Ohio State gets a chance to reset on Saturday after a rough Week 2 finish against Texas, and the next stop is a home matchup with Kent State at Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes let a 20-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter last week, but now they have one more tune-up before Big Ten play begins. Kent State comes in at 1-1, opening the season with a 57-0 loss at South Carolina before bouncing back with a Week 2 win over Wofford.
Ohio State-Kent State will be televised nationally on Fox in Week 3 of the 2026 college football season. Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt will call the game from the booth at Ohio Stadium, with Jenny Taft reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FuboTV, which may offer a free trial to new subscribers.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 19
Start time: Noon ET
The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Kent State Golden Flashes game starts at Noon ET from Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Sept. 18
Pete Fiutak of College Football News has Ohio State winning 55-3, while noting that the Buckeyes have had mixed results in the games immediately after a loss over the last few seasons. He pointed to last year’s response to Ohio State’s lone Big Ten Championship loss, a 21-17 win over Nebraska in 2024 after losing to Oregon, and the blowout of Tennessee after three weeks off following the loss to Michigan. Fiutak also noted that Ohio State’s losses to Michigan in 2022 and 2023 were followed by bowl-game defeats.
He added, “This won’t be a problem, but don’t assume Ohio State will feel the need to come out and hang 80 on the board.”
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For Ohio State fans, the timing only adds to the anticipation. The Buckeyes are set to face Oregon on November 7, and the recent history between the programs has already carried plenty of intensity. If this latest episode is any indication, that matchup could arrive with even more frustration, and more motivation, than usual on both sides. [Read more 🡒]
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A trip to Kent State gives Ohio State the kind of chance teams usually crave after a messy week: a lopsided matchup, a softer stage and room to reset after a game that exposed issues on both sides of the ball. The Buckeyes have spent the days since that setback evaluating what went wrong defensively and offensively, and there is obvious pressure on the staff to show the roster can respond quickly rather than let the frustration linger.
The emphasis now is on cleaner execution and a better running game, which should be the safest place to start against an overmatched opponent. There will also be a shuffle up front because of injury, adding another layer of urgency to an offensive line that needs to settle in fast. Ohio State is expected to win decisively, but the larger test is whether the performance looks like a team steadying itself or one still searching for answers. [Read more 🡒]
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Saturdays 59-3 rout of Kent State at Ohio Stadium was the kind of lopsided win that can tell you plenty about a team, even before the opponent level is factored in. Ohio State was dominant on both sides of the ball, piling up eight touchdowns while the defense forced multiple turnovers and never let the game drift out of hand.
The bigger takeaway for the Buckeyes may have been the kind of history layered into the blowout. Jeremiah Smith kept adding to his place in the program record book, and Ryan Day reached another coaching milestone, a reminder that this roster is producing both on-field force and long-term significance at the same time. [Read more 🡒]