The rest of the season
Three real tests left: Miami (OH) 24%, Eastern Michigan 30%, Bowling Green 32%
Win out 2% · expect 0.9 of 3 more wins
Kent State's chance to win each game left, from our model: Bowling Green 32%, Miami (OH) 24%, Eastern Michigan 30%Bar height is our model’s chance in each game left. Dashed line: 50%.
StandingTied for 8th in the Mid-American · 2-3 in conference play · All standings
LeadersPassing Dru Deshields 1,624 · Rushing Brandon White 268 · Receiving Wayne Harris 661 All player stats
Updated Wed Nov 4 · through week 9
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| Wk | Date | Our rank | Opp rank | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf | Top performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #122 | #16 | +35.5✗ −21.5 | @South Carolina | L 0-57 120 | 0-1 | 0-0 | Pass DeShields 63 · Rush DeShields 27 · Rec Blakemore 21 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #114 | #194 | −10✓ +11 | Wofford | W 36-15 125 | 1-1 | 0-0 | Pass DeShields 248 · Rush DeShields 74 · Rec Clark 90 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #132 | #1 | +52.5✗ −3.5 | @Ohio State | L 3-59 121 | 1-2 | 0-0 | Pass DeShields 35 · Rush White 21 · Rec Harris 29 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #120 | #157 | −2.5✓ +10.5 | Ball State | W 26-13 122 | 2-2 | 1-0 | Pass DeShields 189 · Rush DeShields 76 · Rec Clark 73 |
| 5 | Oct 3 | #134 | #60 | +3.5✓ +0.5 | Ohio | L 10-13 120 | 2-3 | 1-1 | Pass DeShields 217 · Rush White 32 · Rec Clark 68 |
| 6 | Oct 10 | #132 | #48 | +13.5✗ −17.5 | @Western Michigan | L 7-38 134 | 2-4 | 1-2 | Pass DeShields 223 · Rush Blakemore 36 · Rec Harris 164 |
| 7 | Oct 17 | #143 | #62 | +20.5✗ −6.5 | @South Florida | L 2-29 127 Loud | 2-5 | 1-2 | Pass DeShields 165 · Rush White 37 · Rec Smith 56 |
| 8 | Oct 24 | #150 | #138 | −3✓ +12 | Akron | W 35-20 130 | 3-5 | 2-2 | Pass DeShields 294 · Rush White 44 · Rec Harris 156 |
| 9 | Oct 30 | #149 | #251 | −7.5✗ −28.5 | @Sacramento State | L 10-31 129 | 3-6 | 2-3 | Pass DeShields 190 · Rush DeShields 43 · Rec Harris 122 |
| 10 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 11 | Nov 10 | #186 | #147 | @Bowling Green | 7 pm ET · ESPNU32% to win | ||||
| 12 | Nov 17 | Miami (OH) | 7 pm ET24% to win | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 24 | @Eastern Michigan | 7 pm ET30% to win | ||||||
Win chances are our model for Kent State, through 9 games. This week's game comes from the playoff simulation, later games from the rating model. They are estimates and move every week.
The small line beside each score is the team's win chance through the game, drawn on one scale for every game. The small number is total plays.
Line is the closing point spread for Kent State: a minus number means favored. A green check means the team covered it, by the number beside it. A red cross means it fell short by that much.
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Big plays (IsoPPP) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30 | @Sacramento State | L 10-31 | 302 | 5 | 25:13 | -0.558 | 22.6% | 1.54 | Season-low EPA/play |
| Oct 24 | Akron | W 35-20 | 376 | 1 | 25:59 | +0.210 | 40.0% | 1.70 | Season-high EPA/play |
| Oct 17 | @South Florida | L 2-29 | 228 | 1 | 31:46 | -0.277 | 32.9% | 0.92 | |
| Oct 10 | @Western Michigan | L 7-38 | 298 | 1 | 30:13 | -0.131 | 32.9% | 1.40 | Blowout loss |
| Oct 3 | Ohio | L 10-13 | 266 | 2 | 31:15 | -0.067 | 41.2% | 0.99 | Best success rate |
| Sep 26 | Ball State | W 26-13 | 354 | 0 | 35:18 | +0.194 | 33.8% | 1.64 | |
| Sep 19 | @Ohio State | L 3-59 | 134 | 3 | 29:39 | -0.450 | 19.6% | 0.86 | Blowout loss |
| Sep 12 | Wofford | W 36-15 | 448 | 3 | 37:22 | +0.125 | 41.1% | 1.31 | Best defensive stand |
| Sep 5 | @South Carolina | L 0-57 | 179 | 1 | 25:13 | -0.038 | 26.5% | 1.46 | Defense's roughest night |
| Season average (9 games) | 287 | 1.9 | -0.110 | 32.3% | 1.31 | ||||
Kent State's wildest games since 2013: comebacks, long shots, line misses
Median odds across sportsbooks · Nov 4. A number with a minus is the favorite: −130 means $130 wins $100. A plus is the underdog: +170 means $100 wins $170.
What fans said
Real posts about each game (they name the opponent, a player or a play), chosen by community score · usernames not shown
The games that decide the season
Recent form · last 10 games
4-6 over the last 10, and lost the last one.
Coach [Cherokee Valeria] and I are always in communication about how to play off each other
Range of outcomes · Kent State · 2026
Regular-season wins: chance of each total, from the game chances above
3 wins 36%; 4 wins 44%; 5 wins 18%; 6 wins 2%Bars are the chance of each regular-season win total, from our model's chance in each game left, through 9 games. Paler bars are the outer 10% at each end. The closed row comes from the season-path projection, which also plays out conference title games and the CFP.
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This week and this season
What it is like to watch them2026 · 3-6
Measured from 9 games · ranks are among Mid-American teams the same season
Kent State went 1-23 across two seasons, fired its coach, and turned to the guy already on staff -- who won five games in one year and took the Wagon Wheel back from Akron in overtime to prove it.
Kent State fans have watched the program get written off as a MAC afterthought during the 1-23 stretch -- and answered with a coach promoted from the same staff that presided over it, turning the…
Kent State · Game-day weather
Typical at Dix Stadium: kickoff time makes little difference, scores run 87 to 91
Typical weather score at each kickoff time.
Tap a dot to read it.
At kickoff, regular-season Saturdays, 2018 to 2025: 111 at noon, 111 at 3:30 pm, 110 at 7:30 pm. Typical means the average of those Saturdays. It is not a forecast.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
Kent State went 1-23 across 2023-2024, fired Kenni Burns in April 2025, and turned to interim-then-permanent head coach Mark Carney -- who led a 5-7 turnaround with more wins in one season than the previous two combined, capped by reclaiming the Wagon Wheel from Akron in an overtime thriller.
The program ledger
since 2025Roster and recruiting
Top 1 commits
No high-engagement r/cfb discussions tracked for this program in the last year.
Fans and ratings
Fan mood index · most recent r/CFB data
More
2Mark Carney's 5-7 turnaround capped by reclaiming the Wagon Wheel from Akron offers a rare spark for a program mired in a 1-23 slide across 2023-2024.
Each link was checked against two outside sites.
Range of outcomes · Kent State · 2026