CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Kennesaw State

10–⁠4 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Jerry Mack.

Schedule and results

Kennesaw State in 2025, game by game: lost at Wake Forest 9–10; lost at No. 23 Indiana 9–56; won vs. Merrimack 27–13; won vs. Arkansas State 28–21; won vs. Middle Tennessee 24–16; won vs. Louisiana Tech 35–7; won at Florida International 45–26; won vs. UTEP 33–20; won at New Mexico State 24–21; lost at Jacksonville State 26–35; won vs. Missouri State 41–34; won at Liberty 48–42; won at Jacksonville State 19–15; lost vs. Western Michigan 6–41+28−47Lost 9–10 at Wake Forest-1Wake ForestLost 9–56 at No. 23 Indiana-47No. 23 IndianaWon 27–13 vs. Merrimack+14MerrimackWon 28–21 vs. Arkansas State+7Arkansas StateWon 24–16 vs. Middle Tennessee+8Middle TennesseeWon 35–7 vs. Louisiana Tech+28Louisiana TechWon 45–26 at Florida International+19Florida Interna…Won 33–20 vs. UTEP+13UTEPWon 24–21 at New Mexico State+3New Mexico StateLost 26–35 at Jacksonville State-9Jacksonville St…Won 41–34 vs. Missouri State+7Missouri StateWon 48–42 at Liberty+6LibertyWon 19–15 at Jacksonville State+4Jacksonville St…Lost 6–41 vs. Western Michigan-35Western Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29atWake ForestL 9–⁠1024%
Sep 6at23IndianaL 9–⁠5610%
Sep 13vsMerrimackW 27–⁠1357%
Sep 20vsArkansas StateW 28–⁠2137%
Sep 27vsMiddle TennesseeW 24–⁠1662%
Oct 9vsLouisiana TechW 35–⁠738%
Oct 21atFlorida InternationalW 45–⁠2638%
Oct 28vsUTEPW 33–⁠2068%
Nov 8atNew Mexico StateW 24–⁠2155%
Nov 15atJacksonville StateL 26–⁠3532%
Nov 22vsMissouri StateW 41–⁠3456%
Nov 29atLibertyW 48–⁠4245%
Dec 5atJacksonville StateConference USA ChampionshipW 19–⁠1535%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsWestern MichiganMyrtle Beach BowlL 6–⁠4142%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Western Michigan 41–⁠6 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 12 on file).

Conference USA champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
374–⁠357
Coach
Jerry Mack
Elo
1482 +185 this season
SP+ rating
-5.4 No. 89 of 136; offense No. 72, defense No. 93, special teams No. 125
SRS
−4.4 No. 90 of 136 in FBS
Returning
46% of last season’s EPA, No. 49 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 154 roster talent No. 132 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mitch Militello
Defensive coordinator
Marc Mattioli
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense58th of 136
  • Defense68th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted59th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted93rd of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1141%1.3658th of 136
Defense0.1043%1.2068th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.14 def		41% off
45% def		—59th off
93rd def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense42%10.4 yds16%3.1017%
Defense45%8.6 yds11%3.1016%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.0own 2915% allowed
Defense3.6own 2717% caused

CORE rating -3.2, 78th of 136 (offense 2.8, defense 6.0).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsAmari Odom QB2,594 yds
Passing touchdownsAmari Odom QB19 TD
Rushing yardsColeman Bennett RB764 yds
Rushing touchdownsAmari Odom QB7 TD
Receiving yardsGabriel Benyard WR949 yds
Receiving touchdownsGabriel Benyard WR9 TD
TacklesBaron Hopson LB139 tkl
SacksElijah Hill DE9 sacks
InterceptionsAlex Ford DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Haston Crawford OT★★★No. 1738
Byron Jackson DE★★★No. 2024
Jayce Cora ATH★★★No. 2280
Matthew Choules P
Jackson Cooper DL

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Offensive line13.00.850
Defensive line13.00.843
Athletes and specialists13.00.838
Whole class33.00.844

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 101

The 2025 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 27

The 2025 portal
Isaiah Thomas S★★★from Miami
Nikola Milovac OT★★★from South Florida
Cameron Williams OL★★★from Alabama A&M
Chase Belcher RB★★★from West Georgia
Dexter Williams II QB★★★from Georgia Southern
Elijah Zollicoffer OL★★★from Arkansas State
Roderick Daniels DE★★★from Liberty
JaDarious Lee OT★★★from Florida International
Jaden Kelly LB★★★from Norfolk State
Jordan Jackson WR★★★from West Georgia
Kody Jones S★★★from Memphis
Nacari Johnson CB★★★from UAB

And 15 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 23

Jacob Norcross OL★★★to Memphis
Thomarius Walker DL★★★to Memphis
Carson Kent TE★★★to Oklahoma
Jayven Williams CB★★★to Mississippi State
JeRico Washington Jr. CB★★★returned to Kennesaw State
Tyler Scott DL★★★to UTEP
Mason Bowers OL★★★to Charlotte
Jacob Ulrich P★★★to Oklahoma
Lucas Scheerhorn QB★★★to Rice
Bryce Dopson WR★★★no new school on file
Destun Thomas WR★★★no new school on file
Earl Woods QB★★★to Norfolk State

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Kennesaw State7–⁠110–⁠4
Jacksonville State7–⁠19–⁠5
Western Kentucky6–⁠29–⁠4
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Florida International5–⁠37–⁠6
Missouri State5–⁠37–⁠6
Delaware4–⁠47–⁠6
Liberty3–⁠54–⁠8
New Mexico State2–⁠64–⁠8
Middle Tennessee2–⁠63–⁠9
Sam Houston1–⁠72–⁠10
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.