Revival

[Captain Canada]

Weekly Around the Nation -- Top Headlines (Week 3)


Lane Kiffin and his LSU Tigers slip past his former team, Ole Miss, in 27-20 victory


The Alabama Crimson Tide score twice in the 4th quarter to slip past the Florida State Seminoles, 31-28


Top running back in the country, 5-star Jaron Akbar of Cleveland, GA commits to Ohio State over Notre Dame and Georgia, while 2nd-ranked quarterback Antwan Fallin commits to Texas

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ESPN Top 10 Recruits - Runningbacks

Name	Position	Measurables	Hometown	Positional	State	National	ESPN Score	Status
Jaron Akbar	HB	6'0"/191 lbs	Cleveland, GA	1	3	14	92	Verbal:
Greg Lawrence	HB	5'9"/188 lbs	Minneapolis, MN	2	2	36	87	Top 5: MINN, AUB, LOU, FL ST, FLOR
Marshall Hundley	HB	5'11"/162 lbs	Kernersville, NC	3	3	37	87	Top 15
John Lokombo	HB	6'0"/202 lbs	Ponchatoula, LA	4	2	40	86	Top 15
Clayton Kane	HB	5'11"/216 lbs	Texarkana, TX	5	5	41	85	Top 5: BYU, TEX A&M, AUB, TCU, TEX
Robert Regis	HB	6'0"/178 lbs	Norcross, GA	6	11	49	85	Top 15
Jimmy Sullivan	HB	6'0"/202 lbs	Shreveport, LA	7	3	53	85	Top 5: UGA, TEX, AUB, FL ST, OHIO ST
Kyle Trimble	HB	5'10"/202 lbs	Alabaster, AL	8	2	58	83	Top 15
Oscar Matthews	HB	5'10"/172 lbs	Lubbock, TX	9	10	62	82	Top 5: TEX TECH, TEX A&M, TCU, LOU, FL ST
Bradley Solano	HB	6'1"/185 lbs	Savannah, GA	10	13	70	82	Top 5: MINN, GTECH, AUB, UGA, HOU

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2026 College Football Week 3 Roundup

Top 25 Rankings

RK	Team	Record	Last Game	Result
1	Ohio State (39)	3-0	vs Kent State	W 37-15
2	Oregon (25)	3-0	vs FCS Northwest	W 42-14
3	Georgia (7)	3-0	at Arkansas	W 43-3
4	LSU	3-0	at #12 Ole Miss	W 27-20
5	Indiana	3-0	vs Western Kentucky	W 45-17
6	Miami	3-0	at Wake Forest	W 41-21
7	Michigan	3-0	vs UTEP	W 28-7
8	BYU	3-0	at Colorado State	W 48-3
9	Alabama	3-0	vs Florida State	W 31-28
10	USC	4-0	at Rutgers	W 36-21
11	Texas Tech	3-0	vs Houston	W 38-31
12	Ole Miss	2-1	vs #4 LSU	L 27-20
13	Texas	2-1	vs UTSA	W 42-36
14	Oklahoma	2-1	vs New Mexico	W 35-0
15	Iowa	3-0	vs FCS Midwest	W 42-23
16	Tennessee	3-0	vs Kennesaw State	W 51-0
17	Notre Dame	2-1	vs Michigan State	W 48-13
18	Texas A&M	2-1	vs Kentucky	W 21-16
19	Washington	3-0	vs FCS Northwest	W 42-14
20	Florida	3-0	at Auburn	W 32-31
21	Missouri	3-0	vs Troy	W 69-7
22	TCU	3-0	vs Arkansas State	W 27-21
23	Virginia	3-0	vs West Virginia	W 35-34
24	Utah	2-1	vs Utah State	W 31-10
25	Louisville	2-1	vs SMU	W 45-35

Heisman Watch

RK	Player	Pos	Team	Stats
1	Jayden Maiava	QB	USC	1,470 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 73% CMP, 62 carries, 201 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns
2	Trinidad Chambliss	QB	Ole Miss	982 passing yards, 8 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 84% CMP, 50 carries, 126 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns
3	Jordan Davison	HB	Oregon	47 carries, 369 rushing yards, 7.9 AVG, 7 touchdowns, 1 receiving touchdown
4	Bear Bachmeier	QB	BYU	738 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, 1 interception, 65% CMP, 27 carries, 209 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns

Players of the Week

Award	Player	Pos	Team	Stats
National Offensive	Cole Adams	WR	Vanderbilt	13 catches, 191 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
National Defensive	Earl Little Jr.	SS	Ohio State	15 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, interception, pass breakup, touchdown
Conference Offensive	Terrell Crosby Jr.	WR	Toledo	14 catches, 161 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
Conference Defensive	Amariyun Knighten	CB	Miami	4 tackles, interception, pass breakup

Games to Watch

Matchup	Date	TV	Notes
#2 Oregon at #10 USC	9/26	BIG10	Can Dante Moore and the Ducks fend off Heisman favorite Jayden Maiava and the Trojans in conference play?
#14 Oklahoma at #3 Georgia	9/26	FOX	John Mateer and the Oklahoma Sooners hope to salvage their playoff hopes and upset the Bulldogs in Athens
#18 Texas A&M at #4 LSU	9/26	SEC	Can the red-hot LSU Tigers defend Death Valley against Marcel Reed and the Aggies?

[The JZA]

A respectable benchmark loss

[Captain Canada]

A respectable benchmark loss

Can't be too mad at it to be honest. There were instances where "upset watch" started to flicker in my head, but losing DeShields really sunk our ship.

