Welcome into a massive Friday slate where Conference USA steps into the spotlight and delivers one of the grittiest conference championship games of the season. The lights will be bright, the stakes will be high, and two familiar foes are ready to settle things for real this time. Our senior writer Nate Hornung has the AAC Championship covered, and I am locked in on Kennesaw State versus Jacksonville State. These teams just saw each other, the energy is fresh, and the motivation is real on both sidelines. It is championship football, it is Friday night, and it is as good as it gets.
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Week 14 Results: 7-1 (+5.66u)
2025 Season Record: 58-53-2 (+11.80u)
Kennesaw State vs. Jacksonville State Odds
Can the Owls get their revenge on the Gamecocks?
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Spread
- Kennesaw State: -2.5 (-110)
- Jacksonville State: +2.5 (-110)
Moneyline
- Kennesaw State: -140
- Jacksonville State: +120
Total
- Over: 60.5 (-110)
- Under: 60.5 (-110)
Kennesaw State vs. Jacksonville State – December 5
Fridays are for the grittiest conference championship battles, as Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference share the stage under the lights. Our senior writer Nate Hornung will handle the AAC Championship, while I will give you my thoughts and insights on Kennesaw State versus Jacksonville State. Let us get into it.
These two conference foes met less than a month ago at Jacksonville State, where the Gamecocks came out on top 35 to 26 as 3.5 point underdogs. Now they are home underdogs once again. The Conference USA Championship is held at the Gamecocks home field, so they have the home field edge all over again, but remain underdogs. I do not typically look at a line and call it telling, but this one feels that way.
Revenge Spot
I grabbed the Owls moneyline a few days ago at -135. If you can get anything below -150, I believe it is worth taking over any amount of points. I love that they have the chance to seek revenge only a few weeks later in the same building where they lost on November 15. Kennesaw State has been one of the most explosive teams in the country this season, putting up almost 30 points per game, and Jacksonville State is averaging the same output. Overall, the Owls are racking up almost 420 yards per game and averaging almost 6 yards per play. They lean more toward the run, which they are recording over 166 yards per game, but they are still throwing for over 250 yards per game. If the Owls are forced to throw, they will have plenty of success, since the Gamecocks are allowing almost eight yards per pass and over 250 yards per game.
Stop the Run
On the other side, the Gamecocks are one of the heaviest run teams in the entire country, running the ball over 66 percent of the time. They average almost 48 attempts per game. The Owls are not strong against the run, but a second look at this offense should help them prepare. In the first meeting the Gamecocks rushed for 252 yards. On the season the Owls rank 102nd in rush yards allowed per game. If they can tighten that area in this matchup, they should come out on top. Their pass defense is no better, but forcing a team that throws on only 33 percent of its snaps to lean on the passing game would put Jacksonville State in an uncomfortable spot they have rarely faced this season.
Kennesaw State comes into this one as the more motivated group, sitting in a true revenge spot with a line that feels way too telling to ignore. Jacksonville State will try to do what it always does and pound the rock, but asking that approach to beat the same team twice in the same setting is a big ask. If the Owls clean up the run defense and make the Gamecocks play even a little outside their comfort zone, this game tilts fast. With the motivation, the urgency, and the shot to make things right from mid November, Kennesaw State is very live to finish the job.
Best Bet: Kennesaw State Moneyline (-140) odds via BetOnline
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