2026 MAC Football Week 11 Game Preview: Kent State Golden Flashes at Bowling Green Falcons

Setting the scene

The Lowry Bill was signed into law on May 19, 1910, establishing two public universities in Northern Ohio. Those universities eventually became Kent State and Bowling Green, which met on the football field for the first time 10 years after the passage of the Lowry Bill.

In 1985, the Anniversary Award was established as a rivalry trophy, commemorating the simultaneous founding of the two MAC schools separated by 135 miles.

Tuesday night marks the 94th meeting between Bowling Green and Kent State as both teams look to improve to .500 in MAC play.

Game notes

• Time and date: Tuesday, November 10, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. ET
• Network: ESPNU
• Location: Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, OH
• Spread: Bowling Green (-5.5)
• Over/under: 44.5
• All-time series: Bowling Green leads, 62-25-6
• Last meeting: Kent State 24, Bowling Green 21 (October 25, 2025)
• Current streak: Kent State, 1 (2025)

Kent State Golden Flashes outlook

Kent State (3-6, 2-3 MAC) is now on the brink of missing a bowl game for the fifth consecutive year, needing to win out for the remainder of the regular season. The Golden Flashes were considerable favorites in their last outing at Sacramento State, but they committed five turnovers and lost the second half 25-0, allowing the Hornets to record their first-ever MAC win.

Now the Golden Flashes must rebound on the road where they are 0-5, losing by an aggregate score of 214-22. To fully grasp the team's road struggles, Kent State's 31-10 loss to Sacramento State was in fact its closest road defeat and highest-scoring road performance of the season.

Kent State has shown offensive competency at moments this year, particularly in a 26-13 win over Ball State and 35-20 victory over Akron. Everything starts with quarterback Dru DeShields, who threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns just two games ago against the Zips. The Sac State game was from his best showing, but Kent State will trust DeShields can return to that prior form Tuesday night.

The defining component of Kent State's offense is DeShields' connection with Wayne Harris. Harris has exceeded 120 receiving yards in three of his last four games, generating 164 yards against Western Michigan, 156 and three touchdowns against Akron, and 122 and a score last outing at Sac State. The 5'9" speedster is responsible for an overwhelming majority of the team's production, hauling in five of the team's nine receiving touchdowns. Harris has 43 receptions for 674 yards, while Kent State's second-most frequented target Da'Realyst Clark has 23 and 278, respectively.

Kent State must rely heavily on its passing game since it has not strung together a single promising showing on the ground. DeShields rushed for 70 yards in two wins, but no running back has produced more than 68 rushing yards in a game this year, or more than 46 against FBS competition. The Golden Flashes are seventh-to-last nationally in rushing yards per game (99.2) and fourth-to-last in yards per carry (3.03).

The Golden Flashes have seen several strong performances from the defense in MAC play, limiting Ball State and Ohio to 13 points apiece and Akron to 20. Kent State is middle-of-the-road in total defense, ranking seventh in the MAC and 72nd nationally. However, those ranks fall to 114th and 11th, respectively, in the scoring defense department.

That discrepancy can be attributed to turnovers as Kent State sits a minus-8 on the season, committing 17 (fourth-most in FBS), while recovering nine. However, the defense has excelled at forcing stops. Linebackers Hayden Dawahare and Rocco Nicholl have been the most consistent sources of backfield pressure, combining for 7.0 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, while ranking first and second on the unit in tackles. With these two leading the way, Kent State's specialty on defense has been stopping the run.

True sophomore safeties Joel Cordoba and Derrick Jackson have been among the top defenders on the back end. Cordoba ranks third on the team with 41 tackles, while Jackson adds 27 stops and 3.5 tackles for loss. Despite the lopsided result, Kent State's coverage wasn't bad against Sac State, limiting the Hornets to 117 yards on 25 atttempts.

Bowling Green Falcons outlook

Bowling Green (2-7, 2-3 MAC) was eliminated from bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season in its Week 9 loss at Western Michigan. Despite the elimination, the Falcons have shown considerable improvements since September, and they own a plus-11 point differential in conference play.

Close games have been commonplace for Eddie George's team which scored in the final seconds to upset Miami (OH) but lost one-score heartbreakers to Ball State and Buffalo in October. While the Falcons are 1-3 at home, all three losses were one possession games, and they've consistently put up a fight at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

Bowling Green's offense has trended in the right direction since a bleak September, but the Falcons still demand more. Entering Tuesday, they rank 131st in scoring offense, 136th in total offense, 126th in rushing offense, and 122nd in passing offense.

One positive from the offense has been the efficiency of quarterback Jay Kastantin. The Division II transfer owns a 66.7 completion rate on the year, connecting on over 64 percent of attempts in all five MAC games. Kastantin was at his best as a passer in the upset win at Miami (OH) when he threw for 309, but recently, the quarterback has made a greater impact with his legs, accounting for 132 of his 167 rushing yards in his last four starts.

Bowling Green will need the ground production to come from other sources too. Lead running back Austyn Dendy missed the last game due to injury, and with his status uncertain, the Falcons may need to turn to sophomore Nakai Amachree, who logged a career-high 61 rushing yards in the Halloween game at Western Michigan.

The Falcons are also awaiting their first 100-yard receiving performance against an FBS opponent this season. Almost all the receiving production has been distributed among five players — wide receivers Winn Sharp and Brennan Ridley, tight ends Jeremiah Scoby and Eli Jacon-Duffy, and Amachree. Scoby leads the team in receptions (31) and receiving yards (319), and Bowling Green will often utilize heavy personnel groupings to highlight their talented tight ends.

Bowling Green's defense features several players on national leaderboards. Defensive end Myles Bradley ranks fifth nationally with 9.0 sacks, earning at least a share of a sack in six of eight games. Inside linebacker Dorian Pringle is 11th in the FBS with 86 tackles, entering this matchup with four double-digit tackle performances this season.

The pass rush, which also features defensive end Eriq George and outside linebacker Cashmire Lewis, was the hallmark of the team for the first half of the season, but the team hasn't got to the quarterback as much in recent weeks. On the surface, it may appear that the Falcons feature a strong aerial defense, as they surrender the ninth-fewest passing yards per game in the country.

However, that's simply because teams are spamming the run on Bowling Green. The Falcons are sixth-to-last in run defense, allowing 212 yards per game on a 5.50 average. However, they held up okay against Western Michigan last outing, and the Broncos only managed two touchdowns in a 23-10 decision.

Prediction

Bowling Green and Kent State have spent much of the year spinning their wheels on offense, hoping to find something that works. But teams have been incredibly challenged in the run game but have shown flashes of potential through the air.

This creates a Tuesday night setup of a lower-scoring game likely controlled by the defenses. Like most Midweek MACtion games last week, this one should come down to the wire. Bowling Green's respectable home performances and Kent State's road woes coincide, and the Falcons improve to 3-3 in MAC play at The Doyt.

Prediction: Bowling Green 20, Kent State 16