The UMass Minutemen take on the Kent State Golden Flashes in Kent, Ohio. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+.
Kent State is favored by 2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -150. The total is set at 49.5 points.
Here’s my UMass vs. Kent State prediction and college football picks for Saturday, October 11, 2025.
UMass vs Kent State Prediction
- UMass vs. Kent State Pick: Kent State -2.5 (-110, bet365)
My Kent State vs. UMass best bet is on the Golden Flashes to cover. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
UMass vs Kent State Odds
| UMass Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+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 spread: Kent State -2.5 (-105), UMass +2.5 (-115)
- UMass vs Kent State over/under: 49.5 (-110o / -110u)
- UMass vs Kent State moneyline: UMass +125, Kent State -150
UMass vs Kent State Pick
It's a national travesty that this game will not be on national television — only if you bet actual dollars on it.
If you don't wager on it, yes, this will be completely unwatchable.
Sadly, I'm a masochist and did click submit on Kent State.
If you told me before the season that I would've bet the Golden Flashes as a favorite, I would have assumed I ended up doing so from a psychiatric ward.
Yet, I somehow found myself still in my own home doing so with a clear head (although that's also what an insane person would say).
So, why am I betting a Kent State team that has gone 1-25 over its past 26 contests and hasn't been favored against an FBS opponent since 2022?
Well, I actually have the Golden Flashes power rated ahead of the Minutemen as of this moment for three primary reasons:
- Kent State has looked much more functional than I had assumed going into the season. Keep in mind this team lost its head coach in the offseason due to a scandal and saw its defensive coordinator leave for an FCS assistant role in the summer.
- The emergence of true freshman quarterback Dru DeShields. He looks like the real deal for a team I thought would have completely incompetent quarterback play all season long. Kent State even held him out last week at Oklahoma to prevent an injury ahead of league play, especially with its most winnable FBS game on deck. This is a big deal for the Golden Flashes, who have lost 26 straight against FBS opponents since beating Buffalo back in 2022. Yes, it's been almost three years.
- UMass is in complete disarray from top to bottom and in much worse shape injury-wise.
Keep in mind, Kent State has also played a much more difficult schedule. In fact, the Golden Flashes have played one of the five toughest in the country with a trio of road games against ranked opponents in Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Florida State.
They almost upset Buffalo in their MAC home opener and at least took care of business against their FCS opponent. That's more than UMass can say after getting blown out in their MAC home opener vs. Western Michigan and losing to an even worse FCS school in Bryant.
The Minutemen opened the season with a 75-yard touchdown drive against Temple. Since that score, against their four FBS foes, they have scored a total of two touchdowns, both of which came on 21-yard drives following a blocked punt and a fluke interception.
Kent State has found its answer at quarterback with DeShields, who went 22-for-32 passing for 279 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against Buffalo. He even fared well against Florida State and Texas Tech, considering the enormous talent disparities.
Conversely, UMass continues to search for answers under center with an ongoing rotation.
Deshields has thrown five touchdowns to just one interception, while averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. In comparison, three UMass quarterbacks have combined to throw for only one touchdown and four interceptions (four BTTs to eight TWPs) against a significantly easier schedule of opposing defenses.
These are undoubtedly two of the worst teams in the country. Neither will have much success running the ball, and the special teams for both are a calamity.
In my opinion, the difference will be Kent State's superior quarterback play.
Look, I wouldn't blame you for completely passing on this game. Losing money betting on Kent State as a favorite won't faze me in the least after decades of betting on bad teams. But if that sounds potentially tilting to you, there are so many other games on the board to choose from.
However, if you do decide to come along for the ride, we'll at least have some fun on X during the game. While everybody else tweets about the Red River Rivalry and Oregon-Indiana, I will make sure the world stays up to date on this mess, which hopefully ends with Kent State ending its long FBS win drought (by at least 3 points).
Pick: Kent State -2.5 (-110, bet365)
