Jax State Gamecocks vs. Kennesaw State Owls, 10/4/2024, 7pm

Gamecocks 63 – Owls 24, Attendance: 10,029

Weather: Cloudy, 74; Ticket: $44 Face, Parking: Free (sort of) (both Ken State)

“Not ready for prime time” by Tree

Kennesaw State is in Kennesaw, Georgia, which is about a half hour northwest of Atlanta. It is an easy drive from the airport, or as easy as any drive can be in the traffic mess that is Atlanta. Founded in 1963, Kennesaw State University is practically an infant in college years. This game was part of two game weekend which included Georgia, so I did not see much of the campus. Traffic aside, I do like Atlanta. There’s plenty to do and see, including the College Football Hall of Fame. At a minimum, Kennesaw State has that going for it. Unfortunately, the proximity to Atlanta is about all the experience has going for it.

As I was alone, I was not planning to tailgate at Kennesaw State. They have one tailgate lot, the Black lot, and it must be purchased in advance ($19 as of 2024). All that is reasonable and a good approach for a small school. However, on game day as I was looking up my cash parking options, the website specifically said the Black Lot would take cash if spots were available. I thought that was surprising given what I had read earlier, but I was early and thought I would give it a shot. As I had some of my tailgating stuff, I figured it would be worth checking out. I pulled up through not one, but two check points, neither of which checked me for a pass, nor was there signage that said it was pass only. At that point, I figured that I was good with cash. That, and the Black Lot was at least 75% empty. I pulled up to two young attendants, who asked me for my pass. I said I don’t have a pass and would like to pay in cash. This, I was told, was not possible, even when I showed them the website saying otherwise.
It was not a big deal, and they pointed me to the exit on the other side of the lot. As I pulled up and saw the small number of tailgaters, I decided to park and talk to one of the senior attendants to see if I could stay in the lot. After an easy conversation, he told me to just stay put given that I was more likely to win the lottery than for that lot to be full. It was a sane and appropriate response to some poor communication and insufficient operating procedures by Ken State. I set up my very light tailgate and introduced myself to fellow tailgaters. It wasn’t hard as the number of tailgates was under ten. It was a little early so I thought some of the reserved spaces might get filled in. They did not. It was a very weak tailgating scene, nearly non-existent. I would give them some slack because it was a Friday night game, but not much. Other stadiums, like Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium, have phenomenal week night tailgating. On my way to the stadium, I saw one other tailgate that was well populated. It turned out that it was the Residential Staff of the school. It was the liveliest of the tailgates with an active cornhole scene, but it was also one of very few.

The Owls play at Fifth Third Stadium, nicknamed The Nest. It is small, but well appointed. Being a Steelers fan, I loved the black and yellow color scheme. While a standard design, Kennesaw State dresses up the stadium with some nice small architectural features that give it some angular edges. If the intent is to make it seem like a nest, that effort has failed. I did, however, still like the look. The endzones are standard bleachers, but all the seats on both sidelines have seatbacks which is a major plus. I don’t know if it makes the $44 seat worthwhile, but it was comfortable. There is one serviceable video board and an old school scoreboard in the opposite endzone. Concessions were standard and premade. There was no souvenir cup, but they do have their own craft beer by New Realm Brewing, the KSU Owl In. They were also giving away lots of promo material – I got a team poster, t-shirt and pom-pom all for free.

When I questioned the fans in regard to traditions, they said their really aren’t any. That is not exactly true. Kennesaw does do a nice job leveraging the Owl theme. The mascot, Scrappy, is active and at one time they did have a real owl. There is a nice “hoo hoo” after they get a first down and “What do Owl fans do? – Hootie Hoo” is heard often. They also like to “Protect the Nest”. The Kennesaw band provided the entrance music and was working until they were drowned out by the visiting band from Jax State (more on that later) The Owl band is good and played a nice hip hop medley at halftime. The student section was kind of small and was not nearly as vocal as I thought it should be. That comment applies to the general fan base as well. Jacksonville State is probably the closest thing to a rival for Kennesaw State right now and one would have hoped for a little more enthusiasm.

The Owls have a mantra – EAT, which stands for Effort, Attitude, Toughness. They exhibited that somewhat in this game, where they were generally outplayed at nearly every turn. In the first drive Jacksonville State’s offense went through Kennesaw State like a hot knife through butter. The Owls seemed flummoxed by the Gamecocks no huddle offense. Kennesaw did manage to answer with a field goal, but things were not looking good. It was a bit back and forth and then Jax State scored on two straight possessions to go up 21-3. The first of those being a painful “pick six” on a dreadful KSU pass. However, Kennesaw State ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown. What was perhaps even more impressive was the guy in the next section standing up and yelling “Take it to the House!” right before the kickoff. I am not sure if the returner heard him, but the timing was uncanny. Kennesaw held that momentum and managed another score before the half and blocked Jax State’s last minute field goal attempt to keep the game at 21-17.

In the third quarter, however, the wheels fell off for the Owls. Jax State scored on their first three drives while Kennesaw State’s first three drives were disasters. They went interception, punt, interception. It is hard to imagine winning with an ugly line like that. Early in the fourth quarter, it was now 49-17 and even the promise of post-game fireworks could not keep me in my seat. In the end the Owls were minus three in the turnover ratio, and it is hard to beat anyone when that happens. The EAT mantra seemed to work though. The Owls didn’t give up that night and nor did they a few weeks later when the undefeated Liberty Flames came to town. Kennesaw State rose to the occasion to upset the Flames 27-24 to garner their first FBS win. (It also sparked a creative two game ticket promotion for $27.24.)

Jacksonville State has one of the best bands in the country, I had the distinct feeling that many of the fans were there to hear them play. As noted earlier, their presence was felt almost immediately. It had to be at least a little disheartening to the Owl fans cheering on their team’s entrance only to have the Jax State band completely drown out the Kennesaw State band when the Gamecocks came to the field. To KSU’s credit, they did allow Jax State to perform at halftime. The Owl band was good, but Jax State is at another level. The Gamecocks are also new to the FBS, but the band’s been a top tier program for years.

There was one other revelation that night. As I was watching the game, someone came down, sat next to me, and tapped me on the shoulder. He said his name was Layne Thomas and he really liked my T-shirt. When asked me how many stadiums I had, and I proudly told him it was number 115. He smiled and said he was at 126. Like me, he was also going to the Georgia game the next day. I have said it before, it is an exhibition, not a competition.

As for the Owls, they have the makings of good small program. However, right now, in their infancy, I cannot endorse a visit to Fifth Thirds stadium. It is obvious they are still feeling their way through this. The program is way too young, and the fan base is too small to make the experience feel like an FBS game. They are doing some things right, but they need more time. Check in on them in a few years, Hoo knows, they may be ready.