Kent State’s football team had the first score of the game on Saturday but was then outscored 28-3 for the remainder of the game.
“I am not going to look at the result,” coach Kenni Burns said. “We did a lot of things that were better today. We didn’t win – obviously you want to win the game, but I am encouraged with how we played.”
Arkansas defeated the Flashes 28-6 in the first competition between the teams in history.
KSU fell to 0-2 on the season and is last in the Mid-American Conference East Division.
The Razorbacks improved to 2-0 following the win, keeping them at the top of the Southeastern Conference West Division.
“They had a tough week in practice, and they came out,” Burns said. “We have a lot to build up from. This is a good football team, and we’re figuring it out.”
Junior kicker Andrew Glass started the scoring with a 48-yard field goal in the first quarter to put the Flashes up 3-0.
The KSU defense stopped Arkansas on the team’s first three possessions, including two three-and-outs.
“Defensively, they played harder,” Burns said. “They tackled way better –we swarmed to the ball better. It was not like we did something different, but we played harder. That is a group of guys that are truly giving everything they have.”
On Kent State’s third drive of the game, redshirt junior quarterback Michael Alaimo threw an interception to linebacker Antonio Grier, who took it back 25 yards for a Razorback touchdown, making the score 7-3.
With six minutes left in the second quarter, Glass would cut the deficit to 7-6 on a 38-yard field goal.
A KJ Jefferson 5-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Armstrong would extend Arkansas’ lead to 14-6 with a little over two minutes left in the first half.
At the end of the first half, Kent State had more total yards (126 to 105), passing yards (70 to 48), first downs (10 to 4), total plays (34 to 22) and was doubling UA on time of possession, controlling the ball for 20 minutes and four seconds.
In the second half, Arkansas separated themselves from Kent State.
KSU was outscored 14-0 in the second half due to another Armstrong touchdown reception and a one-yard rushing touchdown by Rashod Dubinion.
Alaimo was able to drive the Flashes inside the Arkansas five-yard line but could not produce a score after turning the ball over on downs in the fourth quarter.
KSU has yet to score a touchdown this season. The team’s points have come from four field goals this season.
Kent State totaled 74 yards in the second half, putting them at a 200-yard total on the day.
Arkansas had 203 total yards in just the second half and finished with 308 total yards.
“They wore us down,” Burns said. “Our guys played hard, but they got fatigued. We have to do more with the subbing and getting guys in and out, but our guys gave a valiant effort at the end.”
The Flashes struggled again in the run game, only accounting for 26 yards on the ground. The team had negative 30 rushing yards in the second half on 11 attempts, averaging a 2.7-yard loss on each attempt.
“We have to find the five guys up front that work, and we’re playing with a lot of different pieces right now,” Burns said. “We’re getting better, but we’re still not there from a run-game standpoint.”
Arkansas ran for 117 yards in the second half and threw for an additional 88 yards.
“In the first half, we made it hard for them to run the ball with the running back, but they’re good coaches – they figured it out,” Burns said. “We did a good job of getting them down when we could, but in the first half, it was three to four-yard gains; in the second half, it became five to six-yard gains.”
The time of possession went to Arkansas in the second half. The team held the ball for over 22 minutes of the 30-minute half.
“In the second half, they were on the field a lot more, and when you’re playing a good team like that, you have to control the clock,” Burns said. “We did not do that in the second half, and we have to learn from it.”
Jefferson threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 13-19 passing. He also rushed the ball 13 times, accounting for 48 yards on the ground.
The Razorback rushing game was led by AJ Green, who ran for 82 yards on 15 attempts, scoring a touchdown in the third quarter.
Alaimo completed 65% of his passes (11-17) for 174 yards and one interception.
The quarterback was sacked seven times. He finished with 11 rushing attempts for -46 yards on the day.
“Another great game – like we did in the last game, we have to learn from it and put our guys in situations to make plays, and we’ll just keep getting better,” Burns said.
Sophomore running back Gavin Garcia carried the ball the most for the Flashes, rushing for 68 yards on his 16 attempts.
Alaimo’s best receiver was sophomore Trell Harris, who caught the ball four times for 78 yards.
Burns expressed that he still “has faith” in his offense.
“We just have to keep going,” Burns said. “Everybody will be back next year, so they’re just going to keep getting better. I have faith in their coaches, and I have faith in what we’re doing, so we’ll keep doing what we’re doing and keep getting better.”
Looking ahead
Burns noted the team suffered “just a couple bumps and bruises” in the game – there were no significant injuries for KSU.
Kent State will look to get into the win column on Saturday when the team takes on Central Connecticut State University.
The Blue Devils will come into the game with a 1-1 record, coming off a loss to the Stonehill Skyhawks in a 33-30 game.
CCSU sits at the bottom of the Northeastern Conference standings as the only team with a conference loss so far this season.
KSU has never played CCSU in program history.
Kickoff for the home opener will be at noon at Dix Stadium.
“Eventually, we will win these games,” Burns said. “I have been a part of this for a long time – we’re close. They just have to keep learning how to start fast, which they did, accelerate in the middle, which we kind of did, and finish strong, and we’re getting there.”
John Hilber is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected]
