Top Storylines:
• Kennesaw State football participates in its first NCAA bowl game when it battles Western Michigan in the 2025 Myrtle Beach Bowl, presented by Engine, at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.
• Of the 33 teams that have made the transition from FCS to FBS, Kennesaw State is one of only nine to make a bowl appearance in its second year of reclassification and first year of full-fledged FBS eligibility, joining Nevada (1992), Marshall (1997), Appalachian State and Georgia Southern (2015), Liberty (2019), James Madison and Jax State (2023-24*), and Sam Houston (2024).
• With a victory over Western Michigan, Kennesaw State would become only the fifth to win a bowl game in its initial season of full-fledged FBS membership. Nevada lost the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl (35-34 to Bowling Green), Marshall lost the 1997 Motor City Bowl (34-31 to Ole Miss) and James Madison lost the 2023 Armed Forces Bowl (31-21 to Air Force).
• A victory would also make Kennesaw State only the second program to ever win 11 games in its second year of reclassification from FCS to FBS, joining Appalachian State, who won 11 games in 2015 following their transition. Marshall (1997) and Sam Houston (2024) both won 10 games.
• KSU’s eight-game improvement from 2024 represents the seventh-best year-over-year improvement in NCAA history, the fifth-best since 2000 and the third-best in the last 10 years.
• While playing in its first NCAA bowl game, Kennesaw State is no stranger to postseason football. In its young, 11-year history, the Owls own a 6-4 record in 10 all-time postseason games.
• The 2025 Myrtle Beach Bowl will see a matchup of two conference champions as CUSA Champion Kennesaw State will face the MAC Champion in Western Michigan.
• Friday’s game will be the first meeting between the two schools (located 735 miles apart) and just the second battle between the Owls and a school hailing from the Mid-American Conference (Kent State, 2019).
• The matchup features a KSU team that led the league in scoring in CUSA games (34.5), facing off against a Broncos team that ranks 14th nationally in points allowed (18.2).
• One-score games are no stranger to the Cardiac Owls, as Kennesaw State has won six one-possession games this season, tied for most in FBS this year.
