Why we're predicting Kennesaw State football to win the ASUN in 2022

For the first time in nearly 60 years Austin Peay will start a college football season in a conference not named the Ohio Valley. The Govs begin play in the six-member ASUN with four other teams that could be interchangeable at the top of the league.

Predicted order of finish

1. Kennesaw State

2. Jacksonville State

3. Central Arkansas

4. Austin Peay

5. Eastern Kentucky

6. North Alabama

GOVS RECRUITING: Austin Peay adds highest-rated recruit in school history

GOVS TO ASUN: Gerald Harrison: Austin Peay's 'porch just got a heck of a lot bigger'

Why Kennesaw State?

Kennesaw is the fashionable choice with several FCS publications this season and rightfully so. The Owls feature two quarterbacks capable of carrying the load, including former Pearl-Cohn standout Xavier Shepherd. Jonathan Murphy can enter at any point in a game and give Kennesaw a potent weapon to contend with.

However, there are several teams that will be nipping at the Owls' heels. Jacksonville State's final season in FCS, before it transitions to FBS in 2023, is a perennial FCS Top 25 team while Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky were both ranked much of the 2021 season.

The Govs will need time to adjust to its new conference and a much tougher league schedule than in the past decade. Quarterback Draylen Ellis, one of the OVC's top quarterbacks the past two seasons, transferred to Tennessee State and running back Brian Snead transferred to Arkansas State. Austin Peay has talent but is young and asking it to win a league title in its inaugural year is asking too much.

Reach sports writer George Robinson at grobinson@gannett.com or (931) 245-0747 and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Austin Peay football will fall in the middle of the ASUN pack this fall