#1 Rickie Collins hands ball off to #21 Triston Morgan. Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium, Sept. 3, 2026. Photo by Jordan Tran
Kennesaw State football is set to face Jacksonville State on Wednesday in a game which will likely have high implications for how the rest of the Owls’ season plays out.
Prior to the bye week, KSU lost a tough 17-14 game to Arkansas State which went down to a missed kick by the Owls in the final minutes to close out the non-conference schedule at 1-3.
Now, with KSU desperately needing a win, it will get a chance to open conference play on the right foot against its most bitter rival.
“It’s conference play, and this is where everything counts,” Owls coach Jerry Mack said. “Your hopes and dreams of winning a conference championship, this is where it all starts. Really looking forward to Wednesday night, getting a chance of a rematch really from the (conference) championship game from the 2025 season.”
Owls receiver Zion Booker, who had 78 yards in the game against Tennessee, went down in the first half against A-State. Mack confirmed he will not be returning this season.
“He did have surgery,” Mack said. “He’s doing well, family came down, and he’s recovering extremely well. He was having a really good year, he was doing some really good things for us, in special teams and the offensive side of the ball.”
The Gamecocks had a semi-rocky non-conference schedule as well, beginning with a 33-7 loss to North Dakota State and a four-overtime 29-27 loss to Ohio. They opened conference play two weeks ago with a 23-13 win over Middle Tennessee State.
Jax State is once again led by quarterback Caden Creel, who is a dynamic threat both as a passer and a runner. He already has nearly 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns through his first five games.
Jamill Williams and Deondre Johnson are the most productive pass-catchers for the Gamecock offense thus far this year- they are nearly identical in yardage as well, with 238 and 226 respectively.
“(Johnson) is one of the biggest vertical threats in Conference USA,” Mack said. “Everybody always has to know where #11 is every time you line up. Jamill has done a really good job this year of catching the ball in space. We understand the threat that those two guys on the perimeter have.”
Both of these teams look different than they did a year ago, but Mack said the quality of Jax State as a team hasn’t changed.
“They’re still a tough, hard-nosed football team.” he said. “Coach (Charles) Kelly is really one of the best coaches, I think, in the country. He does a great job of getting those guys motivated. You can just tell they play defensive football the way it was intended to be played.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
