by Members of all 13 Mid-American Conference football programs were present at Ford Field on Wednesday for the 2026 MAC Kickoff, the conference’s media day.
It was a special day for all 13, including its newest member, Sacramento State, which was welcomed in by commissioner Dr. John Steinbrecher during the first few minutes of his opening remarks.
The commissioner’s speech detailed a few key points regarding where the conference stands in the middle of the sport’s most strenuous and ever-changing era, in terms of academics, the transfer portal, and the second potential expansion of the College Football Playoff bracket.
“If we are to change the format, we will need to do so by December 1. I, and more importantly, our membership, have not formalized a stance on bracket expansion at this point,” Stienbrecher told media and program representatives in attendance. “As with most things, the devil is in the details. How will teams be selected? How will teams be bracketed? Will bracket expansion affect the regular season or our ability to hold a conference championship game?”
Steinbrecher also touched on the Protect College Sports Act and thanked the bill’s sponsors, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), for “investing significant time and effort in this important discussion.”
For the Kent State football team, they held their heads higher in this media day than in previous years. Coming off a season in which head coach Mark Carney broke a seemingly never-ending losing streak, along with quarterback Dru DeShields, who balled out, the Flashes have never been in a better position since the turn of the decade than right now.
Here’s a look at five points from discussions between media and KSU’s three representatives in attendance on Wednesday: Carney, DeShields, and defensive lineman Thomas Aden.
The ‘Darkside Defense’ is Here to Stay
Coined by the Flashes’ defensive line at the end of last season, the ‘Darkside’ unit was one of the strongest from a year ago. Led by a pass-rush-by-committee style approach, the team brought in 24 sacks- the unit was key to winning in games against rivals Bowling Green and Akron.
For Aden, the approach remains the same. Although the unit lost pieces like Jamond Mathis to the transfer portal, the mentality of the group as a whole is very much the same as last season.
“That mentality never left. It never wavered; it was only strengthened,” Aden said. “We had a bunch of young guys last year; I feel like we were maybe one of the youngest teams in the MAC, but I feel like that doesn’t matter. Everybody comes on, we strap up our bootstraps, our helmets, we do everything the same way as everybody else. You gotta step out there with us just as we do you-and we’re not afraid of whoever we step in front of.”
The defense battled with two playoff teams from a year ago in Texas Tech and Oklahoma, and will potentially play up to three in 2026 with games against Ohio State, South Carolina and South Florida.
However, a veteran like Aden is the perfect regiment to calm down nerves in games like that, and the Lakewood native is ready to keep Kent State’s mind in the right place during trips to Williams-Brice and Ohio Stadium.
“ Of course, as a team, you’re going out, and you’re looking to win. That’s the mindset everybody’s going to have,” Aden said. “ But I feel like, for the younger guys, there’s always going to be that ‘Oh, we want to go visit, we want to see what it’s like’ playing in these bigger atmospheres, bigger stadiums. For the older guys, it’s more of a ‘I knew I always belonged here, we’re going to go out, put our best film on tape, and do what we gotta do.”
DeShields is Ready to Handle the Pressure
When any football team or program rebounds from struggling mightily to a success story in just a season’s time, it’s hard not to put all the pressure on the quarterback. All the credit is handed to him, but in the same vein, he is responsible for all of the expectations in the minds of fans as well.
Despite that, concocted with a loaded 2026 schedule and a date with rival Akron at home, DeShields is ready to stymy the storm.
“The Wheel Game is always circled. We get that one at home now, and we have it on a Saturday, so there should be a lot of people there. It’ll be a really good atmosphere,” DeShields said. “I feel like just taking it one day at a time, really. Take spring ball, winter, summer-just take that one day at a time and just keep getting more.”
Year Two of the Mark Carney Era is Ready to Build Even Further Into the Future
Sure, Carney’s squad finished with just a 5-7 record, but that’s no small feat. In fact, it’s a gargantuan-sized feat compared to the team’s 1-23 stretch over the previous two seasons under Kenni Burns.
The man is a proven builder. A builder of team chemistry, of winning habits, and a foundation that Carney is hoping takes that next step in 2026.
“We earned the right for people to talk about us positively. We earned the right for people to talk about us negatively for so long, right? To change that was really, really cool. Now, it’s how do you deal with those expectations,” Carney asked. “From a mindset perspective, nothing’s changed. It’s going to be about what we do, right? Last year doesn’t matter, and tomorrow doesn’t matter. What do we do today in the moment to take the next steps to get better every day?”
Although DeShields will be managing the loaded schedule on the field, it’s up to Carney to prepare the unit as a whole for when they stand on the same line as the Buckeyes and Gamecocks in September. With both of those games coming on the road, as well as a trip 2,394 miles west to Sacramento, Carney will have to keep the Flashes focused.
“Not always in life do you get to be the bigger, faster, stronger guy-compete anyway,” Carney said. “We’re going to compete. And that’s what we do; that’s what competitors do. We love to work, to make ourselves better, and then when we get the chance to measure ourselves and measure our growth, we relish in those opportunities.”
Will Kent State’s Offense Take Another Leap this Season?
Well, according to the Golden Flashes’ head coach-quarterback duo, the answer is a strong yes.
The unit was KSU’s best in 2025, largely due to DeShields, running back Gavin Garcia, and an offensive weapons group that seemed to produce a different hero each game, whether it was Da’Realyst Clark, Wayne Harris, or Terik Mulder.
“A couple transfers, a couple of guys that came back, I feel like those guys are going to step up really big,” DeShields said. “ Ardell Banks, Jared Kelley, Jay-Jay[Etheridge], Wayne [Harris] has been there for a while. We’re really meshing well right now.”
As for his coach, Carney wants to see his team value consistency over explosivity in 2026. The unit could tend to be very boom-or-bust last season, and with expectations in Portage County at a height they haven’t seen in years, the veteran playcaller is looking to rein that in.
“We’ve got to be more consistent in our efficiency, in the way we attack people. I think having a quarterback back like Dru, having rebuilt the offensive line room, consistency in the run game will lead to continued efficiency that way,” Carney explained. “But I think that’s the next step. We can’t be so reliant on the big play. Certainly that’s a part of college football, but we can’t be reliant on those.”
Conference Championship Expectations Have Made Their Way to Dix Stadium
Even a year ago today, someone would have laughed in your face for saying the Kent State football team would be able to compete for a MAC title anytime soon, let alone during the dreadful stretch of 2023 to 2024.
However, with the program in the right hands, the hands of Carney and DeShields, the two most important factors of a successful football team are present in Portage County, and they are both locked in on the same expectation- coming back to Ford Field for the right to win the conference championship.
“Standing where we are right now,” DeShields said when asked where he sees the Golden Flashes a year from now. “The MAC Championship and Ford Field. I definitely see us there. We just got to take it one game at a time, one day at a time, and learn from our mistakes last year.”
In response to the same question, Carney gave the exact same answer.
“I think we’ve earned the right to have conversations surrounding being competitive for a championship,” Carney said. “We’ve earned the right to have conversations about consistency, winning habits, to talk about bowl games, and my hope would be we’re competitive for this conference championship.”
