by Coming off a painful 57-0 loss on the road against South Carolina, the Kent State Golden Flashes will welcome in the Wofford Terriers of the FCS on Saturday. The Flashes are 1-0 in home openers in the Mark Carney era and will look to continue that trend against the undefeated Terriers.
Playing out of the Southern Conference, the Terriers have gotten off to a hot start. Defeating The Citadel(who beat the AAC’s Charlotte in Week One) 42-14 in Week Zero, they’re coming off a close four-point victory over Gardner-Webb.
“Excellent football team coming in here. Top 25 in the FCS…those are really, really good teams,” Carney said during his Monday press conference. “Exceptionally challenging opportunity for us; this is a 2-0 football team coming here. They play great complementary football.”
As for the Flashes, complementary football was their challenge last weekend. Not only was the passing game stifled, but KSU’s defense was run all over the field to the tune of nearly 300 rushing yards by the Gamecocks.
“First series of the first game, there’s always a little bit of jitters and extra intensity, and that was part of our challenge to the guys yesterday; Let’s practice with that same intensity,” Carney said.
Although redshirt junior quarterback Dru DeShields struggled to get that extra yardage(63 passing yards, no touchdowns) on some of his passes against a high-quality SEC program in South Carolina, he has shown the ability to take advantage of FCS programs before. In his collegiate debut last August against Merrimack, DeShields completed 60% of his passes for 118 yards and a crucial touchdown.
Through two games, Wofford has given up an average of 313 air yards per contest. If there was ever a game to get DeShields up and rolling, this would be the one.
Carney’s squad will also have the home-field advantage in their favor, and it certainly is a decent-sized advantage. In 2025, the Flashes went 3-2 inside the friendly confines of Dix Stadium, including a huge rivalry win against Bowling Green.
Senior Da’Realyst Clark had a huge moment in that one, with his trick-play pass to then-freshman Wayne Harris swaying the game in the favor of Kent State. With so much momentum to be gained in front of the home fans, Carney spoke on Monday about the possibility of trick plays coming back in 2026.
“We did an outstanding job of protecting our home turf a year ago-I think that was evident on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we made some explosive plays here at home, and guys had some tremendous individual performances,” Carney said. “Same goes for defense and special teams. As a team, we take a lot of pride in representing ourselves well at home.”
Speaking of fans and home field advantage, Dix Stadium certainly has seen a major boost in morale, both from the on-field product and overall fan energy. With an opportunity to go up against a smaller yet strong FCS program, Carney is excited to see the Golden Flash faithful return to full-throated force.
“I think the community, our university, has seen the improvements within our program. Our guys take a tremendous amount of pride in our brand, our university and themselves,” Carney said. “The first game at home is always fun. The energy at Dix Stadium is well documented, and I’m excited to feel that this weekend.”
Saturday’s contest won’t be on the radar of most college football fans, especially with a huge match in Austin between Texas and Ohio State. However, for true football fans, this game still has plenty to be excited about.
On one hand, Kent State will come into this game as heavy favorites against Wofford, with DeShields looking to rebound after one of the hardest games of his career. On the other, the Terriers are coming off two solid wins and are looking to stay unbeaten and shock the world against an FBS team.
The Flashes may very well prove why they are the favorites to win on Saturday with a victory, but expect Wofford to come out swinging.
Liking Carney already. Feels like a culture change. Go Flashes!