The Kennesaw State Owls take on the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, IN. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
Indiana is favored by -35.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -8000. The total is set at 50.5 points.
Here’s my Kennesaw State vs. Indiana prediction and college football picks for Saturday, September 6, 2025.
Kennesaw State vs Indiana Prediction
- Kennesaw State vs. Indiana Pick: Indiana Alternate Team Totals Over 43.5 (-118), 45.5 (+128), 47.5 (+136), 49.5 (+200)
My Indiana vs. Kennesaw State best bet is on over Indiana's alternate team totals, which I'm playing at multiple numbers. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Kennesaw State vs Indiana Odds
| Kennesaw State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+35.5 -115 | 52.5 -112o / -108u | N/A |
| Indiana Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-35.5 -105 | 52.5 -112o / -108u | N/A |
- Kennesaw State vs Indiana point spread: Indiana -35.5
- Kennesaw State vs Indiana over/under: 52.5 points
Kennesaw State vs Indiana Preview
Kennesaw State Owls Betting Preview
Preseason concerns about Kennesaw State were verified immediately in Week 1, as the Owls managed just nine points under head coach Jerry Mack and a new offensive system.
That offense managed just a 27% successful play rate, and nearly 40% of Kennesaw State’s 38 rushes went for zero or negative yards.
Quarterback Dexter Williams II was a disaster, completing just 12-of-33 passes for 144 yards while taking two sacks.
After an opening-drive touchdown, Kennesaw State failed to gain 10 yards on six separate drives, including each of its final four of the game.
It’s worth noting that Wake Forest likely finishes the season as no better than an average FBS defense.
This week, Kennesaw State goes up against a much tougher stop unit in Indiana — one that, aside from a 75-yard opening-play touchdown and a 78-yard closing-play touchdown, allowed just 161 total yards to Old Dominion.
Kennesaw State did succeed in defending the run, as the Owls didn’t allow a rush of more than 15 yards, and neither of the two primary Wake Forest running backs surpassed 40 yards.
Indiana Hoosiers Betting Preview
Explosive plays were certainly an issue for Indiana in Week 1. Both the first and last offensive plays for Old Dominion were 75+ yard runs for touchdowns.
Between that, though, the Hoosiers’ defense suffocated ODU.
Indiana held ODU to just above four yards per drive (4.7), 43 total scrimmage plays and 68 yards — aside from those two explosives (20 attempts).
The final score was pretty misleading. ODU scored 14 points on two plays, and Indiana scored just 27 after fumbling at the 20-yard line, missing a 52-yard field goal and coming up short on downs at the eight-yard line.
The offense featured long, sustained drives that played out more like a 40-14 win than a 27-14 one.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza wasn’t excellent in his IU debut, completing about half his passes for 189 yards and no touchdowns. Also, very few throws were completed downfield.
Fortunately for Mendoza, the Hoosiers didn’t need him to push the ball downfield. Indiana was able to run the ball at will, with Roman Hemby leading the way (113 yards) and Kaelon Black (92 yards) also having a nice outing.
Frequently at the forefront of debate this summer, Indiana’s non-conference schedule doesn’t get much more difficult, and the Hoosiers should enter Big Ten play a confident 3-0.
Kennesaw State vs Indiana Pick, Betting Analysis
Even spotting Indiana 33.5 points wasn’t enough, as the line moved up to 35.5 early in the week.
There’s a clear chasm between the talent on Indiana’s roster versus Kennesaw State’s. Expect this game to even out Kennesaw State’s run defense numbers from a strong week against Wake Forest — a team without any juice offensively.
Curt Cignetti is a coach unafraid to keep his foot on the throttle. Last year, Indiana made that statement with a +167 point differential through four games. After failing to cover Week 1, expect Cignetti to keep his starters in a little longer and iron out some of the offensive wrinkles.
A change to Kennesaw State’s offense this year is picking up the tempo. In Week 1, the Owls ran 73 plays from scrimmage and averaged a play every 19.2 seconds — among the three fastest tempos of the week.
But, as I mentioned in last week’s Wake Forest-Kennesaw State betting guide, tempo without efficiency turns into a mess, and that’s exactly what happened. The Owls will likely push the tempo again, giving Indiana more possession time with defensive stops.
There should have been far more points on the board for Indiana, which ran 89 plays from scrimmage last week.
I don’t believe they’ll leave those points on the cutting room floor a second week in a row.
I expect this game to be capital-U UGLY, and I'm taking an alternate team points ladder with Indiana:
- Over 43.5 (-118)
- Over 45.5 (+128)
- Over 47.5 (+136)
- Over 49.5 (+200)
Pick: Indiana Over 43.5 (-118), 45.5 (+128), 47.5 (+136), and 49.5 (+200) Total Points
