KSU’s #2 Amari Odom runs with the ball. Pitbull Stadium, October 21st, 2025. Photo Credit: KSU Athletics
MIAMI, Fla., — Kennesaw State football earned its first road win since 2022, rolling over FIU 45-26 at Pitbull Stadium on Tuesday night for a fifth straight victory.
To find KSU football’s last win on the road, you’d have to go back to Nov. 5, 2022, when Xavier Shepherd helped lead the Owls to a 44-27 win over No. 15 Tennessee-Martin while the program was still a member of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Tuesday night broke the 13-game road losing streak, and added to what is now a five-game winning streak for the program.
Baron Hopson, who transferred to KSU just in time to witness each of the 13 straight road losses, said the team was well aware of the streak and took it personally.
“It was a test for us,” he said. “They told us we hadn’t won a road game since November 2022. So we really just took it personally and just everyone had to buy in this week and it just means a lot and shows the growth of this program and the strength that we have on this team and the fight that we have on this team – it came out with a W tonight.”
JT Pennington, an offensive lineman who transferred in from arch-rival Jacksonville State in 2023, said despite the ups and downs he’s experienced, his time at KSU is not something he takes for granted.
“It just means so much, I mean I’ve always wanted to be the best I can be,” Pennington said. “Coming in here and transferring to being an Owl, it’s something I do not take for granted. It’s a blessing as it is.”
The Owls led for nearly the entire game, using effective play from both Amari Odom and Dexter Williams II at quarterback to earn their first road win as a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Odom, who returned to start at quarterback after missing the Owls’ last contest against Louisiana Tech, put KSU ahead 7-0 early with a two-yard quarterback keeper touchdown at the 8:25 mark of the opening quarter.
On the Owls’ next possession, Alexander Diggs scored his second touchdown of the season by barreling through the pile from two yards out with 3:44 to go in the first quarter, putting the Owls ahead 14-0.
FIU fought back on its next drive when former Georgia Tech running back Anthony Carrie took a handoff 15 yards untouched to the end zone to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 14-7 with 25 seconds left in the opening period.
KSU needed just two plays to respond, as Odom found Coleman Bennett in the flat who leveraged an impressive downfield block from Gabriel Benyard and outraced the FIU secondary for a 76-yard receiving touchdown.
The Owls added three more in the half when kicker Britton Williams converted a 40-yard field goal with 9:46 remaining in the half to push the KSU advantage to 24-7.
The Panthers found the end zone once more before the end of the half when Kejon Owens broke loose for a 43-yard rushing touchdown to help FIU draw within 24-14.
The score got as close as 24-17 when Noah Grant converted a 43-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and the Panthers found themselves threatening to tie the game shortly after.
Grant missed a 23-yard field goal that would have cut the deficit to 24-20, and Williams II, who stepped in for an injured Odom a few drives prior connected with Christian Moss for a 70-yard touchdown to put the Owls ahead a commanding 31-17.
Down by 14, the Panthers opted to kick a short field goal on their next possession after reaching the red zone to cut their deficit to 31-20 with 9:16 remaining.
The Owls added two more touchdowns in the final three minutes, first by way a of two-yard keeper from Williams II and then a six-yard rushing score from Chase Belcher.
FIU did get on the board a final time with 15 seconds remaining when Keyone Jenkins found Eric Nelson for a 12-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch.
“Good teams have to find a way to win on the road, and that’s what we showed tonight,” Owls coach Jerry Mack said.
“I think that was Kennesaw State’s first win on the road in about three years, obviously it was my first [road] win in my tenure as the head football coach. A lot of distractions, a lot of things in this October schedule that you have to overcome, and the guys did a great job I thought, and the coaching staff did a great job of learning how to fight through and overcome some adversity.”
