighting for bottom-five offensive positioning.
Wins this season look more like last year's wins: 27-24, 26-25, and the likes. If I had to make a proclamation about this team, it's that it won't win a game allowing 28 or more points in 2025.
Best Case Scenario For Kennesaw State
While Bohannon's departure was met with a lot of pushback, most accounts laud the hire of head coach Jerry Mack. Mack comes from the Jaguars but coached NC Central for four seasons, going 31-15 and led the Eagles to three straight MEAC titles and the 2016 Celebration Bowl. Mack's coordinator hires are certainly outside box–defensive coordinator Marc Mattioli comes from the European Football League–but they both were hired with purpose.
Realistically, four wins this season would be big success. Kennesaw State isn't projected to be favored in any FBS game this fall based on preseason numbers. Its tilt against FCS Merrimack (who finished 61st last year), Kennesaw doesn't project to be favored by a touchdown. There's opportunity at New Mexico State and against Middle Tennessee, both projected toss-ups.
I'm really scratching to find optimism for this team in 2025. They'll be alright defensively by Conference USA standards but there's significant concern surrounding the offense.
Especially in Week 1, Kennesaw State doesn't pose much a threat to Wake Forest (famous last words, right?). The Demon Deacons are favored by 17.5 points in the Friday night tilt.
Worst Case Scenario For Kennesaw State
There's a very real possibility that firing Bohannon was a critical error. After all, he established the program and won 12 games by Year 3. After those first two seasons–the latter of which Kennesaw went 8-3–Bohannon led the Owls on a 49-10 run (.831 win percentage)! Kennesaw left the Big South for the ASUN and went 5-6. One losing season separated that and their 2-10 FBS debut.
The bottom line is, Bohannon had a proven good thing going and the firing could be a serious mistake.
Williams always seem to project upside at QB, but nine total games played in five seasons is concerning. Uliatowski was fine but, like this year, didn't have much help around him and Kent State went 1-23 in his two seasons there (not his fault). The Owls couldn't run the football last year and there's no injection of talent to suggest they'll be able to this year.
The defense has the talent to be a strong unit, but I don't trust a first-year FBS coordinator from Paris, especially since defensive systems generally take two years to install.
If it weren't for another historically-bad season potentially inbound from Kent State, Kennesaw State would be looking at the absolute bottom of the FBS. Worst case scenario is 1-11 and the general Kennesaw populous being very upset about the Bohannon firing.
2025 Kennesaw State Owls Schedule
Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
Aug. 29 (FRI) | at Wake Forest |
Sept. 6 | at Indiana |
Sept. 13 | Merrimack (FCS) |
Sept. 20 | Arkansas State |
Sept. 27 | Middle Tennessee State |
Oct. 4 | BYE |
Oct. 9 (THU) | Louisiana Tech |
Oct. 18 | BYE |
Oct. 21 (TUE) | at FIU |
Oct. 28 (TUE) | UTEP |
Nov. 8 | at New Mexico State |
Nov. 15 | at Jacksonville State |
Nov. 22 | Missouri State |
Nov. 29 | at Liberty |
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Brett is the ultimate college football traveler, currently en route to experience a game day at every FBS stadium. He is a former Division I recruiter at Bowling Green and Texas State, and his writing background includes analyzing NCAA betting markets. Also a high school football coach, Brett lives and dies by the gridiron. Follow along on all socials: @ roadtocfb.