This week marks the beginning of Mid-American Conference play for the Kent State football team (1-1, 0-0) as it takes on Buffalo (1-1, 0-0) at home Saturday at noon. This will be the first conference foe interim coach Mark Carney leads his Flashes against this season.
KSU is coming off a harsh start to its road campaign, losing 62-14 to No. 21 Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Flashes’ offense struggled mightily in the first half, generating a measly 52 yards of offense in the first two quarters.
“Disappointing result in Texas,” Carney said. “We have to play better to start, but certainly proud of the resolve of the guys and the fight to get some points on the board in the fourth quarter was big for us, and we’ll build on that.”
The Flashes won’t have it any easier this week against the Bulls, as the team out of Amherst, NY, is coming off a 9-4 finish to its 2024 season. The team went 6-2 in conference play, including a 43-7 home victory over KSU in the season finale. Buffalo also secured a victory in the Bahamas Bowl over Liberty to cap off its season.
“I’m excited for the challenge of MAC play to start,” Carney said. “Anytime you get a chance to play a conference opponent, the stakes are a bit higher, preparation gets cranked up a notch. [Buffalo] is a really good football team.”
To start off right in MACtion, the Flashes’ defense will have to repel a Buffalo offense that gained over 500 yards of offense in its 45-6 win over St. Francis in week two. The Bulls absolutely dominated the Red Flash, to the tune of five total rushing touchdowns and a combined 63 carries for 374 rushing yards.
The leader of the Bulls offense is sixth-year quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson, who has bounced around several programs such as Penn State, UConn and Kansas State. Roberson threw for 133 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for two touchdowns and 88 yards on nine attempts against St. Francis.
In addition to its high-powered rushing offense, the Buffalo defense has held opponents to a combined 29 points in the first two weeks. This includes a trip up to Minneapolis to take on the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers, who scored just 23 points.
The KSU defense, which had success in stopping Merrimack’s rushing offense in the Flashes’ first win of the season, will look to redshirt sophomore linebacker CJ Young, who led the Flashes in tackles in week one of 2025 and in the season finale against Buffalo in 2024. Should KSU’s D-Line get off the line and force Roberson into some poorly timed passes, the unit may avenge itself after it got zero sacks in the loss against the Red Raiders.
On the other side of the ball, the Flashes offense will look to recapture the energy of the victorious home opener against Merrimack. Against Texas Tech, KSU was completely shut out until the fourth quarter of a blowout game where its opponent had already ushered in the reserves.
Through the first two weeks of the season, redshirt senior CJ Montes and redshirt freshman Dru DeShields have split snaps at quarterback, to mixed degrees of play. Both QBs have seemed to favor redshirt freshman wide receiver Cade Wolford, who is currently tied in second place for the most receiving touchdowns in the nation with three.
“[DeShields] continues to get better every single rep,” Carney said. “The sky’s the limit for that young man, and I’m excited to watch his continued development. That’s making the quarterback battle tough right now.”
If the Flashes’ offense can limit turnovers against the Bulls, the offense will be walking away feeling improved regardless of the outcome of the game. In week two alone, the team turned the ball over twice, with one being a pick-six.
Carney will also look to get more momentum in the running game against the Bulls. In the Flashes’ first two games, the running game has charged for a combined 160 yards for an average of 80 rushing yards per game. Redshirt junior Gavin Garcia has been the leading rusher in both games this season from the running back position.
This game could go many different ways, and it depends on which version of KSU the Bulls will see on Saturday. If the Flashes’ offensive line can protect the QB and open holes for Garcia and other backs to navigate through, that could give the Flashes an advantage.
Similarly, should the two-man system at the quarterback position work, or should one QB assert himself, the Flashes passing game should open up like it did in week one. The game plan through the air is usually conservative, so look for lots of inside runs with run-pass option plays sprinkled in between.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.
