‘We’re still hungry’: Kennesaw State football celebrates first FBS bowl eligibility

It was after 11:30 p.m. when the clock finally hit triple-zeroes and the Kennesaw State football team could at last celebrate a big moment. It was official: The Owls were eligible to go bowling.

The raucous Kennesaw State band played for another 15 minutes to celebrate. Players danced on the field and rushed to celebrate with the students, some of them braving the chilly temperatures with only a banana suit on their back.

Quarterback Amari Odom ran to the family section carrying a sign that read “Bowl Bound.” Other players hugged their parents, spouses and their infants. Fireworks exploded and fans were encouraged to pick up their commemorative “bowl eligible” key chains on the way to the parking lot.

And coach Jerry Mack looked in vain for something dry to wear after being doused by a tank of Gatorade in the waning seconds.

“I’ve had a couple in my career, but obviously the most recent one is the best one,” Mack said.

It was a grand night for the Owls, who needed all 10 rounds to knock out Texas-El Paso, 33-20, at Fifth Third Stadium. Kennesaw State flirted with disaster and trailed late in the third quarter before scoring the final 17 points of the game.

The victory was the sixth consecutive for Kennesaw State, who improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in Conference USA. In only their second full season of FBS competition — and one year removed from a two-win season — the Owls have become one of the more inspirational stories of the college season.

“We talked about it before the game, just talking about being a part of history at the end of the day,” said Mack, who took over the program in December. “You know, when we come back in 10 years, whenever we come back, this group right here, this 2025 Kennesaw State Owls team will be the first bowl team in the history of the program and you can’t ever take that away from us.”

The players echoed the sentiment.

“It’s a special feeling. That’s very special to our program,” said redshirt freshman linebacker Tywon Christopher, who had 12 tackles and forced a fumble in his first start. “And we appreciate the fans coming out and supporting us. It’s a great feeling.”

The fans — a sellout crowd of 11,040 — arrived early and got loud. Fans like Steve Swicicki and James Bailey were wearing their warmest Kennesaw State garb and were eager to root for their favorite team. The two KSU graduates have been season tickets since the program started.

“This is very reminiscent of ’17 when we made the FCS playoffs for the first time, won the conference,” Swicicki said. “The vibe this year is very much like it was that year.”

There were plenty of newfound fans in the crowd, too. Ryan Hart, his wife, Amanda, and son Nathan, a freshman at KSU, were ready to celebrate, as was Anthony Echols and his son Elijah, another freshman.

“They’re raising the bar — everybody’s raising it because we did move up a division,” Amanda Hart said. “I think it’s a big deal. It gives the athletic department a lot of confidence.”

Anthony Echols said, “It’s going to be great for the school. They’ve been playing hard and putting in the work and it’s paying off on the field.”

But Mack and the players are quick to point out that the Owls still have four games remaining and are in contention to win the conference championship — after being picked to finish dead last by the CUSA coaches in the preseason poll.

“We talked about it in the locker room, we still have some more meat on the bone,” Mack said. “We’re still hungry. We have not reached exactly what we feel like we can be as a football team. It’s great to be bowl eligible and that’s one of the standards we wanted. That’s our first goal, but the reality is we’re sitting undefeated in the conference. There’s no reason we can’t see how far we can continue to push this thing and try to keep getting better.”