Akron and Kent State is a local rivalry game in Northeast Ohio and the Mid-America Conference (MAC), and they play for the Wagon Wheel. The Zips lead the all-time series 37-29-2, with the Golden Flashes winning last season at InfoCision Stadium in Akron by a 42-35 count to seize the Wagon Wheel for the first time since 2022. Kent State has won five of the past seven meetings in this series since Oct. 12, 2019.
The Zips head into this game 1-6, while the Golden Flashes are 2-5. Akron is 0-4 on the road, including a 34-14 loss at Miami (Ohio) last weekend. It has lost all four road game by 20 or more points, too, and it is 1-4 ATS in the past five outings. For Kent state, it stepped out of conference last week in a 29-2 loss at South Florida and has scored just 19 points in the past three games, all losses. In its most recent home game, against MAC-contender Ohio, it fell just 13-10, and prior to that, it topped Ball State 26-13 at home as a similar 2.5-point favorite. Kent is also 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS at home this season. Let's look for that home momentum to continue in Week 8.
Akron vs Kent State prediction: Kent State Golden Flashes -2.5 (-120) at time of publishing. Playable to -3.
