1968 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

1968 Kent State Golden Flashes football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	1–9 (1–5 MAC)
Head coach	Dave Puddington (1st season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1967 1969  →

1968 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 20 Ohio $	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Miami (OH)	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Bowling Green	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Toledo	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Western Michigan	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Kent State	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
Marshall	0	–	6	–	0			0	–	9	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 Kent State Golden Flashes football team was an American football team that represented Kent State University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their first season under head coach Dave Puddington, the Golden Flashes compiled a 1–9 record (1–5 against MAC opponents), finished in sixth place in the MAC, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 230 to 101. ^{[1] [2]}

The team's statistical leaders included Don Nottingham with 727 rushing yards, Steve Trustdorf with 773 passing yards, and Doug Smith with 247 receiving yards. ^{[3] [4]} Defensive tackle Jim Corrigall was selected as a first-team All-MAC player. ^[5]

Puddington was hired as Kent State's head football coach in December 1967. He had been the head football coach at Washington University in St. Louis from 1962 to 1967. ^[6]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	at Dayton *	Baujan Field Dayton, OH	L 10–24	13,888
September 21	Buffalo *	Memorial Stadium Kent, OH	L 13–21	16,488
September 28	Ohio	Memorial Stadium Kent, OH	L 7–31	15,000
October 5	at Miami (OH)	Miami Field Oxford, OH	L 0–24	14,622
October 12	Western Michigan	Memorial Stadium Kent, OH	L 0–14
October 19	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH (rivalry)	L 7–30	16,214
October 26	Toledo	Memorial Stadium Kent, OH	L 12–28
November 2	at Louisville *	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 9–23	8,000
November 9	at Marshall	Fairfield Stadium Huntington, WV	W 36–12	5,000
November 16	Xavier *	Memorial Stadium Kent, OH	L 7–23		[7]
*Non-conference game

^[8]

References

1. "2016 Kent State Football Record Book" (PDF). Kent State University. p. D7. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
2. "1968 Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
3. 2016 Record Book, p. D17-D19.
4. "1968 Kent State Golden Flashes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
5. 2016 Kent State Football Record Book, p. D42.
6. "WU Coach to Kent State: Puddington Quits". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . December 13, 1967. p. 5D.
7. "Final defeat is saddest". The Akron Beacon Journal. November 17, 1968. Retrieved May 4, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Schedule/Results (1968 Kent State)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 23, 2025.