The jump from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level of NCAA Division 1 football is no joke, and the Kennesaw State Owls will be the first to agree. It was a bumpy start to their inaugural season after joining the FBS as a part of Conference USA after being a part of the FCS level since 2019 when the program was founded. The Owls started the year with a brutal 0-6 record losing by an average of 19.3 points. However, on the night of Wednesday, October 23, Kennesaw State got their first win over the Liberty University Flames by a final of 27-24. This loss snapped a 17-game regular season winning streak for the Flames dating back to last season. The Owls forced a first-half interception from Flames quarterback Kaidon Salter, which ended as the game’s only turnover and won the time-of-possession battle in a game that remained close throughout. The largest discrepancy between the two teams was penalties. Liberty committed nine for 100 yards while the Owls committed six for 40 yards. The Flames committed two false starts on a drive deep into Kennesaw State territory late in the game that resulted in a crucial turnover on downs. Liberty scored a touchdown with just under two minutes left to make it a one-score game, but a failed multilateral-Hail-Mary attempt resulted in a tough three-point loss for a team with high expectations to start the year.
As the clock struck triple zeros, fans at Kennesaw State’s Fifth-Third Stadium rushed to the field to celebrate with the team. Liberty opened the game as a 27.5-point favorite to cruise to their sixth win of the campaign but traveled home instead with their first loss. It was a stunning victory that could easily go unnoticed within the broader landscape of college football dominated by the Power Four conferences. However, Liberty had College Football Playoff aspirations as they worked toward securing the playoff bid as the highest-ranked Group of Five program. Conference realignment has opened the door for conferences to invite FCS programs to join the FBS ranks in the coming years. Kennesaw State’s struggles were not immediately solved by their improbable victory (they are currently 1-8, 1-4 C-USA and recently fired their head coach Brian Bohannon) but represent the beauty of a Cinderella story in college sports. The program will undoubtedly look to improve via the transfer portal and NIL opportunities like the rest of the country in the coming years. But for now, showing a video of their fans storming the field after upsetting an unbeaten conference opponent might be their best recruiting chip.