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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/usffan on 2024-07-12 14:40:55+00:00.

You can find the start of this series with links to all teams here

And now for something completely different, a look at the first year transition to FBS for Kennesaw State. The Owls (who had to move up to prevent the AAC from having a monopoly on Owl football teams) are coming off a 3-6 2023 campaign that actually looks better than it is since none of those 3 wins came against Division 1 schools. Plus, they only return 57% of the productivity from that team, including the loss of leading passer and second leading rusher Jonathan Murphy, though they do get back leading rusher Michael Benefield for his senior season. With poor recruiting (83.66, 130th nationally but remarkably not the worst in CUSA) and transfer portal (13.18, 124th nationally and ALSO second to last in the conference) ratings, there’s not much to suggest a good start to their FBS tenure, which is reflected in both Sagarin (40.72, bottom of CUSA) and FPI (-15, ahead of only FIU). Brian Bohannon, who is the only coach the Owls have ever known, really has his work cut out for him in 2024. Here’s the schedule:

8/31 @ UTSA (L)

9/7 LOUISIANA (L)

9/14 @ San Jose State (L)

9/21 BYE

9/28 TENNESSEE-MARTIN (L, coin toss)

10/4 JACKSONVILLE STATE (L)

10/15 @ Middle Tennessee State (L)

10/23 LIBERTY (L)

10/30 @ Western Kentucky (L)

11/2 BYE

11/9 @ UTEP (L)

11/16 SAM HOUSTON (L)

11/23 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (W, coin toss)

11/30 @ Louisiana Tech (L)

Outlook Don’t look for the Owls to start hooting about being able to go to a bowl game despite being a transitional team. Honestly, there’s a legit chance that they go winless on this schedule. Bohannon’s going to really have to step up recruiting if they’re going to actually compete at the FBS level. Feels like not at least getting David Bryson or Braden Bohannon (yes, another coach’s son who’s the QB of the team, that ALWAYS goes super well) the majority of the reps last season was a big mistake. Hopefully the plan has been to take their lumps this year and build for 2026.