Paws Up Preview – FIU Football @ Kennesaw State

Date: Saturday, November 23rd

Time: 3:00 PM EST

Opponent: Kennesaw State Owls (1-9)

Location: Kennesaw, Georgia (Fifth Third Stadium)

TV Channel: ESPN+

Betting Line: FIU -8.5

We’ve now (once again) reached the part of the season where FIU Football is eliminated from bowl eligibility with a few games to go.

Does this ruin the excitement levels of these next couple of games? A little, as even if the Panthers win out, they’ll have only improved a single game compared to their last two seasons.

Still, this game means a lot to the players as they look to break some personal and team records, add to their highlight reel, and get ready to graduate. For FIU, they look to take their momentum on offense and translate it to a dominant performance against the 1-9 Kennesaw State Owls.

Almost Good In Alabama

If feel-good wins counted as actual wins, then FIU might qualify for a New Year’s Six game.

The Panthers’ offense against Jacksonville State featured creative playcalling, a strong showing from their running game, and an accurate quarterback that balled out in a tough environment. Makes you wish we got this a lot earlier this season.

Keyon Jenkins has improved massively since Vice Night as he continues to rack up passing yards (258) and passing touchdowns (2) while avoiding costly interceptions and dominating the time of possession.

To spice up the running game, the Panthers threw in freshman Devonte Lyons and he saw great success, with 88 yards and a score. I feel confident this won’t be the last we see of him, including in this game as well as next season.

Ultimately, FIU’s defense fell flat in the end. To their credit, they had the difficult task of limiting Tre Stewart and did a good job with that in the first half. Still, the Gamecocks survived off of explosive plays to ultimately take the lead late in the game.

The Barn In Atlanta

Kennesaw State is not having a great 2024 season. Granted, it’s their first year at the FBS level, but they’re still having a spectacularly bad year, only bested by the winless Kent State Golden Flashes.

Still, I don’t think it warranted the Owls to fire their head coach, Brian Bohannon. While 1-9 is not where they wanted to be, he’s been their coach since the program’s inception in 2015.

He got Kennesaw State at this point, and not even giving him a full season seems like a reach. No matter who was the coach, the Owls had an FCS roster entering this season. Now, they have a lot of players transferring out after all the controversy.

One player who didn’t leave is quarterback Davis Bryson. He’s had moments of greatness but has otherwise had a rough season, throwing six touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Overall, they’ve recorded the lowest amount of yards per game (250.7) and points per game. (17.1) Their running game is solid, with Michael Benefield racking up 468 yards and five touchdowns. Still, they’ve only scored over 20 points three times this season.

Kennesaw’s defense is not the worst in CUSA, but they’re nothing special. Donelius Johnson is a solid linebacker with 75 tackles and 3.5 sacks. However, their secondary has only recorded three interceptions this whole season.

Who Wins – FIU or Kennesaw State?

All things considered, FIU statistically should win this. Their offense is better, and the defense does a better job of forcing turnovers.

Still, the Panthers better be on their toes because the Owls have nothing left to lose. They’re going to be playing for their interim coach, Chandler Burks, who used to be a former player for KSU. You know they’re going to be hyped on their senior day.

FIU – 28

KSU – 13