There's no board up for this one yet, so the matchup has to speak for itself. Two common opponents give the clearest comparison. Kent State lost to Ohio 13-10 at home, and Sac State lost to Ohio 48-7. Kent State beat Ball State 26-13 at home, and Sac State lost at Ball State 34-17. On paper that's about as lopsided as it gets in this conference.
The case for Sacramento State is the trip. Kent State played a 1 p.m. Eastern rivalry game on Saturday, and on Friday it plays a night game at Hornet Stadium, 3 time zones west. That's a short week plus a cross-country flight for a team that has scored more than 26 points once in its last 5 games. If DeShields's day against Akron turns out to be a one-off, Kent State's offense has shown it can go completely dead on the road.
Both depth charts are banged up at the skill spots. Kent State is without running back D. Armentrout, receivers M. Stephens and W. Bierfeldt, and kicker E. Tucker, so a close game could come down to a backup kicker. Sac State's list is longer. Running backs C. Borders and B. Collins are both out, along with receivers K. Peevy and A. Bryant and tight end E. Huddle. That's 5 skill players gone from an offense that was already struggling to score.
Friday's forecast in Sacramento is mild: 63 degrees, cloudy, 5 mph wind and a 20% chance of rain. Weather won't decide this one. It comes down to whether Kent State brings the second half it played against Akron or the offense that scored 9 points across 2 road games. Sac State needs the second version to show up, plus a lot more from its own offense than it has shown in over a month.