Wk 1 · 2026

Kent State Golden Flashes at South Carolina Gamecocks — Sat, Sep 5

Sat, Sep 5 · Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC · SEC Network

Weather at kickoff

94°F mostly clear

5% chance of precipitation · wind 5 mph

Forecast from Open-Meteo

Kent State Golden Flashes

MAC · no games yet

12:45pET

SC -36.5 · total 53.5 DraftKings

Ratings differential SC by 16.3

South Carolina Gamecocks

SEC · no games yet

What is at stake

A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.

What the ratings imply

The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers: The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus 2.4 points of home field. It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026 games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have changed.

Efficiency · 2026 ratings

Kent State: -12.2#127

Efficiency margin

South Carolina: +1.7#56

Kent State: 22.8

Offense (pts/100)

South Carolina: 24.3

Kent State: 35.0

Defense (pts/100)

South Carolina: 22.6

Kent State: 65.5

Pace (plays/g)

South Carolina: 65.5

Kent State: no data

Yards / play

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Yards / play allowed

South Carolina: no data

Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.

Team stats · 2026 per game

Kent State: no data

Points / game

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Points allowed

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Yards / game

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Yards allowed

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Pass yds allowed

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Rush yds allowed

South Carolina: no data

Kent State: no data

Turnovers / game

South Carolina: no data

From completed 2026 box scores; defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.

Kent State form

No completed games on record.

South Carolina form

No completed games on record.

Kent State this season

No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.

South Carolina this season

No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.

Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.

Common opponents · 0

These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.

Open these two in the comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.

Series history · 2006–2026

These teams have not met in the 2006–2026 window.

Kent State leaders 2025 regular season

Passing	Dru DeShields QB #12	136/240, 2030 YDS, 18 TD, 3 INT
	CJ Montes QB #7	10/19, 140 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Gavin Garcia RB #5	146 CAR, 647 YDS, 3 TD
	Jordan Nubin RB #27	79 CAR, 253 YDS, 1 TD
	Jahzae Kimbrough RB #84	39 CAR, 97 YDS
Receiving	Cade Wolford WR #8	19 REC, 509 YDS, 7 TD
	Da'Shawn Martin WR #18	33 REC, 507 YDS, 4 TD
	Wayne Harris WR #6	35 REC, 383 YDS, 1 TD
	Ardell Banks WR #1	12 REC, 205 YDS, 2 TD

Defense

Tackles	Mason Woods LB #0	94
	CJ Young LB #8	89
	Joel Cordoba DB #2	68
Sacks	Jamond Mathis LB #8	6
	Jelani Davis DL #95	2.5
	CJ Young LB #8	2.5
Interceptions	Terrell Miller CB #18	2
	Joel Boamah CB #12	1
	CJ Young LB #8	1

full roster and per-player history

South Carolina leaders 2025 regular season

Passing	LaNorris Sellers QB #16	178/293, 2437 YDS, 13 TD, 8 INT
	Luke Doty WR #9	19/30, 153 YDS, 1 INT
Rushing	Rahsul Faison RB #1	96 CAR, 470 YDS, 3 TD
	LaNorris Sellers QB #16	149 CAR, 270 YDS, 5 TD
	Matt Fuller RB #28	72 CAR, 260 YDS, 2 TD
Receiving	Nyck Harbor WR #8	30 REC, 618 YDS, 6 TD
	Vandrevius Jacobs WR #8	32 REC, 548 YDS, 4 TD
	Jayden Sellers WR #17	22 REC, 337 YDS, 1 TD
	Donovan Murph WR #6	14 REC, 197 YDS, 1 TD

Defense

Tackles	DQ Smith S #1	64
	Justin Okoronkwo LB #17	63
	Fred Johnson LB #0	61
Sacks	Bryan Thomas Jr. DE #46	7
	Dylan Stewart DE #6	4.5
	Nick Barrett DT #93	2
Interceptions	Peyton Williams DB #31	2
	Vicari Swain DB #4	2
	Jalon Kilgore S #24	2

full roster and per-player history

These are regular-season totals for the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year, taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still appears against the year he earned it; the roster pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is. A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.