The Kent State football team lost in a back-and-forth brawl with Mid-American Conference opponent Buffalo Bulls in a heartbreaker for the Flashes, 31-28. With the loss, the Flashes move to 1-2 (0-1) in 2025, with Buffalo taking two out of the first three games for a record of 2-1 (1-0). 

The Flashes pounced on the Bulls early in the first quarter, scoring twice in roughly seven and a half minutes in one stretch during the first quarter. Despite jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Flashes failed to hold on and secure the win. 

“This one stings,” coach Mark Carney said. “Really proud of the resolve of our football team, just got to clean up a couple coaching things, a couple communication things and we got a really good football team in that locker room.”

In comparison to last week’s game against Texas Tech, KSU improved remarkably on offense, putting up 423 total yards of offense against a solid Buffalo defense that only gave up 23 points to Minnesota. 

“Wayne Harris had a really good game, Tarik Mulder’s a big target who’s gonna make a bunch of plays,” Carney said. “Ardell Banks is slowly coming to his own, Da’Shawn Martin continues to get healthy, you’ll see Jay-Jay Ethridge. We have a lot of playmakers.”

On defense, the Flashes gave up 461 yards to a Bulls offense that made impressive adjustments on KSU after halftime. The Bulls ran lots of run-heavy packages before flipping the playbook over and throwing more in the second half than it did in the first two quarters. 

“We have to get more out of the pass rush,” Carney said. “But all of the guys competed really hard.”

Recap 

Following a fumble from Buffalo’s sixth-year starting quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson, the Flashes were set up deep in Bulls’ territory. KSU capitalized on the turnover and scored a 31-yard rushing touchdown from freshman wide receiver Maurice Stephens, his first of the season.

The Flashes and Bulls traded punts and non-scoring drives, as Roberson turned the ball over once more on an interception to freshman defensive back Derrick Jackson III. The Bulls later blocked a KSU punt attempt, before Roberson fumbled once again for his third turnover of the first half on the very next play. 

With 2:39 left in the first half, redshirt sophomore quarterback Dru DeShields found another redshirt in early season freshman hero Cade Wolford, who went 41-yards deep for his fourth receiving touchdown of the season. In each of the three games KSU has

played in 2025, Wolford has caught at least one touchdown.

The Bulls finally managed to find some offensive momentum with a little over a minute left in the first half. Buffalo first scored on a 38-yard passing touchdown from Roberson. Then, with one second exactly on the clock, Bulls senior kicker Jack Howes converted a 28-yard field goal attempt to cut KSU’s lead to 14-10 heading into the break.

Buffalo hit the ground running to start the third quarter, with Roberson finding junior wide receiver Chance Morrow on a beautiful deep ball to give the Bulls the lead. On the very next drive, senior running back Al-Jay Henderson would stretch the field for 38 yards on a majestic rushing touchdown to put Buffalo up 24-14 over KSU. 

It was at this point in the game where DeShields cemented himself as the leader of the Flashes. In the post game press conference, Carney formally announced that DeShields would be the starting quarterback for Kent State moving forward. 

“The best player is gonna play, and it’s been a competition since training camp,” Carney said. “ [DeShields] will be our starter moving forward. 

On a five play, 75-yard drive, DeShield’s arm would pull the Flashes closer on a 50-yard dime to redshirt junior tight end Tarik Mulder with 3:05 left in the third quarter to end the nearly 15-minute KSU scoring drought. This was Mulder’s first touchdown of the season. 

Last minute scoring drives by both teams ultimately decided the outcome of the game. Entering as 23.5 point underdogs, KSU was just one drive away from pulling off a major conference upset. 

The Flashes marched down the field on an impressive 93-yard drive to take a 28-24 lead late in the game on a 4th and inches read option play that saw DeShields keep the ball and leap into the endzone á la Bills quarterback Josh Allen. 

“Dru DeShields said give me the damn ball and we gave him the damn ball,” Carney said. “Trust your players.” 

That was supposed to be the end of the game, with Kent State leaving a packed stadium victorious over a heavily favored rival. But Buffalo, staying true to its pedigree, would not relent in its quest to win the team’s first conference game. 

On a 76-yard, eight-play drive that only took 26 seconds of game clock to fulfill, the Bulls would put a dagger in the heart of Flashes’ fans on a go-ahead 22 yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Victor Snow. The Flashes had a chance to respond with a minute left on the clock and all three timeouts remaining, but the team could not generate anything on offense, ultimately losing 31-28.

DeShields finished the game with 279-passing yards and three total touchdowns. He also added 55-yards on the ground. Redshirt junior running back Gavin Garcia led the Flashes in rushing yards with 61-yards on 18-carries. 

Wolford finished with three catches for 95-yards and a TD, Mulder followed him up with three catches for 55-yards and a score. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Wayne Harris led the team in receptions with four for 39-yards.

Roberson managed to overcome some early turnover troubles with an impressive stat line of 28 completions, 318-passing yards, three passing touchdowns and 57-rushing yards. 

Moving Ahead

The Flashes will head on the road once again to take on another ranked opponent, the Florida State Seminoles. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday. 

Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.