Buckeyes Return Home to Ohio Stadium Saturday
9/14/2026 2:37:00 PM | Football
The noon kickoff on Saturday will also be the Helmet Stripe Game with sitting in the Horseshoe of Ohio Stadium are encouraged to wear gray for this contest.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 6 Ohio State football team is set to conclude its 2026 schedule Saturday with non-conference matchup against Kent State. Â
Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. on FOX.Â
SETTING THE SCENEÂ
Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. on FOX.Â
SETTING THE SCENEÂ
- Ohio State returns home and look to extend their home winning streak to 10 games.Â
- The Buckeyes own a 3-0 advantage in the series history against the Golden Flashes.Â
- Ohio State has outscored Kent State 165-20 in those three matchups combined.Â
- The last game against the Golden Flashes came in 2014 with Ohio State winning, 66-0.Â
- Ohio State is 40-1 all-time vs. current members of the MAC and is riding a 37-game unbeaten streak. Â
- Helmet Stripe GameÂ
- All fans who are sitting in the Horseshoe of Ohio Stadium are encouraged to wear gray for this contest, while the students will once again wear colors correspond to the Helmet Stripe on Ohio State's iconic helmet. Â
- The tradition returns after being introduced for the first time last season.Â
- Fans can gear up for this event by shopping here:Â https://gobuckeyes.com/Â
- Scarlet & Gray Game:Â
- Ohio State will recognize all its student-athletes inside Ohio Stadium for Buckeye Nation to celebrate them.Â
- Faculty & Staff AppreciationÂ
- The Buckeyes are 488-115-20 all-time in Ohio Stadium.Â
- Ohio State goes into Saturday with 45 wins at home since the start of the 2019 season. That is the most wins by any team in that stretch.Â
- Since entering college football in 2024, Jeremiah Smith leads all players in receptions (179), receiving yards (2,873) and receiving TDs (30).Â
- In the first two games, Smith had 16 catches for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Over his last four career games, he is averaging 7.8 catches and 154.0 yards with four TDs.Â
- Smith goes into Saturday needing 27 receptions, 26 yards and six touchdowns to break all three Ohio State receiving records.Â
- Julian Sayin is the most accurate quarterback in program history with a career completion percentage of 74.8 pct. which also would be an NCAA record (min. 875 attempts).Â
- Additionally, Sayin threw his 37th career touchdown pass against Texas which moved him into the top 10 in program history.Â
- His seven 300-yd passing games are also tied for the fifth most in program history.Â
- Kent State will be head coach Ryan Day's 33rd game against a non-Big Ten opponent in his tenure as head coach (wins vs. Oregon State and TCU as acting head coach in 2018 included). Â
- Day's Buckeyes are 25-7 in the previous 32 games and average 41.6 points per game. Â
- Included in those 25 wins are seven against teams ranked in the Top 10: vs. No. 1 Texas (2025), vs. No. 3 Clemson (2020), No. 5 Texas (2024), No. 5 Notre Dame (2022), No. 7 Notre Dame (2024), No. 9 Tennessee (2024) and No. 9 Notre Dame (2023).Â
- Day's teams are 25-2 in the month of September and 17-2 in regular season non-conference games.Â
- In Day's tenure, Ohio State is 7-0 against MAC teams including scoring 59.0 points per game against them and winning by an average margin of 51.7 points per game.Â
- This season, Kent State has started the season out 1-1, including coming off a win over Wofford on Saturday.Â
- The Golden Flashes have been led by dual threat quarterback Dru Deshields who has 311 passing yards and added 101 rushing yards this season with three total touchdowns. He is the leader in all three categories.Â
- Deshields finished the win over Wofford with 322 total yards including a pair of rushing touchdowns and added another touchdown through the air.Â
- On defense, linebacker Rocco Nicholl leads the team with 13 tackles as well as 2.0 sacks.Â
- Defensive back A'tiq Muhammad and linebacker Hayden Dawahare have also collected double-digit tackles through two games.Â
- On defense, linebacker Rocco Nicholl leads the team with 13 tackles as well as 2.0 sacks.Â
- Golden Flashes head coach Mark Carney is in his second season leading Kent State after leading the team to a 5-7 record in 2025.Â
- Over the last two years, the Cardinals are 2-6 in away games.Â
- Kent State has 59 players on the roster from the state of Ohio.Â
- Between the two rosters, there will be over 110 players combined who are from the state of Ohio on Saturday.Â
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