The team played two practice games against local high schools, but was discontinued by the athletic board and faculty to focus on basketball season.

The first Kent State home football game was held November 6, a 7–0 loss to sister school Bowling Green.

Following the 7–6 loss to West Liberty, a new shutout streak began which lasted 8 games, in which the Flashes, then known as the "Silver Foxes" went 0–6–2.

The streak finally ended with a 6–6 tie with the Indiana Normal School in 1925, the game which preceded Kent State's first true victory.

[10][6] Washington University head coach Dave Puddington was hired to replace Strang,[11] and Kent State struggled.

The Puddington tenure was also marked by the Kent State shootings in May 1970, when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a group of university students, killing four and injuring nine.

Dennis Fitzgerald, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after James' departure,[19] was able to lead the team to an 8–4 record and second-place MAC finish in 1976[20] and a winning 1977 season,[21] Fitzgerald was able to continue James' success within the Kent State football program, but left the program after the 1977 season.

[23] Kent State's struggles continued, with the Golden Flashes posting records of 4–7,[24] 1–10[25] and 3–8[25] for a total mark of 8–25.

[30] Utah offensive line coach Dick Scesniak was hired as Chlebek's replacement[31] and, once again, Kent State's football struggles persisted.

[41] Despite high hopes for his tenure, Crum's Golden Flashes never put together a winning season in three years, compiling a record of 7–26.

[45] Dean Pees was hired in 1998 and suffered through the Flashes' most recent winless season (0–11 in 1998) before leading the team to a slow recovery.

In 2001 Kent State posted their first winning season since 1987 when they were led by quarterback Joshua Cribbs to a 6–5 overall record, 5–3 in the MAC.

Pees left Kent State after the 2003 season to take the defensive coordinator job with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) under head coach Bill Belichick.

The team did record its first-ever sell-out at Dix Stadium on October 9 when a crowd of 24,211 watched the Flashes defeat the arch-rival Akron Zips 28–17 to reclaim the Wagon Wheel.

[47] In the days following a 38–3 loss at Western Michigan, which dropped the team's record to 4–7 and 3–4 in the MAC, Doug Martin announced his resignation, effective at the conclusion of the season.

[48] The team responded with a 28–6 upset win over the first-place Ohio Bobcats at Dix Stadium to finish with a record of 5–7 overall and 4–4 in the MAC.

[73] Sean Lewis was hired as head coach in 2018 and served for five seasons, compiling an overall record of 24–31 and 19–17 in MAC play.

Lewis left the program in December 2022 when he was hired as offensive coordinator for the Colorado Buffaloes Football Team under head coach Deion Sanders.

Kent State started a 10-game winning streak in 1942 through 1954, though no games were played during the World War II years of 1943–45 when neither school fielded teams.

The story goes that John R. Buchtel was searching for a site to start a new college in 1870 near what is now Kent State University when his wagon became stuck in the mud.

[82] The Flashes' home field is Dix Stadium, located along Summit Street on the eastern edge of the KSU campus just east of Ohio State Route 261.

Phase one included construction of a large canopy over the press box, new entrance gates, and a ticket office, all completed prior to the 2007 season opener.

From the team's inception in 1920 through the 1940 season, they played at Rockwell Field, which was located adjacent to the original campus buildings on what is now known as The Commons.

After the football team was restored in 1946 following the return of men from World War II, a drive started in the late 1940s to build a permanent grandstand around the existing field.

Memorial Stadium opened in 1950 with seating for 7,000 fans, a new electronic scoreboard, permanent press box, and field lighting.

Holtz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for his contributions as the head coach at Notre Dame.

Gary Pinkel attended Kent State, where he played tight end from 1970 to 1973, and was a graduate assistant from 1974 to 1975.

Pinkel was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for his contributions as the head coach at Toledo and Missouri.

His 1991 Washington team won a share of the national championship after completing a 12–0 season with a decisive win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

He went on to win the Canadian Football League's FL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 1975 with the Toronto Argonauts and was an 8-time CFL All-Star (1971-1973, 1975, 1977-1980).