Georgia State and Kennesaw State haven't played since a 2018 thriller. Eight years later, they're finally running it back — except one program just won a conference title and the other is still trying to prove it belongs on the same field.
+reigning CUSA champions after a 10-win debut under Jerry Mack
+offense jumped from 134th to 72nd in SP+ in one year
+14 preseason all-CUSA picks, second-most in the conference
−breaking in new starter Rickie Collins, on his third school in three years
−Collins threw 10 INTs in five Syracuse starts last season
−unproven O-line chemistry with a new quarterback early in the year
This one's been a long time coming. The Panthers and Owls met exactly once before, a 24-20 Georgia State win back in 2018, and now they're kicking off a home-and-home series that will send Kennesaw State to Atlanta in 2028. But the programs meeting this time around look nothing like the ones that squared off in 2018 — Kennesaw State walked into 2026 as the reigning Conference USA champion, while Georgia State is still searching for its first FBS win in a long stretch.
Jerry Mack's first season at Kennesaw State was about as good as a debut gets: a 2-10 team the year before turned into a 10-win CUSA title team, capped by a 19-15 grind-it-out win over Jax State in the championship game. But Mack's rebuilding his offense around a new quarterback in Rickie Collins, a former 4-star recruit who's now on his third school in three years after stops at LSU and Syracuse. Collins threw 10 interceptions in five starts for the Orange last season — talented arm, shaky decision-making, and now he's the guy.
Georgia State's story is the opposite: Dell McGee is 4-20 through two seasons in Atlanta, and 2026 is unmistakably a make-or-break year. The lone bright spot has been quarterback Cameran Brown, who missed time last fall with an undisclosed injury but was terrific when healthy — 1,296 yards, 13 touchdowns and just 1 interception. He reportedly looked sharp again in the spring game, which matters plenty for a team that went winless against FBS competition in 2025.
The gap in returning production is stark. Kennesaw State brought back three all-conference performers on the offensive line and its top two tacklers on defense — Baron Hopson (138 stops) and Tywon Christopher — while landing 14 preseason all-CUSA selections, second-most in the league behind only one other team. Georgia State's optimism is more targeted: tight end Grant Hollier (21 catches) is trending toward all-conference honors, and three returning offensive line starters give Brown a foundation, but the roster-wide talent disparity is real.
None of that guarantees a laugher. Kennesaw State's offense torched Liberty 48-42 last season, so there's shootout upside if Collins settles in early, but new-quarterback rust is a real thing in a Week 2 spot. Georgia State, for its part, doesn't need to be great — it just needs Brown healthy and moving the chains against a Kennesaw State defense that, for all its returning talent, is still adjusting to a new starter under center on the other side of the ball too. This is a program-trajectory game as much as it is a Saturday matchup.
