Early Football Previews and Predictions: Game Eleven vs Kent State

[catdaddyp]

2024 Rewind:

Kenni Burns was allowed to complete one of the worst two-year stints in college football, going just 1-23 during that span. Somehow, the team managed to regress following a one-win season, ultimately recording a historically bad 2024 campaign without a single victory.

 

Mark Carney has now been tabbed as the interim head coach and inherits the nearly impossible task of trying to turn the Flashes around with very little recruiting time this offseason. The 2025 class is largely made up of players Burns brought in and leans heavily toward freshmen, making Carney’s job even more uphill from the start.

 

 

Recruiting under Carney:

2025: 

On3 - 7th in MAC

247 - 6th in MAC

*Note - On3 and 247 do not include comprehensive recruiting rankings (like Rivals used to do) for the MAC. The rankings only account for freshmen.

 

 

Flashes on Offense:

Kent State faces another gauntlet of a schedule, with road trips to Texas Tech, Florida State, and Oklahoma on deck—so who knows who the starters will actually be by the time this game rolls around. That said, it’s likely Fordham transfer CJ Montes will get the nod at quarterback to start the season. Behind him are Devin Kargman and Dru DeShields, both of whom have the tools to be solid players—if they’re ever given the chance to operate without a defender in their lap the moment the ball touches their hands.

 

Minnesota transfer Jordin Nubin will compete for snaps with the oft-injured Gavin Garcia. The two backs should complement each other fairly well—assuming they can stay healthy and the offensive line gives them even a sliver of daylight to work with.

 

Wide receiver might have more talented depth overall, but the unit will likely regress due to the lack of a true go-to target. All-conference receivers Chrishon McCray and Luke Floriea have moved on, leaving behind a massive production void that’ll need to be filled by youth and inexperience. Tight end will be manned by lower-level transfers, but it’s not a huge focal point—Kent hardly utilized the position in the passing game under Carney’s offense anyway.

 

Dustyn Morell is the lone returning starter from what was the worst offensive line in the MAC last season. The rest of the group will be made up of either backups who saw minimal action a year ago or transfers who also struggled to crack the starting lineup at their previous stops. Even if the unit shows some improvement, there’s a good chance it still ends up being the worst offensive line in the conference.

 

 

Flashes on Defense:

It’ll be a new defensive scheme under this staff. According to Carney, this year’s defense will prioritize stopping the run first—marking a shift from last year’s bend-but-don’t-break, turnover-dependent approach. Backup defensive end Antoine Campbell and converted offensive lineman Mason Maddox are expected to step into starting roles. Beyond that, it’ll be a mix of four transfers and a handful of players with little to no experience rounding out the depth chart.

 

Kent does return several linebackers who saw the field last year—that’s the good news. The bad news is that linebacker play left a lot to be desired in 2024, due to injuries and other issues. Mason Woods and true sophomore Nylan Brown are expected to start, but both will need to take significant steps forward if this unit is going to be anything more than a liability again.

 

Safety Tevin Tucker is the lone returning starter in a secondary that struggled to stay healthy and maintain any sort of cohesion from week to week. The rest of the group is expected to be made up of a mix of returning backups, portal transfers who were also backups at their previous stops, and true freshmen. It’s a patchwork unit that will need to grow up fast.

 

Will Hryszko is slated to return at kicker after converting all 15 of his extra point attempts and going 3-for-5 on field goals last season. Charlie Durkin, who didn’t see the field in 2024, will take over punting duties.

 

Position Advantage:

QB - Akron

RB - Akron

WR - Akron

TE - Akron

OL - Akron

DL - Akron 

LB - Akron

DB - Akron

ST - Even

 

 

Way too Early Prediction:

There’s really no other way to put it—Kent State will probably be the worst team in college football again. Burns went all-in on freshmen, leaving behind a surprisingly solid core of young talent—believe it or not—but then patched the rest of the roster with “players who wanted to be there.” In reality, that meant lower-division players or G5 backups whose only FBS offer came from Kent.

If the freshmen happen to ball out, they’ll likely bolt for greener pastures, and the cycle will repeat—holes filled with more freshmen and even less impactful transfers. It’s a brutal, unsustainable model. Mark Carney faces a near-impossible task trying to turn things around under these conditions.

 

Kent’s best hope at a win comes right out of the gate against Merrimack. Outside of that, I just don’t think there’s enough talent or experience on this roster to find another one. Maybe they catch a break and steal a win against a team breaking in a first-year head coach if everything lines up perfectly—but that’s a big maybe. As for the rivalry game, I’m calling for Akron to blow out the Flashes, 45-10.