#1 Rickie Collins throwing the football. Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium, Oct. 7, 2026. Photo by Jackson Louneoubonh
Kennesaw State football is set to hit the road for the first time in conference play, traveling to Springfield to take on Missouri State on Wednesday night at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
Desperately needing a win after dropping four in a row, the Owls will get a chance to do so against a similarly struggling Bears team that also sits at 1-4 after dropping their conference opener to Western Kentucky.
“Right now, we have some things we’ve gotta go to the drawing board and figure out,” Owls coach Jerry Mack said. “Just make sure we do a good job of closing the small details of how to close some of these games that we have come out on the opposite end of these last couple of weeks.”
The Mo State offense runs through the use of two quarterbacks- UTEP transfer Skyler Locklear and Henry Belin IV– and last year when KSU faced the Miners, Locklear contributed over 200 yards of offense, throwing for 160 and two touchdowns and adding 77 yards on the ground.
Mack said both of those guys are capable quarterbacks his defense will need to be ready for.
“We saw (Skyler) last year at UTEP, and he’s continued to do some really good things,” Mack said. “(Henry) is a little more traditional as far as being in the pocket, but you can see when he does get on the edge, he can do some things as well.”
Despite the 34-13 loss last week, Mo State had 340 yards of total offense and seemed to do a good job of moving the ball down the field.
The Bears faced a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, including two then-ranked opponents in SMU and Texas A&M.
Mo State was shut out 50-0 in the season opening loss to the Aggies, but were very competitive in the 34-24 loss to the Mustangs before they pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Western Kentucky transfer Isaiah Myers is by far the most productive wideout for the Bears, currently sitting at 419 yards and three touchdowns on 20 receptions.
“Just looking at the film, extremely great catch radius,” Mack said. “They throw it up, he usually comes down with the ball. He’s a true vertical threat. We’ve got to always know where he’s at at all times on the field, because you just never know when that guy can change the game.”
Owls offensive lineman Luke Duska went down with an injury in the second half of last Wednesday’s game, and Mack confirmed he will likely be out for the season.
“I can’t disclose the actual in-depth of the injury, but he will probably not be with us for the remainder of the season as a football player,” Mack said.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
