The bigger story is where each program is coming from. Kent State went 0-12 in 2024, a losing streak that stretched to 21 games and included a 71-0 loss to Tennessee and a defeat to an FCS opponent. Carney's 5-7 finish last season, capped by a comeback win over Bowling Green, was the first real sign of life in years. Wofford has its own recovery arc — an 0-5 start in 2025 before ripping off 6 wins in the final 7 games to close 6-6.
That late-season form is exactly why this game is interesting on paper even with the talent gap. Kent State's young receiver duo of Jared Kelley and Jay Jay Ethridge, plus a crowded running back room including transfers Jakorian Caffey and Mason King, gives Carney more pieces to work with than he had during the winless season. Wofford's continuity up front and at linebacker is why Watson's group finished with real momentum instead of limping to the finish line.
Nothing this early in the summer changes the baseline read: Kent State is the far more talented roster hosting an FCS opponent for the first time, and it should handle its business. But this program has burned a lot of goodwill with bad Septembers, and Wofford isn't walking in overwhelmed given how it played down the stretch last year. That tension is worth watching even in what's supposed to be a tune-up game.