Kent State comes to Columbus for a Week 3 matchup against Ohio State as the Buckeyes aim to get back on track and build depth. 

After a puzzling loss to Texas, Ryan Day’s staff will look to solidify personnel decisions and rebuild momentum against Kent State. Here’s what to watch for from Ohio State on Saturday.

Opponent Profile

The Golden Flashes enter Saturday’s matchup with a 1-1 record, most recently beating FCS Wofford 36-15. Their head coach, Mark Carney, has a fairly interesting story. After his college career ended in 2001, Carney immediately became a grad assistant at Fordham. From there, he worked his way up to Offensive Coordinator at Kent State in 2024.

The Golden Flashes posted an unfortunate 0-12 record that season, but Carney was named interim head coach the following spring. He became the official head coach by October of last season, when Kent State improved to 5 wins after a winless 2024 season.

4th-year quarterback Dru Deshields leads the offense. The dual-threat QB missed his first two years due to ACL injuries both times. Dru would win the starting job by Week 4 of last year. Entering his second year as a starter, the Golden Flashes are looking to find a spark as they rank 121st in Total Offense heading into this weekend. In two games, DeShields has been both the team’s leading passer and rusher. Carney, DeShields, and the rest of the roster will look to build on the program’s momentum and compete for MAC titles once again.

Infusion of Youth

Following a frustrating loss in Austin, Texas, Ryan Day spoke to the media on Tuesday. He admitted that it hadn’t “been a fun two days here” since the team got back. “The players have to look and say, ‘How do we execute better?” Said day, “the coaches need to say, ‘How do we put these guys in better positions? “

From this, it sounds like there has been plenty of accountability at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Deservedly so, after a 4th-quarter collapse for the ages. Now, nobody cares more than the people in that building. Day had to address a number of questions about the game plan and decision-making in a handful of key spots. If Day and his staff are serious about putting guys in the best position to win, the habits must begin this Saturday, or the Buckeyes will be in an even bigger pressure cooker when Big Ten play begins.

Deciding who plays will be a storyline to watch against Kent State as well. Perhaps the most notable guys to watch are Legend Bey, Khary Wilder and Riley Pettijohn, who all played sparingly against Texas. However, they’ve also flashed in their limited snaps so far this season.

Legend Bey recorded just a single snap against Texas, which raises questions about why one snap was necessary and what the initial plan for Bey was. Coach Day maintains that Legend’s role will continue to grow as time goes by and trust builds, but an early loss may require a reevaluation.

Day has commented on the matter and still maintains that all three will see snaps increase. Speaking about Wilder specifically, he said, “Khary is a guy that we have to figure out how to get him into the game.” One great way to get him and the other two standouts into the game would be to give them bigger roles starting this Saturday to build momentum for conference play.

Rushing The Passer

With this matchup clearly in OSU’s favor (-52.5), certain phases of the game will be squarely under the microscope. After the Texas game, the lack of pass rush was perhaps the most worrisome factor that plagued the Buckeyes in the 4th quarter. Qua Russaw and Beau Atkinson had little to no impact on the pass rush against the Longhorns.

With Zion Grady trending towards “doubtful” for the game and Khary Wilder likely getting his snaps heavily increased, the expectation should still be that he and the rest of the defensive line can dominate this matchup.

Additionally, the interior linemen were underwhelming against Texas. James Smith and Eddrick Houston graded out in the bottom third of the defense according to Pro Football Focus. Their pass-rush grades were considerably lower than the run-stop-leaning defensive tackles in John Walker and Will Smith Jr. This came as a bit of a surprise, given the exceptional camps they both had, and it further exacerbated the pass-rush woes.

Against a team like Kent State, Smith and Houston will need to show they can consistently dominate the snaps they get. This interior will play a huge part in the defense’s overall success moving forward. Reversing the trend against the Golden Flashes, particularly in the pass rush, will ideally put the Silver Bullets in a much better spot as the schedule gets more treacherous.

Prediction: Ohio State 59, Kent State 3

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Matchup Details:

Kent State (1-1) vs Ohio State (1-1)

Watch: 12 PM ET on FOX

Spread-Total: OSU -52.5 | O/U 59.5

Passing Leaders:

Julian Sayin: 598 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT

Dru DeShields: 311 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs

Rushing Leaders:

Bo Jackson: 157 yards on 28 carries, 1 TD

Dru DeShields: 101 yards on 13 carries, 2 TD

Receiving Leaders:

Jeremiah Smith: 315 yards on 16 catches, 3 TD

Wayne Harris: 93 yards on 6 catches, 1 TD

NEXT: Read Ohio State’s Fourth Quarter Never Had to Matter Until It Did: How Execution Cost the Buckeyes vs. Texas