2025 Kent State
5–7 (4–4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mark Carney. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Massachusetts 42–6Oct 11
By 36 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Akron 42–35Nov 11
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | vs Merrimack | W 21–17 | 59% |
| Sep 6 | at 24Texas Tech | L 14–62 | 16% |
| Sep 13 | vs Buffalo | L 28–31 | 28% |
| Sep 20 | at 7Florida State | L 10–66 | 17% |
| Oct 4 | at 5Oklahoma | L 0–44 | 9% |
| Oct 11 | vs Massachusetts | W 42–6 | 58% |
| Oct 18 | at Toledo | L 10–45 | 17% |
| Oct 25 | vs Bowling Green | W 24–21 | 35% |
| Nov 5 | at Ball State | L 13–17 | 34% |
| Nov 11 | at Akron | W 42–35 | 30% |
| Nov 19 | vs Central Michigan | L 16–28 | 38% |
| Nov 28 | at Northern Illinois | W 35–31 | 31% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Northern Illinois 35–31; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.
In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 255–403
- Coach
- Mark Carney
- Elo
- 1331 +41 this season
- SP+ rating
- -19.3 No. 130 of 136; offense No. 125, defense No. 120, special teams No. 117
- SRS
- −16.1 No. 125 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 11% of last season’s EPA, No. 123 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 93 roster talent No. 128 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Clay Patterson
- Defensive coordinator
- Cherokee Valeria
- Offense
- Spread option
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.04 | 35% | 1.37 | 120th of 136 |
| Defense | 0.15 | 45% | 1.26 | 88th of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | -0.00 off 0.20 def | 35% off 49% def | — | 114th off 126th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 39% | 11.3 yds | 20% | 2.40 | 22% |
| Defense | 46% | 9.9 yds | 14% | 3.20 | 15% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.4 | own 28 | 18% allowed |
| Defense | 4.3 | own 32 | 14% caused |
CORE rating -21.9, 130th of 136 (offense -8.3, defense 13.6).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Dru Deshields QB | 2,030 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Dru Deshields QB | 18 TD |
| Rushing yards | Gavin Garcia RB | 647 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Dru Deshields QB | 3 TD |
| Receiving yards | Cade Wolford WR | 509 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Cade Wolford WR | 7 TD |
| Tackles | Mason Woods LB | 94 tkl |
| Sacks | Jamond Mathis LB | 6 sacks |
| Interceptions | Terrell Miller CB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| TaRyan Martin RB | ★★★ | No. 1315 |
| Maurice Stephens WR | ★★★ | No. 1477 |
| Deante Ruffin QB | ★★★ | No. 1728 |
| Joel Cordoba S | ★★★ | No. 2057 |
| Teaunn Hunter WR | ★★★ | No. 2272 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.839 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Receivers | 5 | 2.8 | 0.822 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.7 | 0.803 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.831 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.823 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.835 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.816 |
| Whole class | 22 | 2.9 | 0.825 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 104
The 2025 roster104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 12
The 2025 portal Jelani Davis DL | ★★★ | from  Southern |
 Jordan Nubin RB | ★★★ | from  Minnesota |
 Semaj Cross S | ★★★ | from  Lafayette |
| Matt Pajuste OL | ★★★ | from  Buffalo |
| Rico Steele OL | ★★★ | from  Bowling Green |
| Terik Mulder TE | ★★★ | from Limestone |
 Jamond Mathis DE | ★★★ | from  Southern Illinois |
 Angelo Stockstill S | ★★ | from  Western Michigan |
 Thomas Aden OL | ★★ | from  Pittsburgh |
 Atiq Muhammad CB | from  UTEP | |
 Christian Berry TE | from  Davidson | |
 D.J. Barnes CB | from  West Florida |
Transfers out 30
 Kameron Olds DE | ★★★★ | to  Kentucky |
| Chrishon McCray WR | ★★★ | to  Michigan State |
| Stephen Daley DE | ★★★ | to  Indiana |
| Jayden Studio LB | ★★★ | to  James Madison |
| Oliver Billotte DL | ★★★ | to  Rutgers |
| C.J. Montes QB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Trent Whalen LB | ★★★ | to  Arkansas |
| Kyrik Mason OT | ★★★ | to  UAB |
| Jeff Burton OL | ★★★ | to  Georgia State |
| Rocco Nicholl LB | ★★★ | to  South Florida |
| Elijah Williams OL | ★★★ | to  Western Kentucky |
| Armahn Hale CB | ★★★ | to  New Mexico State |
And 18 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2025 Mid-American Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | 7–1 | 10–4 | |
 Ohio | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| Toledo | 6–2 | 8–5 | |
 Miami (OH) | 6–2 | 7–7 | |
| Central Michigan | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| Kent State | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Akron | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Buffalo | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 Eastern Michigan | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Ball State | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Bowling Green | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Northern Illinois | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Massachusetts | 0–8 | 0–12 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.