Kent State — Mid-American
PPA off / def
0.07 / 0.20
2025
Class rank
#122
class of 2026
Returning PPA
64%
returning production
| 2014 |
OSU W 66–0 | Columbus |
| 2007 |
OSU W 48–3 | Columbus |
| 2002 |
OSU W 51–17 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (5–7)
Statistical comps — 2025 Kent State's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (11 in / 15 out)
| Incoming |
|---|
| Davion Pritchard | CB | ← Pittsburgh | ★★★ |
| Hayden Dawahare | LB | ← Kentucky | ★★★ |
| Nate Gregory | LB | ← Coastal Carolina | ★★★ |
| Rocco Nicholl | LB | ← South Florida | ★★★ |
| Ethan Thanthanavong | QB | ← Defiance College | ★★★ |
| Jakorion Caffey | RB | ← Cincinnati | ★★★ |
| Javier Willis | WR | ← Tiffin University | ★★★ |
| Norey Johnson | S | ← Houston Christian | ★★★ |
| + 3 more |
Origins
Saban played defensive back and got his first coaching job here, and Lou Holtz coached the 1972 conference champions. What the campus is actually known for happened on May 4, 1970, a hundred yards from the stadium.
Founded 1910 · A normal school for training Ohio teachers · first football 1920 · defined by Nick Saban
All-time record
All-time
233–477–5
1960–2025
Win %
32.9%
66 seasons played
Winning seasons
12
18% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2012 | 11 | 3 | Mid-American |
| 1973 | 9 | 2 | Mid-American |
| 1976 | 8 | 4 | Mid-American |
| 1987 | 7 | 4 | Mid-American |
| 1974 | 7 | 4 | Mid-American |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1960 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 235 | 62% |
36% | 133 of 136 | 6.2 | 12% |
| 2nd down | 183 | 50% |
38% | 117 of 136 | 6.0 | 12% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 35 | 71% |
63% | — | 4.9 | 14% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 33 | 21% |
27% | — | 4.1 | 6% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 58 | 26% |
17% | — | 5.0 | 7% |
| 4th down | 26 | 50% |
46% | — | 2.5 | 8% |
143 drives · 22% ended in points · 6.0 plays and 29.7 yards per drive · 0.14 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 1 | Merrimack |
Dru DeShields pass complete to Cade Wolford for 79 yds for a TD (Will Hryszko KICK) |
79 | 6.85 |
| 12 | Akron |
(03:01) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.DeShields pass complete deep left to #30 D.Clark caught at… |
89 | 6.76 |
| 8 | Toledo |
Dru DeShields pass complete to Cade Wolford for 75 yds for a TD (Will Hryszko KICK) |
75 | 6.08 |
| 4 | Florida State |
Dru DeShields pass complete to Dashawn Martin for 75 yds for a TD (Will Hryszko KICK) |
75 | 6.08 |
| 12 | Akron |
(09:00) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.DeShields pass complete short left to #21 C.Wolford caught… |
43 | 5.35 |
| 14 | Northern Illinois |
(10:57) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.DeShields pass complete short right to #1 D.Martin caught … |
59 | 4.38 |
| 14 | Northern Illinois |
(10:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #21 C.Wolford rush right for 31 yards gain to the N IU00 TOUCHDO… |
31 | 4.11 |
| 11 | Ball State |
(10:34) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.DeShields pass complete short right to #6 W.Harris caught … |
42 | 4.08 |