Kent State closes out a brutal three-game road gauntlet against Power Four competition at the worst possible place: Ohio Stadium, against a team still stinging from a playoff exit.
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KENTOSU
KENTOSU
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Best BetOhio State
There's no realistic path here that doesn't run through Ohio State. Sayin returns as a Heisman-finalist-caliber passer behind a defense that held every regular-season opponent to 16 points or fewer a year ago, while Kent State is walking into its third true road test against Power Four competition to open the year. This is about as close to a lock as the moneyline market offers.
Kent State
+Snapped 21-game losing streak, 5-game turnaround in 2025
+Five players earned All-MAC honors
+Da'Realyst Clark is a game-breaking return threat
−Only 5-7 overall, 4-4 in MAC play last year
−Third true road game vs Power Four company to open 2026
−Roster depth can't match Ohio State's speed and size
Ohio State
+Julian Sayin returns as a Heisman-finalist-caliber passer
+Defense held every 2025 regular-season foe to 16 points or fewer
+Went 12-0 in the regular season, 9-0 in Big Ten play
−Lost the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal 24-14 to Miami, questions linger
−Early buy-game letdown risk after a long playoff run
−Backup QB St. Clair unproven if Sayin needs rest
This one is about survival math for Kent State. The Golden Flashes open 2026 at South Carolina, host Wofford, then hit the road again for Columbus on Saturday, September 19 — three non-conference tests before MAC play even starts, with two of them against teams that operate on an entirely different recruiting planet. Ohio State, meanwhile, is still working through the sting of a 12-2 season that ended in a Cotton Bowl quarterfinal loss to Miami, and QB Julian Sayin — a Heisman finalist who threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman — is back to lead the response.
Sayin spent the offseason working on pocket footwork and using his legs more, according to reporting out of Columbus, which is a scary proposition for a defense the caliber of Kent State's. The Golden Flashes deserve real credit for what they built under first-year head coach Mark Carney — a 5-7 season that snapped a 21-game losing streak and marked the second-biggest turnaround in program history — but that leap doesn't close the talent gap against a Buckeyes team that held every regular-season opponent to 16 points or fewer in 2025, a feat no team had managed since the 1975 Florida Gators.
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KENT Kent State
OSU Ohio State
Kent State's turnaround wasn't a fluke — Da'Realyst Clark was the MAC's Specialist of the Year off two kick-return touchdowns, and five Golden Flashes landed All-MAC honors. That's a program with real juice heading into Year 2 of Carney's tenure. None of it, though, was built against defenses playing at Ohio State's level, and there's no signal yet of how this group holds up when the athletes across the ball are simply faster.
For Ohio State, the story is less about Kent State and more about themselves. A 12-0 regular season and a near-repeat title bid ended in a stunner against Miami, and how a program responds to that kind of exit often shows up early — either as a chip-on-the-shoulder statement game or a
Kent State Golden Flashes
Sep 12?vs Wofford—
Sep 5?@ South Carolina—
Ohio State Buckeyes
Sep 12?@ Texas—
Sep 5?vs Ball State—
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Whatever lingering questions Ohio State has to answer, they're not likely to surface against this particular opponent. Kent State's defense will be tasked with slowing down one of the more explosive offensive rosters in the country, and depth is where these games get decided — the Golden Flashes don't have the two-deep to match snap-for-snap once Ohio State starts rotating in reserves.
