The UMass Minutemen take on the Kent State Flash in Kent, Ohio. Kickoff is scheduled to air on ESPN+ at 2:30 pm ET.
Kent State has an odds advantage of 2.5 points, with a moneyline of -150. The total score is 49.5 points.
Here are my predictions and college football picks for UMass vs. Kent State on Saturday, October 11, 2025.
- UMass vs. Kent State picks: Kent State -2.5 (-110, bet365)
My top choice over Kent State vs. UMass is the Golden Flashes. Find the best odds available on our live NCAAF odds page.
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UMass vs Kent State odds
Saturday, October 11
2:30 p.m. Eastern Time
ESPN+
UMass Odds Spread Total Money Line
+2.5
-105
49.5
-110o / -110u
+125
Kent State Odds Spread Total Moneyline
-2.5
-115
49.5
-110o / -110u
-150
- UMass vs. Kent State point difference: Kent State -2.5 (-105), UMass +2.5 (-115)
- UMass vs. Kent State Over/Under: 49.5 (-110o / -110u)
- UMass vs Kent State money line: UMass +125, Kent State -150
It's a national travesty that this game won't be aired on national television — unless you bet real dollars on it.
If you don't place your bets, yes, this will be completely unwatchable.
Sadly, I'm a masochist and hit submit at Kent State.
If you told me before the season started that I would bet the Golden Flash were the favorite, I would have thought I would end up in a psych ward doing that.
Yet, somehow, I still find myself doing this in my own home, with a clear mind (although that's also what a madman would say).
So why would I bet on a Kent State team that's 1-25 in its last 26 games and hasn't been favored by an FBS opponent since 2022?
Well, actually, I'm ahead of the Minutemen in Golden Flash abilities so far, for three reasons:
- Kent State is doing a lot better this season than I thought it would. Remember, this team lost its head coach in the offseason to scandal and saw its defensive coordinator leave for an FCS assistant position over the summer.
- The emergence of true freshman quarterback Drew DeShields. For a team that I thought had been completely incompetent at quarterback all season long, he looked like the real deal. Kent State even gave him the benefit of the doubt last week against Oklahoma State to avoid injury before league play begins, especially with the FBS's best-winnable game looming. This is a big deal for the Golden Flashes, who have lost 26 straight games to FBS opponents since beating Buffalo in 2022. Yes, it’s been almost three years.
- UMass is in complete disarray from top to bottom and is even worse on the injury front.
Keep in mind that Kent State also plays a more difficult schedule. In fact, the Golden Flashes are one of the five toughest teams in the country, playing three road games against ranked opponents in Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Florida State.
They nearly beat Buffalo in the MAC home opener and at least got the job done against their FCS opponents. That's more than UMass could say after opening the MAC home opener against Western Michigan and losing to an even worse FCS school in Bryant.
The Minutemen opened the season with a 75-yard touchdown run against Temple. Since that score, they have scored a total of two touchdowns against four FBS opponents, both of which came on a 21-yard rush after a blocked punt and a lucky interception.
Kent State found its answer at quarterback, as DeShields went 22-for-32 for 279 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against Buffalo. He even performed well against Florida State and Texas Tech given the huge talent gap.
Instead, UMass continues to rotate under center looking for answers.
DeShields has thrown for five touchdowns and just one interception, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. By comparison, three UMass quarterbacks combined to throw for just one touchdown and four interceptions (four BTT to eight TWP) against an opponent's much easier defensive schedule.
These are, hands down, two of the worst teams in the country. Neither would have much success running the ball, and both were a disaster on special teams.
The difference, in my opinion, is Kent State's stellar quarterback play.
Look, I'm not going to blame you for giving up on this game entirely. After decades of betting on bad teams, losing money betting on Kent State as a favorite doesn't bother me at all. But if this sounds like something that might interest you, there are plenty of other games on the board to choose from.
However, if you decide to play along, we'll at least have some X fun while playing. While everyone else is tweeting about the Red River Battle and the Oregon-Indiana game, I'm going to make sure the world is updated on this mess in hopes that Kent State can end its long FBS win drought (by at least 3 points).
Pick: Kent State -2.5 (-110, bet365)
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