#1 Rickie Collins runs toward the end zone on Sept. 3 at Fifth Third Stadium at Walens Family Field. Photo by Jordan Tran
Kennesaw State football has had a less than ideal start to its season in 2026.
Now 1-3 after the conclusion of the non-conference schedule, with losses to Georgia State, Tennessee and Arkansas State, the Owls will have to win five of their next eight games just to earn bowl eligibility.
Compare that to where they were this time last year, going 2-2 through the first four games with the only losses being to Wake Forest and Indiana, the eventual national champion.
The opener at Wake Forest resulted in a 10-9 win for the Demon Deacons, with KSU coming just a couple of missed kicks away from its first win over a power-conference opponent in program history.
So, what changed from then to now?
The most obvious reason has to be the drastic roster change. Nearly every player in skill positions is a new face to the team.
Quarterback Amari Odom, who originally wasn’t going to be the starter last season, turned out to be the kind of talent you don’t see every year in Kennesaw.
After sharing reps with Indiana transfer Dexter Williams III to begin the year, Odom likely earned his starting role against Arkansas State, when he threw for 308 yards and a touchdown while completing 25 of his 34 passes.
Odom finished the season with 2,594 yards, 19 touchdowns and led the program to its first conference championship at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level in Jerry Mack’s first year as head coach.
In January of this year, Odom and former Syracuse quarterback Rickie Collins swapped teams. Odom went to the Orange and Collins decided to come down to Conference USA after not finding a lot of success as a second-string quarterback in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Through his first four games as an Owl, Collins has thrown for 749 yards with two touchdowns through the air and three more on the ground and only one interception.
Besides quarterbacks, the running back and wide receiver rooms lost several guys who got KSU to the conference title as well.
Coleman Bennett and Chase Belcher were a dynamic duo at running back, combining for over 1,300 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.
Bennett graduated after last season and signed as a member of the Chicago Bears practice squad earlier this year. He scored his first NFL touchdown in the Bears preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
Belcher just earned a fifth year of eligibility on Monday following an ongoing lawsuit and transferred to the University of Kansas, as first reported by KU Sports.
The loss of Gabriel Benyard has been felt at the receiver position as well.
Benyard had been an Owl since 2021 and was one of the few players who truly got to be a part of the rise of the football program every step of the way.
His final season was by far his best, leading all KSU receivers with 949 yards and nine touchdowns.
With over half of the season remaining, there is still time for the Owls to turn things around, but it will need to happen soon.
Jacksonville State comes to town on Wednesday for the conference opener, and we’ll be able to see how KSU responds to the challenge of a team who has consistently been at the top of the CUSA standings since joining the conference in 2023.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium.
