CFB Schedule college football
Wk 3 · 2026

Kent State Golden Flashes at Ohio State Buckeyes — Sat, Sep 19

Sat, Sep 19 · Ohio Stadium, Columbus · FOX
MAC · no games yet
at
12:00pET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential OSU by 34.4
Big Ten · no games yet

What is at stake

A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race. Ohio State is ranked #1 (AP Top 25 ยท 2026-08-17).

What the ratings imply

The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers: The College King’s 2025 final efficiency ratings, plus 2.4 points of home field. It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026 games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have changed.

Efficiency · 2025 ratings

-11.9#127
Efficiency margin
+20.1#3
23.0
Offense (pts/100)
32.4
34.9
Defense (pts/100)
12.2
57.3
Pace (plays/g)
65.2
5.07
Yards / play
6.51
5.86
Yards / play allowed
4.02
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College King's 2025 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is always the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one.

Team stats · 2025 per game

21.2
Points / game
34.9
33.6
Points allowed
8.2
294
Yards / game
430
427
Yards allowed
214
236
Pass yds allowed
129
191
Rush yds allowed
84
1.08
Turnovers / game
0.69
From completed 2025 box scores; defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.

Kent State form

W 35-31at NIUL 16-28vs CMUW 42-35at AKRL 13-17at BALLW 24-21vs BGSU
2025 season

Ohio State form

L 10-13vs IUW 27-9at MICHW 42-9vs RUTGW 48-10vs UCLAW 34-10at PUR
2025 season

Kent State this season

No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.

Ohio State this season

No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked when the game goes final. There is no line archive before this season, so these records begin with 2026 Week 1.

Common opponents · 1

OpponentKent StateOhio State
Ball State
MAC
vs Wk 4 · scheduled previewvs Wk 1 · scheduled preview
Open these two in the comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.

Series history · 2006–2026

Ohio State leads the series 2–0 · Ohio State has won the last 2
2 meetings in 2006–2026 · average margin 55.5 points toward Ohio State
Yr DateResultSiteWon
20142014-09-13Kent State 066 Ohio Stateat OSUOhio State
20072007-10-13Kent State 348 Ohio Stateat OSUOhio State

Kent State leaders 2025 regular season

PassingDru DeShields QB #12136/240, 2030 YDS, 18 TD, 3 INT
CJ Montes QB #710/19, 140 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
RushingGavin Garcia RB #5146 CAR, 647 YDS, 3 TD
Jordan Nubin RB #2779 CAR, 253 YDS, 1 TD
Jahzae Kimbrough RB #8439 CAR, 97 YDS
ReceivingCade Wolford WR #819 REC, 509 YDS, 7 TD
Da'Shawn Martin WR #1833 REC, 507 YDS, 4 TD
Wayne Harris WR #635 REC, 383 YDS, 1 TD
Ardell Banks WR #112 REC, 205 YDS, 2 TD
Defense
TacklesMason Woods LB #094
CJ Young LB #889
Joel Cordoba DB #268
SacksJamond Mathis LB #86
Jelani Davis DL #952.5
CJ Young LB #82.5
InterceptionsTerrell Miller CB #182
Joel Boamah CB #121
CJ Young LB #81

Ohio State leaders 2025 regular season

PassingJulian Sayin QB #10279/356, 3323 YDS, 31 TD, 6 INT
Lincoln Kienholz QB #311/14, 139 YDS, 1 TD
RushingBo Jackson RB #25168 CAR, 1035 YDS, 5 TD
James Peoples RB #161 CAR, 344 YDS, 3 TD
CJ Donaldson RB #1289 CAR, 330 YDS, 10 TD
ReceivingJeremiah Smith WR #480 REC, 1086 YDS, 11 TD
Carnell Tate WR #1748 REC, 838 YDS, 9 TD
Max Klare TE #8643 REC, 448 YDS, 2 TD
Brandon Inniss WR #132 REC, 237 YDS, 3 TD
Defense
TacklesSonny Styles LB #081
Arvell Reese LB #862
Caden Curry EDGE #9260
SacksCaden Curry EDGE #9211
Arvell Reese LB #86.5
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. DE #26.5
InterceptionsDavison Igbinosun CB #12
Caleb Downs S #22
Jermaine Mathews Jr. CB #72
These are regular-season totals for the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year, taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still appears against the year he earned it; the roster pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is. A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.