Penn State vs. Kent State Predictions: Lions expected to win big

Penn State will finish out its nonconference slate of games Saturday when it hosts an 0-3 Kent State squad that could prove to be the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision this year. Through its first three games, the Golden Flashes lost to Pitt, 55-24, then got destroyed by Tennessee this past weekend, 71-0. With a 65-0 score at halftime, the Volunteers played many of their backups in the second half and still put up 740 yards of total offense.

However, it’s Kent State’s loss to St. Francis (Pa.) back on Sept. 7 that’s led many to wonder just how bad they may be. Not only did they lose, but the Golden Flashes never led in that game. They also allowed 402 yards of offense against a Football Championship Subdivision program that went 4-6 last year. Ouch.

All time, Penn State is 6-0 against Kent State, with four of those meetings taking place since 2010. They last played in Sept. 2018, with the Nittany Lions winning that game 63-10.

So, how does our staff see this one playing out? Check out our predictions below.

Nate Bauer (Season 2-0)

Penn State will beat Kent State on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium. While the Golden Flashes share a conference with Bowling Green in the MAC, the two programs are on different trajectories, and the final score should reflect that for the Nittany Lions.

What’s less certain is the manner in which Penn State secures its third win. Because, there are unresolved issues to be addressed by the Nittany Lions with outcomes that are still to be determined.

Offensively, will the penalties be cleaned up? Are the Nittany Lions’ issues with third down conversions going to improve? Will this game serve as an opportunity to force ball distribution? And on the defensive side of the ball, can Penn State create the quarterback pressures that have been elusive the first two weeks? And, with them, will turnover creation be more plentiful?

Kent State should be the elixir to the early season missteps Penn State wants to clean up. Even against a badly overmatched opponent, the Nittany Lions will likely still have to work through the ups and downs that come with improvement.

Penn State: 56
Kent State: 10

Sean Fitz (Season 2-0)

A few weeks ago, we all underestimated a pretty darn good MAC squad in Bowling Green. At the same time, we probably overestimated the progress that Penn State had made after one week. This weekend, however, Beaver Stadium may play host to not only the worst team in the MAC but also in the FBS. Kent State is taking its licks not only as an overmatched opponent for top 10 teams – Tennessee destroyed them last weekend in case you didn’t catch any football over the bye – but also in some unexpected ways. Regardless of where the Golden Flashes are in the rebuild, it’s bad to lose to Saint Francis (Pa.) at home.

So that brings us to Saturday. Kent State may legitimately be worse than some of the FCS teams that PSU has faced in previous seasons. I don’t expect this to be pretty. The Nittany Lions should be able to run their stuff successfully and accomplish what they need to do, hopefully while staying healthy. If not, that’s not a great sign moving forward. Tennessee dropped 60 in the first half last week, and whether you like it or not, the Vols are a peer with which the Nittany Lions will be compared with in the top 10. They won’t get any style points for beating Kent State, but a big number certainly won’t hurt. Play clean, stay healthy and get out and onto conference play.

Penn State: 62
Kent State: 6

Thomas Frank Carr (Season 2-0)

Penn State’s offense has been explosive and productive through two games this year. Yes, there’s been some hiccups from penalties and offensive inefficiency, but they’ve put up yards and points in a generally balanced attack. Right now, the run game is healthy, and there hasn’t been a team that can challenge their scheme to clog up passing lanes for quarterback Drew Allar for more than a half of football.

Defensively, the team is playing a suffocating style of football that, aside for a lapse of two quarters, has matched its play style with performance. Playing tight man coverage and blitzing forces the opposing offense into a tough situation that doesn’t reliably generate explosive plays if the defense does its job.

So, against a Kent State team that is off to a historically bad start, it would take an impressive list of setbacks and mental mistakes to keep this game close for very long. Penn State should be able to get points, sacks, turnovers and whatever else it wants.

Penn State: 63
Kent State: 7

Matt Herb (Season 2-0)

Because the economics of college football are what they are, September is filled with games that probably shouldn’t be played. Kent State and Tennessee played one such game last week. After taking a 65-0 halftime lead, the Vols reportedly offered to use a running clock in the second half. The Golden Flashes declined and ended up being outgained by 628 yards and outscored by 71 points. Now they head to Penn State for their second road game in eight days against a top-10 opponent.

Although the Nittany Lions struggled to put away a Mid-American Conference foe earlier this month, there’s no reason to believe their relatively narrow escape against Bowling Green foreshadowed another four-quarter battle on Saturday. They may or may not cover the monstrous 49-point spread, but they figure to come away with a comfortable victory, some valuable game reps for their inexperienced young players, and, barring any key injuries, a nice springboard into the Big Ten season.

Penn State: 54
Kent State: 10

Greg Pickel (Season 2-0)

The Golden Flashes have very little going for them in 2024. They just lost 71-0 to Tennessee and project to lose by a similar margin to Penn State. The Nittany Lions tend to cover massive spreads, even this one, which projects to possibly close as the biggest margin in program history. We’ll predict them to do so again and also don’t see Kent State finding the end zone. Get ready to see a lot of backups in action on Saturday.

Penn State: 73
Kent State: 0

Ryan Snyder (Season 2-0)

Penn State has been known to start slow off of bye weeks, but I can’t envision anything other than a fast start this weekend. Kent State comes into this game ranked dead last in total defense, allowing an average of 570 yards in its first three games. Sure, Tennessee helped inflate that number a bit last weekend, but even Pitt totaled 567 yards against this team in Week 1.

But it’s not just their defense. On the other side of the ball, Kent State ranks dead last in total offense as well, averaging just 201.3 yards per game. The Nittany Lions are 49-point favorites in this one, and as Greg broke down earlier this week, they’re 4-0 ATS when favored by 40 points or more since 1999.

It’s hard for me to envision them not making that ATS record 5-0 by Saturday evening. Kent State is truly that bad.

Penn State: 63
Kent State: 7