The Georgia State Panthers and Kennesaw State Owls have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2026 and 2028 seasons, it was announced Thursday.
In the first game of the series, Georgia State will make the short trip to face Kennesaw State at Fifth Third Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. The series will conclude two seasons later with the Panthers hosting the Owls at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2028.
“We are excited to schedule these games, and we hope this becomes a long-standing tradition between the two programs,” Georgia State Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb said. “Fans, alumni and students from both schools will be energized, and we know that the tickets to games will be in high demand.”
In their first and only meeting on the gridiron back in 2018, Georgia State defeated Kennesaw State at home, 24-20.
“We’re excited to announce the addition of Georgia State to our future football schedules,” Kennesaw State Director of Athletics Milton Overton said. “The proximity of our campuses and the relationship that we share as members of the University System of Georgia, Georgia State provides our fans an opportunity to build a friendly interstate rivalry that benefits both institutions. It will be tremendous fun to square off in crosstown matchups and give our players a chance to play another game each year right here in the neighborhood.”
Georgia State University, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, and Kennesaw State University, a member of Conference USA, are separated by just over 23 miles.
In other non-conference action in 2026, Georgia State is slated to host the North Carolina A&T Aggies on Sept. 5 and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Sept. 19.
Kennesaw State is the second scheduled non-conference contest for Georgia State’s schedule in 2028, which also includes a road tilt against the UAB Blazers on Sept. 16.
Kennesaw State now has all two non-conference opponents lined up for both the 2026 and 2028 seasons. In 2026, the Owls are set to visit the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Sept. 26.
SJSU’s 2028 non-conference slate also includes a game at the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sept. 9.
Football Schedules
They would make perfect future FCS opponents for My Georgia Bulldogs.
I have been looking forward to the start of this rivalry for years! It should be the last game of the year and played on Thanksgiving every year!
Indeed, long overdue. Hopefully the rivalry incorporates a trophy game.
While I am pulling for SEC going to nine game conference schedule however I would like Georgia-Georgia Tech to continue to play on Thanksgiving weekend.
I would really like to see Bedlam make a comeback Oklahoma State-Oklahoma & that would make a fantastic fit similar to Iowa-Iowa State Cy Hawk series.
Let´s not be too hasty. We can´t just immediately rush into this being a rivalry. While I would love to see it become one, We still have to let it develop organically. Rivalries can´t be forced, just ask Pootah and Colorado. But they should continue to schedule each other to help it develop.