[Captain Canada]

Starting QB Dru DeShields to miss "about a month" with another knee injury

KENT, Ohio - Kent State head coach Mark Carney announced to the media that senior quarterback Dru DeShields s expected to miss about a month with a knee cartilage tear that he suffered in the Golden Flashes' Week 3 loss against top-ranked Ohio State in Columbus this past Saturday.

DeShields performed admirably before going down in the second quarter attempting to flip a screen pass to running back Donovan Delaney Jr. He was hit low and was landed on by a pair of Buckeyes' defensive lineman and was seen rolling on the turf afterwards. Redshirt freshman Deante Ruffin came in for DeShields, who would be immediately taken into the dressing room and not return for the remainder of the game.

DeShields has had a storied history with knee injuries, missing his first two seasons after committing to Kent State out of West Branch High School in 2023 with a pair of ACL tears. DeShields finally took over the starting job last year during the 2025 season, throwing 2,030 passing yards and 18 touchdowns to only three interceptions while also rushing for three touchdowns.

"It's heartbreaking for someone like Dru [DeShields] to go down with an injury like that after fighting back through so much," commented offensive coordinator Khalil Prince. "We saw some great football out of him and the silver lining is that his season isn't lost. He's an admirable young man who fights hard, and we have no doubts that he'll be back this season."

The Golden Flashes are expected to start redshirt freshman Deante Ruffin during their Week 4 matchup against Ball State at home as they open conference play. Ruffin played well against the Buckeyes until a pick-six cratered his performance. He would also go down with an injury, forcing third-string quarterback Nolan Good in the game during the dying moments of the fourth quarter.

"Deante [Ruffin]'s good - he had something with his ribs that was really bothering him against Ohio State," commented head coach Mark Carney. "But, he's fully cleared and feeling 100%. We're all behind him - including Dru - and we're going to do our best to put him in favourable positions to succeed."

[Soapy]

boys ran a train on your quarterback room

GGs

[Captain Canada]

boys ran a train on your quarterback room

GGs

[Captain Canada]

(1-2, 0-0 MAC) @ (1-2, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026
3:00 PM
Dix Stadium (Kent, OH)
Local Broadcast

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Fanduel Odds

Kent State Golden Flashes +1.5 | o.45.5 | +105 ML
Ball State Cardinals -1.5 | u45.5 | -105 ML

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Injuries
QB Dru DeShields - Knee Cartilage Tear (Out)
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TE Tate Hoover - Dislocated Hip (Questionable)
Ameir Glenn - Forearm Fracture (Out)
Khristian Zachary - Torn Labrum (Out)
Chris Jackson - Dislocated Ankle (Out)

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Mark Carney (2nd year with Kent State)
Offensive Coordinator: Khalil Prince (1st year with Kent State)
Defensive Coordinator: Cherokee Valeria (2nd year with Kent State)

Head Coach: Mike Uremovich (3rd year with Ball State)
Offensive Coordinator: Craig Harmon (2nd year with Ball State)
Defensive Coordinator: Jeff Knowles (3rd year with Ball State)

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Players To Watch


Bill Connelly, ESPN: One of the players to really watch from Kent State is sophomore wide receiver Wayne Harris, who has been one of the most dominant players for Kent State's offense so far this season. Quarterback Deante Ruffin is definitely going to have to look for him early and often as he comes into the game in relief of Dru DeShields. After Ohio State's Earl Little Jr. tortured them last year, the Golden Flashes need to look out for safety Quentavius Scandrett patrolling deep in the secondary. He's speedy and has size (6-foot-3, 210 lbs) to lay the hit stick. Running back TJ Horton will have Kent State's defense hands full with his ability to make space and hit the gap.

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Schedules & Results

Week	Opponent	Results	Week	Opponent	Results
0	OFF	--	0	OFF	--
1	at South Carolina	L 34-13	1	at #1 Ohio State	L 55-7
2	vs Wofford College	W 52-10	2	vs Stony Brook	W 56-24
3	at #1 Ohio State	L 37-15	3	at Liberty	L 36-26
4	vs Ball State	--	4	at Kent State	--
5	vs Ohio	--	5	at Toledo	--
6	at Western Michigan	--	6	at Northwestern	--
7	at South Florida	--	7	at Bowling Green	--
8	vs Akron	--	8	vs Sacramento State	--
9	at Sacramento State	--	9	OFF	--
10	OFF	--	10	at UMass	--
11	at Bowling Green	--	11	vs Buffalo	--
12	vs Miami (OH)	--	12	at Ohio	--
13	at Eastern Michigan	--	13	vs Central Michigan	--
14	OFF	--	14	OFF	--

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Experts Evaluations


Tom Fornelli, Writer: "Kent State provided a much tougher test for Ohio State than the entire nation expected, but being without Dru DeShields might be a test too tough for the young Deante Ruffin. I think the Cardinals easily cover the spread."


Richard Johnson, Writer: "Deante Ruffin only threw two or three passes that I really didn't like against Ohio State (yes, I didn't love the pick-six either). I think Kent State comes alive off the strength of their stout run game and trio of superstar wide receiver. I don't think Ball State has the offensive ammunition to have an arms race with the Golden Flashes.


Chris Hummer, 247Sports Writer: "Kent State lost a big gun in quarterback Dru DeShields' knee turning to dust once again. But, Ball State isn't faring much better and are fresh off getting smacked up by Liberty. Deante Ruffin should be able to take care of business here."