Kennesaw State rode a stunning turnaround into a CUSA title. Now the road gets real against a Sun Belt program that knows exactly what a September gut-check looks like.
Bush’s Picks
KENNARST
KENNARST
OverUnder
Best BetArkansas State
Arkansas State gets this one at home, and Butch Jones has built enough continuity — three straight bowl trips, seven returning starters on offense — to lean on in a non-conference tune-up. Kennesaw State's new starting quarterback taking his first real road test cuts the other way, and that's enough to like the Red Wolves to win outright even with their own QB question marks.
Kennesaw State
+Reigning CUSA champs under fast-rising coach Jerry Mack
+Five players on CUSA preseason watch list, led by Baron Hopson
+Projected for an 8-4 season with real upside
−Run defense allowed 4.6 yards per carry last year
−Penalties spiked to 104 in 14 games
−New starter Rickie Collins struggled in his Syracuse stint
Arkansas State
+Butch Jones has delivered three straight bowl trips
+Returns 10 starters, seven on offense
+Strong pass rush returning on defense
−Quarterback job still unresolved entering fall camp
−Pass defense allowed 245 yards a game last year
−Only three defensive starters return
This one's got trap game written all over it for Kennesaw State. Rickie Collins, the Syracuse transfer now running the Owls' offense, gets a road test in Jonesboro before conference play even starts — a tough early spot for a first-year starter who struggled in his lone stint with the Orange. Across the field, Arkansas State's own quarterback room is still sorting itself out in fall camp, which makes this a game where the guy under center on either side could swing the whole afternoon.
Butch Jones doesn't need reminding what these non-conference dates mean. He's parlayed three straight bowl trips and 21 wins into one of the steadier jobs in the Sun Belt, and this four-game slate against Memphis, West Georgia, TCU and Kennesaw State is the appetizer before division play starts in earnest. A-State returns 10 starters, seven of them on offense, so there's continuity even with a new arm needed to make it hum.
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KENN Kennesaw State
ARST Arkansas State
The volatility here cuts both ways. Kennesaw State's defense leaked yards on the ground last season and racked up penalties at an alarming clip, while Arkansas State's secondary got torched for 245 yards a game and let opposing quarterbacks complete 68% of their throws. Neither side is walking in with a finished product on D, which is exactly the kind of matchup that keeps a scoreboard moving.
Kennesaw State Owls
Sep 19?@ Tennessee—
Sep 12?vs Georgia State—
Sep 3?vs West Georgia—
Arkansas State Red Wolves
Sep 19?@ TCU—
Sep 12?vs West Georgia—
Sep 5?@ Memphis—
Recent form.
Jerry Mack's fingerprints are all over why Kennesaw State is even in this conversation — a 2-10 team two years ago, now the reigning CUSA champs with five players on the conference's preseason watch list. Linebacker Baron Hopson is the headliner, a 138-tackle wrecking ball who's as good as anyone in the league at finding the ball carrier. If the Owls' new-look secondary can hold up without departed corner Caleb Offord, this defense has the pieces to be disruptive even with the run-stopping questions.
Kennesaw State Owls
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Arkansas State Red Wolves
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
College Football News flagged Arkansas State as one of the spots where Kennesaw State's 8-4 projection could take a hit, and it's easy to see why — a true road environment, an offense still finding its identity under a new quarterback, and a Sun Belt team with more continuity up front. Whichever team settles its quarterback situation first probably wins this one.
