Jerry Mack didn’t hold anything back. Not after this. Not after watching a 2–10 program transform itself into Conference USA champions in one breathtaking year.
“Compliments to Jacksonville State and Coach Kelly. That is a really, really good football team that we just defeated right there,” he said, establishing the weight of the night. “The heart that they showed, the DNA of a champion… you could see the strain on both sides of the ball.”
The game mirrored Mack’s season: tense, wild, emotional, and decided by players who refused to break.
And nothing captured that better than 4th and 14 at the Jacksonville State 37 in the closing minutes while trailing by three. A field goal was an option, albeit a long one, the type that tests leg strength, wind, nerves, and everything a season has built toward.
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“We thought about it. It would’ve been about a 55-yard field goal,” Mack said.
But instead of trusting distance, he trusted his quarterback. “We decided we’re going to put the ball in our best player’s hands.”
What happened next wasn’t part of the playbook.
Amari Odom trusted his instincts, abandoned the script, and changed everything.
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“He did. He improvised,” Mack revealed. “It was a pass play call…Amari saw that people were covered down the field. For him to take off, find a crease, and get that first down was just incredible...that was truly a championship DNA they exhibited right there.”
Odom wasn’t done. Moments later, he delivered the go-ahead touchdown to Navelle Dean, a receiver who spent half the year battling injuries but never lost Mack’s trust.
“Navelle’s been up and down injury-wise… but the last six weeks he’s been putting great practices together,” Mack said. “And what you saw at the end is what we’ve been seeing.”
When star wideout Gabriel Benyard exited the game, Kennesaw State didn’t falter.
“We didn’t blink. We didn’t miss a beat,” Mack said, pointing to Christian Moss, Davis Bryson, and the rest of his receiver group for their second-half toughness and execution.
But the larger story, the one no box score can capture, began long before kickoff.
“Everybody’s hopes and dreams for our university…all came true right there in that moment,” Mack said. “When I got here… a 2–10 football team…to transform this team to get 10 wins in a single year…man, it was just a magical moment in my mind.”
He made clear it wasn’t luck.
“It takes a lot of people being bought in. Leadership is real. We didn’t bring a single person in our building that we didn’t have a plan for…You saw a connected team tonight…when you’re connected as a family, the sky is the limit.”
The final whistle didn’t just seal a championship. It validated a blueprint and a belief system.
“Our guys put their heart and soul on the line,” Mack said.
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