Kennesaw State and Western Michigan have been considerably stunning winners of their respective conferences this season.
Western Michigan (9-4) had a breakthrough in Lance Taylor’s third season as coach, beating Miami (Ohio) 23-13 for the Mid-American Convention title Dec. 6 after being picked seventh out of 13 groups within the league. It was the Broncos’ first convention championship since PJ Fleck’s last season in 2016.
Kennesaw State (10-3) was an excellent greater shock. The Owls gained simply two video games of their first FBS season in 2024 and fired Brian Bohannon, who had been this system’s solely head coach.
Simply 4 of 24 voters in Convention USA’s preseason bowl confidence index thought Kennesaw State would even make a bowl in Jerry Mack’s first season as coach. The Owls proved that fallacious once they went 7-1 in convention play and gained 19-15 at Jacksonville State within the Convention USA championship recreation on Dec. 5.
These two overachievers will meet Friday within the Myrtle Seashore Bowl in Conway, S.C., in a battle of Group of 5 convention champions. Every crew is on a successful streak — Western Michigan at 5 video games and Kennesaw State at three.
“Any time you possibly can take two G5 convention champions, I feel it makes for excellent TV, I feel it makes for an amazing storyline, I feel it makes for an amazing bowl matchup,” Taylor stated. “I am glad to see it. I hope we do extra of this sooner or later.”
This can be Kennesaw State’s first bowl recreation, however the crew has a historical past of postseason appearances regardless of this being simply this system’s eleventh season. The Owls made 4 straight FCS Playoff appearances from 2017-20, together with quarterfinal appearances in 2017 and 2018.
The Broncos, in the meantime, are in a bowl for the second straight season and the fifth time in 9 years since Fleck left to take the Minnesota job. They’ve by no means performed within the Myrtle Seashore Bowl and have misplaced 4 of their final 5 bowl video games coming into this matchup.
Kennesaw State’s offense is anchored by its passing recreation.
Sophomore quarterback Amari Odom, a Wofford switch, has thrown for two,385 yards and 18 touchdowns, with six interceptions. He additionally has 376 speeding yards and 7 scores. In his final three video games, he is thrown for 847 yards with 10 touchdowns and no picks.
“Defending the soccer,” Mack stated of what led to Odom ending the common season sturdy. ” … His means to guard the soccer is what transforms him, it transforms our crew into the perfect model of ourselves.”
Odom’s favourite goal, Gabriel Benyard, has had a breakout senior season wherein he led CUSA with 898 receiving yards and was tied for the convention lead with 9 landing catches.
Western Michigan’s offense, conversely, has been led by its floor assault. The Broncos ranked eleventh within the MAC in passing offense (139.9 yards per recreation) however second in speeding offense (196.6).
Quarterback Broc Lowry, who had simply 1,683 passing yards and 7 passing TDs, is tied for the MAC lead with 14 speeding touchdowns and ranks fifth in speeding yards (940). He is supplemented by Jalen Buckley, who had 829 yards and eight speeding TDs this season.
Nevertheless, the Broncos’ protection is the true cause they gained the MAC, rating second within the convention in common yards (299.9) and factors allowed (18.2) per recreation.
–Discipline Degree Media
