Know your opponent: Get to know Kent State

Kent State and Arkansas will meet on the gridiron for the first time on Saturday afternoon in the on-campus home opener.

Kent State comes into Saturday’s game still reeling from a 56-6 defeat at the hands of Central Florida last Thursday night.

The Golden Flashes went 5-7 a year ago, and haven’t had a winning season in a non-COVID year since 2019.

Its most famous alum is Nick Saban, the legendary Alabama coach who played defensive back for the Golden Flashes from 1970-72.

He just happened to be on campus the day of the infamous Kent State shootings in 1970, but luckily avoided the situation by eating lunch with a roommate.

Two years later, he and former Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel were teammates on the only Kent State team to win a conference title.

Akron and Bowling Green are the school’s two biggest rivals. Arkansas has never faced the Golden Flashes.

Kickoff is still set for 3 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.