KSU Football players carrying helmet. Fifth-Third Stadium, October 9th, 2025. Photo Credit: Jackson Louneoubonh
Kennesaw State football is set to hit the road for the first time since Week 2, traveling to Miami to face Florida International on Tuesday night at Pitbull Stadium.
The Owls rolled into their second abbreviated bye week on a four-game winning streak, something the program hadn’t done since 2021.
Now, faced with the unconventional midseason scheduling wrinkle of playing on a Tuesday night, KSU will have another opportunity to do something it hasn’t in a few years: win a road game.
In the Owls’ way this week is an FIU team sitting at 3-3 overall that appeared to revive its season last week with an upset win over conference leader Western Kentucky, 25-6.
The Panthers imposed their will on the ground against WKU, rushing for a season-high 249 yards on 6.4 yards per carry, with primary ball-carrier Kejon Owens leading the way with 195 yards and a touchdown.
“You see a team [in FIU] that’s continued to find their identity,” Owls coach Jerry Mack said. “On the offensive side of the ball, they’ll continue to run the ball extremely well and I think you saw a taste of that the other night when they played Western Kentucky. They put the ball in the belly of the running back and they had a lot of success doing that.”
Prior to the WKU win, however, FIU struggled greatly in back-to-back weeks, dropping a road game to Connecticut 51-10 and its conference opener at home to newcomer Delaware, 38-16.
Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year Keyone Jenkins is expected to man the quarterback position for the Panthers this week despite being briefly pulled from last week’s game due to injury.
Jenkins hasn’t lived up to the billing in the first half of the season, posting pedestrian at best passing and rushing numbers. The junior, who first-year head coach Willie Simmons convinced to return to FIU rather than transfer elsewhere, has completed 63.6% of his passes for 959 yards and just three touchdowns to four interceptions.
Owens, however, may have earned himself candidacy in the CUSA Player of Year race. The fifth-year senior who has spent his entire college career at FIU is peaking at the right time, tallying team and career-highs with 658 yards and six touchdowns through six games.
On paper, the Panthers lack a standout pass catcher with no receiver cracking 20 receptions or 300 yards yet, and just two with over 100 yards.
Hawaii transfer Alex Perry, who stands at a towering 6-foot-5, has been FIU’s most productive wideout, currently sitting at 280 yards and two touchdowns on 19 receptions to lead the team in all categories.
Defensively, the Panthers rank 105th in the nation in points allowed per game at 31.4, compared to the Owls’ 22.0 points allowed per game which is good for 34th.
FIU surrenders an average of 5.0 yards per carry, putting them at 117th in the nation. Their pass defense appears better on paper, holding opponents to 7.0 yards per pass, 52nd nationally, but ranks near the bottom of the FBS in pass attempts against at 134th.
Notable playmakers for the Panthers’ defense so far this season have included senior Keegan Davis, who leads the team with three sacks and freshman defensive back Jessiah McGrew, who already has three interceptions on the year, two of which came last week.
“They’ve put together a really good football team thus far; they had a really big win last week,” Mack said. “We have our work cut out for us for the simple fact that they seem to be clicking right now in all phases of the game.”
The Owls’ quarterback situation appears to be clearer this week after starter Amari Odom was replaced by Dexter Williams II against Louisiana Tech due to injury.
“I think [Odom can be expected to start],” Mack said. “If things keep trending the right way, he’s going to have an opportunity to step out first.”
The last time KSU won a game on the road was in 2022 when the Owls knocked off UT Martin 44-27.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
