Kent State football will look to win its second straight game on Saturday against Fresno State, following the 38-10 win against Central Connecticut State University.
Coach Kenni Burns said the win was “a success” for the team.
“The game was a success because we got better, not because of the result – we never look at the result,” he said. “We wanted to see if we got better this week, and we did, and it led to the result that we wanted.”
KSU won its first game of the season, and Burns earned his first win as a coach against CCSU.
Fresno State comes into the game against KSU after winning its first three games of the season. The team has beaten Purdue on the road and shutout Arizona State 29-0 in its most recent game.
Kent State is fifth in the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division with a 1-2 record.
Fresno State is second in the Mountain West Conference. They sit behind Air Force, the only team with a conference win this season.
“They are a very good football team – very well coached,” Burns said. “They’re explosive on offense and have a really good defense. They’re playing really good complementary football – they have some impressive wins right off the bat, and they’ve done it in different ways, which is exciting.”
The Bulldog offense will be quarterbacked by redshirt sophomore Mikey Keene, a player Burns said “has great accuracy, and he does a good job with the ball in his hands with creating explosive plays.”
In the win against Arizona State, Keene was 32-49, throwing for 281 yards and two touchdowns.
Keene has completed 65% of his passes for 880 yards this season. He has also thrown eight touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing 15 times for negative 83 yards.
Junior running back Elijah Gilliam will be starting for the Bulldogs. He has rushed the ball 58 times this season, putting up 249 yards and two touchdowns. Last week, he ran for 69 yards on 18 attempts.
The best receiver for Fresno State this season has been senior Erik Brooks. Brooks caught 11 balls for 104 yards against Arizona State last week. He has totaled 28 receptions for 369 yards and three touchdowns for the season.
Burns said Brooks is a “dynamic receiver.”
“He is an electrifying young man and does a good job with the ball in his hands,” he said.
The Fresno defense will be led by senior linebacker Levelle Bailey, who leads the team in tackles (19), and senior defensive back Carlton Johnson, who leads the team in interceptions (3)
Bailey has accounted for 1.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception, and two pass breakups. Johnson has eight tackles on the season with three pass breakups.
“It is a swarming defense,” Burns said. “Their front four is as good as we’ve seen. We have a major challenge for our offensive line and making sure we can handle them. They have some really good linebackers and some guys in the secondary that do a great job, as well.”
Fresno State ranks 51st in the nation in yards per game allowed with 319.7 yards.
The team has allowed 959 total yards, 4.61 yards per play and nine touchdowns in the season, allowing only 66 total points.
Last week, KSU tallied 467 yards of total offense, 6.7 yards per play, and five touchdowns.
Redshirt junior quarterback Mike Alaimo will be coming off his first win as a starter for the Flashes. Alaimo threw for 172 yards and a touchdown on 12-16 passing while rushing for another touchdown in his win last weekend.
The quarterback has thrown for 491 yards and one touchdown this season.
“He’s done a great job coming in and taking over this offense from day one,” running back Gavia Garcia said. “He’s a leader out there, and he’s really starting to establish that role on the team, and we’re looking forward to him continuing to improve and making this offense go.”
The running game took off last week against CCSU with 295 total yards on 54 attempts (5.5 yards/attempt) and four touchdowns.
“The run unit had a really good week at practice – we challenged them as coaches to change their best and demand more out of them, and it paid off on Saturday,” Burns said. “They played harder for longer, played nastier, and that’s what we have to do upfront in order to dominate. It was a good performance up front, and they have to grow off of it and learn how they got there – there’s still a lot of room to grow.”
The unit was led by Garcia, a sophomore, who ran 21 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’re starting to gel as an offense, and we’re starting to find our identity,” Garcia said. “Everyone’s coming together – we’re putting the pieces together on the o-line. Mike’s doing a really good job becoming the leader of our offense and getting the ball moving. The guys outside are playing really great football even when the ball is not in their hands.”
The Bulldogs are 29th in the nation in rushing yards per game allowed with 94.7 yards, and KSU jumped to 85th in the nation in rushing yards per game with 138.3 yards.
The Flashes continue to struggle in the passing game, ranking 117th in the nation in passing yards per game (163.7), while Fresno ranks 26th (295 yards).
Defensively, KSU is 25th nationally in pass yards allowed per game (173.3). Fresno is ranked 80th (225 yards).
“What they do well is play elite complimentary football,” Burns said. “They protect each other with how they play offensively and defensively. The defense does a good job of getting off the field, and the offense does a good job of managing the game and taking what the defense is giving them. They play extremely hard. You see it all over the tape – guys are flying around, they’re playing fast and aggressive. Their defense last week did a good job of swarming to the ball and getting the ball down.”
The Kent State defense is led by graduate student linebacker Devin Nicholson, who has 22 tackles this season. He also has 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.
The defense has also forced five turnovers (four interceptions and one fumble).
“We’re in better condition and better shape,” Burns said. “Our guys understand what it takes to play longer, and the challenge is that you’re playing an up-tempo team, but you still want your best players on the field because they give you the best chance to win.”
Burns said the defense is “playing at a high level.”
“They’re playing fast, they’re playing aggressive, they’re playing physical,” he said. “They’re an experienced group, and they’re playing at a high level right now. We have to find a way to keep getting them to get better, and if they do that, they’ll keep making it hard for people to score points. I am impressed with our defense and what they are doing, but they’re just touching the surface of what they can become as a defensive unit.”
Burns expressed winning in Fresno will be difficult.
“It is a great challenge for us – it has always been an electric atmosphere over there,” he said. “So we’re looking forward to going out there as a football team, changing our best and hoping to get a little bit better than we were last week.”
Kickoff will be 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday in Valley Children’s Stadium.
“I am proud of the growth that they’re making, but we still have a lot of things we can get better at: offensively, defensively and special-teams wise,” Burns said. “We have a lot of work to do. We’ll get healthy, and we’ll come out and give Fresno State our best shot.”
John Hilber is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected]
