Two former Tennessee coaches battled it out on Saturday afternoon in Kennesaw, GA.
Jerry Mack’s Kennesaw State Owls defeated Butch Jones’ Arkansas State Red Wolves by a score of 28-21. The Owls jumped out to a massive 21-0 lead after the first quarter, but the Red Wolves answered with 14 points of their own late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter.
After Kennesaw State bolstered its lead with another touchdown in the third to go up 28-14, Arkansas State answered back with a touchdown just a few minutes into the fourth quarter. That was the last touchdown on the day from either side, as Kennesaw State held film for the final 10 minutes to secure the 28-21 lead.
Jones’ Red Wolves moved to 1-3 on the season with other losses to Arkansas and Iowa State, while Mack’s Owls now sit at 2-2. Kennesaw State’s only losses have been to Wake Forest and Indiana.
Jerry Mack, a native of Memphis, TN, and a former wide receiver at Arkansas State in the early 2000s, spent three seasons on Tennessee’s staff from 2021 to 2023. He was part of the staff that head coach Josh Heupel first assembled when he arrived in Knoxville, coming over from an associate head coach/offensive coordinator position with Rice. Mack was part of some big-time wins with the Vols and had plenty of playmakers in his room, such as Jabari Small, Tiyon Evans, Jaylen Wright, and Dylan Sampson.
Following three seasons with the Volunteers, Mack moved on to the NFL. He spent one season as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ running backs coach in 2024 before being hired as the head coach at Kennesaw State this past offseason.
MOOD.#SeeUs | #HootyHoo pic.twitter.com/cgiFFMae7Y
— Kennesaw State Football (@kennesawstfb) September 21, 2025
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Butch Jones is in his fifth season with the Red Wolves’ program in Jonesboro, AR. Through his first four seasons with the program, he racked up a 19-31 record in 50 games. Jones went to Arkansas State after serving as an offensive analyst for Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide from 2018 to 2020. It was the first job he took after being fired from Tennessee in 2017.
Jones was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee program in December 2012, gearing up for his first season in 2013. He held that position until being let go late in the 2017 season. Jones achieved a 34-27 overall record with Tennessee, leading the Vols to three straight bowl wins from 2014 to 2016: TaxSlayer Bowl in 2014, Outback Bowl in 2015, Music City Bowl in 2016.
Kennesaw State and Arkansas State battled it out in the evening slate of games on Saturday. Tennessee’s game was already far over by the time this one kicked off. The No. 15 Volunteers defeated UAB on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville by a score of 56-24.
Tennessee will now resume SEC play next weekend with a road test against Mississippi State in Starkville, MS. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football coverage.
