Owls at No. 11 in preseason FCS poll
Kennesaw State will open the season at No. 11 in the country in one poll.
That is where HERO Sports ranked the Owls in its Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll — the first of many rankings to be released between now and the beginning of the season.
Kennesaw State, which was ranked between Central Arkansas and Illinois State, went 11-3 in 2019 and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs. After a win over Wofford, the Owls lost at Weber State.
The top five included defending FCS champion North Dakota State at No. 1, followed by South Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Sacramento State and James Madison. The Owls were the only Big South Conference program in the rankings, but future member North Carolina A&T, which will join for the 2021 season, came in at No. 19.
Kennesaw State has made the FCS playoffs the last three seasons, and a fourth appearance would tie Coastal Carolina for the most consecutive years a Big South program had made the postseason.
The Owls have 15 of 22 starters returning for the 2020 season — eight on offense and seven on defense. Quarterback Tommy Bryant, along with running backs Shaquil Terry and Isaac Foster, join an offensive line that returns intact. Last season, Kennesaw State averaged more than 342 rushing yards per game.
The Owls’ defense is headlined by linebacker Bryson Armstrong, the Big South Defensive Player of the Year and a former Kell High School standout.
Kennesaw State will open the season Sept. 5 against Point at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.