Despite only suffering a few quality losses in their regular season and winning the Conference USA Championship, the Kennesaw State Owls got next to no love for their 2025 story. When combining that with their unsightly bowl performance, their drive to make another splash this upcoming season has to be mighty strong.
However, if no one has followed them this far, I see no reason to assume that anyone is now. It was with that in mind that I took the liberty to find out who stands in their way of glory in 2026, and I must say: There isn’t much.
With a non-conference slate that is primarily limp and just a few league opponents that hit eight wins, the Owls are what many would call “thriving.” This image is only reinforced by the fact that perhaps their toughest C-USA foe, 2025 conference runner-up Jacksonville State, will be on the road while KSU is coming off an open week.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The Owls do have to pay the Tennessee Volunteers a visit, along with having back-to-back deathmatches deep in the season against Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky.
But even if all three of those games hand them L’s, the Owls could very well be in the shape necessary for once again finishing with 10 wins. That’s a hot showing for any program, but especially one that is still having to earn its colors at the FBS level, and felt that one 10-win season was not even remotely possible just two years ago.
Will Kennesaw State football be catching eyes for playoff hype in the foreseeable future? No. In fact, I’d say the Owls will likely never be on that level. But, I’d also say it wouldn’t be surprising if a time came where people fought me on that.