# 2023 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

The 2023 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University as a member of the Mid-American Conference in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Flashes were led by former Minnesota assistant head coach Kenni Burns in his first year as Kent State's head coach. They played their home games at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio. They finished the season 1–11 and 0–8 in conference play to finish with the worst record in college football. The Kent State Golden Flashes football team drew an average home attendance of 9,511 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Preseason polls
#### Coaches Poll

On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Kent State was picked to finish last in the East.
East :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 63 (9) |
| 2 | Miami | 52 (2) |
| 3 | Buffalo | 51 (1) |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 35 |
| 5 | Akron | 26 |
| 6 | Kent State | 19 |
West :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Toledo | 66 (11) |
| 2 | Eastern Michigan | 55 (1) |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 38 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 37 |
| 5 | Ball State | 27 |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 23 |
Coaches poll (MAC Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Toledo | 7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | at UCF* | FBC Mortgage StadiumOrlando, FL | FS1 | L 6–56 | 44,088 |
| September 9 | 4:00 p.m. | at Arkansas* | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR | SECN | L 6–28 | 73,173 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | Central Connecticut* | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | W 38–10 | 10,731 |
| September 23 | 10:30 p.m. | at Fresno State* | Valley Children's StadiumFresno, CA | CBSSN | L 10–53 | 38,728 |
| September 30 | 2:30 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | L 3–23 | 13,598 |
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN+ | L 17–42 | 22,945 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | CBSSN | L 14–28 | 18,443 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Buffalo | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | L 6–24 | 11,735 |
| November 1 | 7:30 p.m. | at Akron | InfoCision Stadium–Summa FieldAkron, OH (Wagon Wheel) | ESPNU | L 27–31 | 8,113 |
| November 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Bowling Green | Dix StadiumKent, OH | CBSSN | L 19–49 | 6,065 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 3–34 | 8,554 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | L 27–37 | 5,427 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Pacific time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at UCF

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Knights | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
at FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL
* Date: August 31, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game attendance: 44,088
* TV announcers (FS1): Eric Collins and Devin Gardner
* Gamecast
Game information :
First Quarter
UCF: Xavier Townsend 9-yard touchdown pass from John Rhys Plumlee (Colton Boomer Kick), 10:56
UCF: John Rhys Plumlee 17-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer Kick), 6:07
Kent State: Andrew Glass 45-yard field goal, 3:20
Second Quarter
UCF: Jordan McDonald 2-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer Kick), 8:46
UCF: Alec Holler 18-yard touchdown pass from John Rhys Plumlee (Colton Boomer Kick), 0:42
Third Quarter
UCF: R.J. Harvey 50-yard touchdown pass from John Rhys Plumlee (Colton Boomer Kick), 10:37
UCF: R.J. Harvey 48-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer Kick), 4:07
Kent State: Andrew Glass 43-yard field goal, 0:49
Fourth Quarter
UCF: Mark-Antony Richards 7-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer Kick), 7:26
UCF: Demarkcus Bowman 5-yard touchdown (Colton Boomer Kick), 0:54
Win Probability
UCF 90.4%
Line
UCF -35.0
Over/Under
54 :
| Statistics | KENT | UCF |
| First downs | 15 | 32 |
| Total yards | 240 | 723 |
| Rushing yards | 95 | 389 |
| Passing yards | 145 | 334 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 28:34 | 31:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Kent State | Passing | Michael Alaimo | 12–31, 145 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT |
| Kent State | Rushing | Gavin Garcia | 18 carries, 45 yards |
| Kent State | Receiving | Chrishon McCray | 3 receptions, 61 yards |
| UCF | Passing | John Rhys Plumlee | 22–30, 281 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| UCF | Rushing | Johnny Richardson | 12 carries, 100 yards |
| UCF | Receiving | Xavier Townsend | 5 receptions, 81 yards, 1 TD |

### at Arkansas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Razorbacks | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas
* Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 83 °F (28 °C) • Wind: northeast 8 mph (13 km/h)
* Game attendance: 73,173
* Referee: Scott Walker
* TV: SEC Network
* Pregame line: Arkansas by 38.5 • Odds to win: Arkansas 94.8% • Game summary: ESPN
| Statistics | KENT | ARK |
| First downs | 14 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 53–200 | 64–308 |
| Rushes–yards | 36–26 | 45–172 |
| Passing yards | 174 | 136 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 11–17–1 | 13–19–0 |
| Time of possession | 27:44 | 32:16 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Kent State | Passing | Michael Alaimo | 11–17, 174 yards, INT |
| Kent State | Rushing | Gavin Garcia | 18 carries, 68 yards |
| Kent State | Receiving | Trell Harris | 4 receptions, 78 yards |
| Arkansas | Passing | KJ Jefferson | 13–19, 136 yards, 2 TD |
| Arkansas | Rushing | AJ Green | 15 carries, 82 yards |
| Arkansas | Receiving | Isaac TeSlaa | 3 receptions, 51 yards |

### Bowling Green

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bowling Green | 14 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 49 |
| Kent State | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
at Dix Stadium • Kent, OH
* Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 53 °F (12 °C) • Wind: E 8 mph (13 km/h)
* Game attendance: 6,065
* Referee: Andrew Speciale
* TV: CBSSN
| Statistics | Bowling Green | Kent State |
| First downs | 18 | 20 |
| Plays–yards | 476 | 358 |
| Rushes–yards | 39–190 | 32–74 |
| Passing yards | 286 | 284 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–23–1 | 23–40–1 |
| Time of possession | 30:29 | 29:31 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Bowling Green | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 13/19, 188 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Bowling Green | Rushing | Ta'ron Keith | 9 carries, 103 yards, 1 TD |
| Bowling Green | Receiving | Ta'ron Keith | 8 receptions, 130 yards, 1 TD |
| Kent State | Passing | Tommy Ulatowski | 23/40, 284 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Kent State | Rushing | Jaylen Thomas | 18 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD |
| Kent State | Receiving | Luke Floriea | 9 receptions, 95 yards |