The Kent State football team lost in a back-and-forth barn burner to conference opponent Buffalo 31-28 Saturday.
The Flashes went through a world of emotion in a heavyweight battle between Mid-American Conference foes in the opening week of conference play for both teams. This is the first home loss for the Flashes in 2025.
KSU moves to 1-2 (0-1) this season, and the Bulls move to 2-1 (1-0) as both teams approach the middle of September.
The Flashes took an early lead as freshman wide receiver Maurice Stephens ran into the end zone on a 31-yard run for the game’s first touchdown following a Buffalo fumble. The Bulls later turned it over again, which led to another KSU touchdown, a 41-yard pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Cade Wolford.
Late in the second quarter, down 14, the Buffalo offense snapped out of its slumber and embarked on two scoring drives to pull the Bulls within four at halftime.
Sixth-year quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson would shoulder the offensive load for Buffalo, as he threw his second passing touchdown of the day early in the third quarter to put the Bulls up 17-14. Buffalo then went on a six-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that put Buffalo in the driver’s seat over Kent.
KSU was not deterred like in years past and showed serious resolve on back-to-back scoring drives. Redshirt freshman quarterback Dru DeShields, who was named the long-term starting quarterback by Coach Mark Carney in the postgame press conference, had the best game of his Flashes tenure with a QBR of 162.2 while throwing for 279 and scoring three total touchdowns.
After a DeShields rushing touchdown put Kent State up 28-24, the Bulls marched down the field on a powerful eight-play, 76-yard drive that resulted in a 22-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Victor Snow. Snow’s touchdown reception via Roberson would ultimately win the game for Buffalo by a final score of 31-28.
Following the loss, the Flashes will head on the road to take on the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee Saturday. This will be the second-ranked opponent the Flashes have faced this season.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.