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Akron Zips at Kent State Golden Flashes

Oct 24, 202612:00 PM CTESPN+Kent, OH
By JR·3 min read
Akron(1-6)
Kent State(2-5)
12:00 PM

TLDR: Akron is 1-6 and has lost 5 straight. Kent State is 2-5 and has scored 2 points in its most recent game. Somebody gets a win at Dix Stadium on Saturday, October 24, and for either one it would be the best thing to happen in a month.

SAT 10/24, 12:00 PM CT · Week 8ESPN+
Akron
(1-6)
LLLLL
Kent State
(2-5)
LLLWL
Kickoff 63°

Akron (1-6, 0-3 MAC) visits Kent State (2-5, 1-2 MAC) with the Zips on a 5-game losing streak and their quarterback, C. Broughton, questionable with a knee injury. Kent State's defense has kept games closer than Akron's has, but its offense has scored 10 points or fewer in 4 of its last 5, and RB M. King missed the South Florida loss. The game likely comes down to whether Akron's offense, with or without Broughton, can score against a defense that is more solid than the scoreboard suggests. No odds have been posted yet.

Akron Zips
  • Has outscored Kent State in 3 of the last 5 weeks
  • Took Eastern Michigan to the wire, 23-25
  • Starting QB Broughton questionable with a knee injury
  • Allowed 34+ points in 4 of the last 5 games
  • Miami ran for big yards and returned a pick-six
Kent State Golden Flashes
  • Home team; beat Ball State 26-13 at Dix
  • Faces a defense that has given up 34+ four times
  • 10 or fewer points in 4 of the last 5
  • RB M. King out with an undisclosed injury
  • Scored 2 points at South Florida

Quarterback is the first question, and it's on Akron's side. C. Broughton is listed questionable with a knee injury he's been carrying on the report since early October, and nobody has said whether he plays. On the other side, Kent State runs through Dru DeShields, who had 980 passing yards, 4 touchdown passes and 3 more scores on the ground through 6 games. That's not much for 6 weeks of football, but it's a known starter, and right now Akron can't say that.

Kent State has its own hole in the backfield. RB M. King was ruled out for the South Florida game with an undisclosed injury, and the Flashes scored 2 points without him. If King can't go again, DeShields has to carry even more of the run game with his legs, and Wayne Harris, the team's leading receiver going into Tampa with 27 catches, is the main option in the passing game. Neither book has posted a number yet, so there's no price here to argue about.

The two teams got here in slightly different ways. Akron's losses look the same every week: the defense gave up 41, 38, 41 and 34 in 4 of the last 5, and Miami (OH) ran right through them last week. Rodney Nelson had a career-high 142 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries, and Blayne Myrick returned an interception 34 yards for a score in the 34-14 loss. Kent State's problem is at the other end. Its defense has kept a few games close, and its offense can't keep up.

Akron Zips
(1-6)
10/17L@Miami (OH)14-34
10/10LvsEastern Michigan23-25
10/03L@Central Michigan17-41
09/26LvsUNLV10-38
09/19L@Minnesota7-41
Kent State Golden Flashes
(2-5)
10/17L@South Florida2-29
10/10L@Western Michigan7-38
10/03LvsOhio10-13
09/26WvsBall State26-13
09/19L@3Ohio State3-59

Look at Kent State's points. The Flashes scored 3 at Ohio State, 10 in a home loss to Ohio, 7 at Western Michigan and 2 at South Florida, where they were looking to end a regular-season skid against non-conference FBS opponents that goes back to 2014. They didn't. The one bright spot in the window was a 26-13 home win over Ball State, the only time in their last 5 that they topped 10 points. Akron gives up yards and points to just about everyone, so this is about as good a chance as Kent State's offense will get.

Akron has shown a little life, if you look hard. The Zips scored 23 against Eastern Michigan and lost by only 2 at home, their closest game in the stretch. Their 17 at Central Michigan and 14 at Miami are both more than Kent State has scored in any of its last 3. If the Zips have a healthy quarterback, they arguably have the better offense of 2 struggling teams. Without one, that 23-25 game looks more like a one-off.

Weather won't be an excuse for either team: the forecast is 62 degrees and partly cloudy, with an 8 mph wind and almost no chance of rain in Kent. It's a MAC game between a team that's 0-3 in conference play and one that's 1-2, and the losing streaks are what make it interesting. Akron needs to stop a 5-game skid. Kent State needs to remember how to score. One of those things happens at noon on Saturday, or close to it.

Akron vs. Kent State: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 24) — Akron and Kent State Meet With Points in Short Supply · Barstool Bush