Kent State Golden Flashes at Bowling Green Falcons
Tue Nov 10 · 6:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 5d ago·2 min read
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Two MAC teams searching for an identity meet on a Tuesday night in Bowling Green, and neither one wants to be the answer to 'who's still rebuilding.'
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Best BetKent State
Kent State finished 4-4 in MAC play a year ago compared to Bowling Green's 2-6, and that gap is the whole case here once you strip out the non-conference noise. Mark Carney's group is a program on the rise off a 5-7 turnaround, while Eddie George is still finding his footing in year 2 after a rough debut. Back the Golden Flashes as the road side with the better recent conference resume.
Kent State
+4-4 in MAC play last season, better than BG's mark
+turned around a winless 2024 into a 5-7 finish
+Carney's interim tag removed after a strong close
−only a year removed from an 0-12 season
−road trips to South Carolina and Ohio State could bank early losses
−leaning heavily on transfer portal additions
Bowling Green
+set attendance records and sold out Doyt Perry Stadium in 2025
+added new DC and special teams coordinator for year 2
+sportsbooks project real growth with a 4.5 win total
−finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in MAC in George's debut
−non-conference slate at Nebraska and Iowa State could bruise confidence
−George is still a first-time college head coach finding his system
Mark Carney took over an 0-12 disaster at Kent State and somehow got the Golden Flashes to 5-7 in 2025, going 4-4 in MAC play along the way. Eddie George's first year at Bowling Green didn't go nearly as smoothly — the Heisman winner turned first-time college head coach finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the conference. Both programs walk into Tuesday, November 10 still trying to figure out exactly who they are.
Bowling Green sold out Doyt Perry Stadium for the first time since 2007 and set attendance records doing it, so there's clearly buy-in from the fan base even while the results catch up. George brought in Joe Bowden as the new defensive coordinator and added special teams coordinator Greg Froelich, both moves aimed at tightening up a defense that got exposed plenty in year one. Kent State, meanwhile, is leaning on the transfer portal to keep building around the pieces that turned last season's finish around.
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KENT Kent State
BGSU Bowling Green
Neither side has been installed as a favorite by name in this one yet, but Bowling Green's oddsmakers have the Falcons projected for real growth — the team's season win total sits at 4.5 with the Over favored, a sign books expect George's second year to look a lot different from his first. That backdrop matters for a Tuesday night MAC game that won't move the needle nationally but says plenty about where both programs are headed.
Kent State Golden Flashes
Oct 30?@ Sacramento State—
Oct 16?@ South Florida—
Oct 9?@ Western Michigan—
Oct 2?vs Ohio—
Sep 25?vs Ball State—
Sep 19?@ Ohio State—
Sep 12?vs Wofford—
Sep 5?@ South Carolina—
Bowling Green Falcons
Oct 31?@ Western Michigan—
Oct 16?vs Ball State—
Oct 9?vs Sacramento State—
Oct 2?@ Miami (OH)—
Sep 25?vs South Florida—
Sep 19?@ Iowa State—
Sep 12?@ Nebraska—
Sep 5?vs Tarleton State—
Recent form.
Kent State's schedule spine this fall runs through South Carolina and Ohio State before MAC play even gets going, so by the time the Golden Flashes get to Bowling Green in November, they'll have already been battle-tested against two Power Four defenses. That kind of gauntlet can cut two ways — it either toughens a roster up or leaves it gassed heading into the meat of the conference slate.
Bowling Green's own non-conference slate — Nebraska and Iowa State both away from home — will tell you a lot about how much progress George's defense has actually made by the time the calendar flips to November. If the growth is real, Doyt Perry Stadium's newly rowdy crowd should have every reason to stick around for a late-season MAC tilt with a hungry Kent State team looking to spoil it.
