Kent State football will try to reverse its luck Saturday when the team takes on Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, for the 11th game of the season.

The Flashes dropped its game against a Mid-American Conference opponent for the sixth time this season – KSU is the only team in the conference without a MAC victory.

The most recent loss, the team’s seventh in a row, came against a middling Bowling Green team at Dix Stadium in a 49-19 domination.

Kent State has given up 40 or more points three times this season while never reaching the threshold on offense themselves.

“It was a game where we let it get away from us a little bit,” coach Kenni Burns said. “They had two turnovers, we had one. Explosive plays – they had 11, we had four. Missed tackles, we broke seven, they broke 15. They took advantage of the opportunity way more than we did, and we have to learn from it and get better.”

KSU had a hard time sticking around with the Falcons last week, and a 21-point BGSU fourth quarter did not help the cause, either.

Nonetheless, Kent State comes into the week with the worst records in the MAC, flaunting a 1-9 overall record to go with the aforementioned 0-6 record in conference play.

Ball State, who sits in last place in the MAC West, won its third game of the season last week at Northern Illinois.

The Cardinals have a 3-7 overall record with a 2-4 record against MAC opponents, but Toledo (10-1) put away the competition in the MAC West with a perfect 7-0 conference record, winning the division.

“We took some time to get healthy over the past couple of days, and now we’re back to work with a really good Ball State team,” Burns said. “They’re coming off a big win, and they’re playing a lot of young guys. They’re trying to develop and grow their football team.”

Player matchups

Quarterback

Ball State has played three quarterbacks this year, but the Cardinals will go with redshirt sophomore Kiael Kelly, who has been the most consistent among them and has appeared in all 10 games this season.

• Second on the team in rushing yards and carries, and he leads the team in rushing touchdowns
• Last week at NIU: 15-25, 115 passing yards, one touchdown, 14 carries, 66 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
• Season Stats: 48-91, 415 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, 99 carries, 500 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, six receptions, 39 receiving yards
• Burns: “He’s a dual-threat kid. He’s the highlight of their deal – he does a really good job of keeping the plays extended and alive.”

Burns made it clear last week that sophomore Tommy Ulatowski has won the starting job at quarterback for the rest of the season, following his game against BGSU.

• Last week vs. BGSU: 23-40, 284 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception
• Season Stats: 57-111, 721 passing yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions, 43 carries, 100 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown

Running back

Former Kent State running back redshirt junior Marquez Cooper will start for Ball State in the backfield.

• 2023 preseason All-MAC, 2023 Maxwell Award Watch List player
• Last week at NIU: 25 carries, 93 rushing yards, two receptions, 18 receiving yards
• Season Stats: 171 carries, 767 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 16 receptions, 150 receiving yards
• Burns: “They have a running back that we’re obviously familiar with. He’s a really good player – he was good when he was here and has only elevated his game since leaving here.”

Redshirt senior Jaylen Thomas has taken the starting role after being a backup to start the season.

• Leads the team in carries and is tied for the most rushing touchdowns on the team
• Last week vs. BGSU: 18 carries, 73 rushing yards, one touchdown
• Season Stats: 112 carries, 414 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns

Receivers

One of Ball State’s most efficient receivers is sophomore tight end Tanner Koziol.

• Second on the team in receptions, third on the team in receiving yards, and leads the team in receiving touchdowns
• Last week at NIU: three receptions, 22 receiving yards, one touchdown
• Season Stats: 32 receptions, 269 receiving yards, three touchdowns

In the absence of redshirt freshman Chrishon McCray, who is out for the rest of the season, Burns will place a lot of pressure on senior team captain wide receiver Luke Floriea.

• Second on the team in receptions and touchdowns, is third on the team in receiving yards
• Last week vs. BGSU: nine receptions, 95 receiving yards (both season highs)
• Season Stats: 27 receptions, 284 receiving yards, three touchdowns
• Burns: “Luke Floriea had a great game. He played well – he had a couple of drops at the end that he wanted back, but he was consistent in being where he was supposed to be, catching the ball. He really stepped up, and we have to find ways to give him the ball more and also get some of the other guys going, as well.”

Defense

Burns highlighted Ball State’s defensive line as the stoppers on that side of the ball. The best among them is graduate student defensive lineman Mikhari Sibblis.

• Last week at NIU: two total tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery
• Season Stats: 32 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one fumble recovery, one quarterback hit
• Burns: “On the defensive side of the ball, they’re strong, they’re physical, they’re tough. They manhandled Northern Illinois up front and really controlled the line of scrimmage, so we have to do a good job of blocking and having a good run/pass option and a good balance to keep them on their toes.”

Graduate student safety Bryce Sheppert has continued to play exceptionally well as a leader of the Kent State defense.

• Leads team in tackles
• Last week vs. BGSU: seven total tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception
• Season Stats: 61 total tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, two quarterback hits, six pass breakups

How do they stack up?

fense in the nation, and specifically the MAC. The team allows 34.4 points per game, which is the worst in the MAC by almost three points, and is tied for 118th in the nation out of 130 teams.

Ball State only gives up 27.3 points per game (seventh in MAC) but is the worst team in the MAC at getting interceptions on defense, only tallying three in 10 games – KSU has six in that same span.

Both teams struggle with scoring points and are the two worst teams with touchdowns specifically. Ball State has scored 20 touchdowns this season, which is second-worst in the conference.

Not to be outdone, the Flashes have only scored a touchdown 16 times this season – which is the worst in the MAC.

Kent State’s last road game of the season will kick off at 2:00 p.m. in Scheumann Stadium in Ball State’s home of Muncie, Indiana.

Burns said the team is “right where [they] need to be” in rebuilding timeline of the Kent State football program.

“We’re right on schedule, as crazy as that sounds,” he said. “The toughest thing about year one is that people learn at their own pace – the culture, the defense, and the offense schematically. I am not going to look at it by wins and losses. I am going to look at it in the development of our players and our team, and our culture.

“And I know the wins will come with more time and development and that’s what we’re focused on.”

John Hilber is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].