The Kent State football team let the University of Pittsburgh have its way offensively in a 55-24 drubbing Saturday in Pittsburgh in the first game of the season – the Flashes’ 10th loss in a row.

The Panthers totaled 560 yards on the day, which was more than twice the amount of yards KSU had in the game (212).

“It was unacceptable at every level – from the start to the finish,” coach Kenni Burns said. “We have to take this and say, ‘This is who we are right now,’ and fix it. That is what the challenge is for this team.”

The Flashes could not stop a balanced offensive attack, as Pitt had 369 yards through the air and 191 yards on the ground – Kent State could not keep up with Pitt with its 31 rushing yards and 181 passing yards.

“I do not think that is a representation of what our team can be,” Burns said. “But it was what we were today. We have to own that.”

The Flashes start the season with an 0-1 record, while Pitt improves to 1-0. Kent State is at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference and is one of five MAC teams with a loss to start its season.

“We need to play better at every facet,” Burns said. “We need to coach better. This game is on us – on me. We were not ready to play. We caught up to the game instead of setting the tempo of the game, and we cannot do that ever again.”

Consistent attacks

Pitt scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters and 13 in the last quarter.

The Panthers got out to a fast start by putting two touchdowns on the board – one through the air on an 11-yard touchdown pass and one on a 78-yard punt return to go up 14-0 less than five minutes into the game.

Kent State cut the lead in half on a 36-yard throw-and-catch from redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Kargman to graduate student wide receiver Luke Floriea, making the score 14-7.

Pitt would find itself back in the endzone twice in the second quarter, further extending its lead to 21 points.

A couple of red zone touchdowns, a two-yard run and a seven-yard pass, made it seem out of reach until KSU got back on the board before halftime.

On a Kent State punt, the special teams forced a fumble and returned it 34 yards for the touchdown, making the score 28-14.

KSU got within striking distance after halftime on a 29-yard touchdown strike from Kargman to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chrishon McCray, his first touchdown of the season.

A brutal 46-yard Pitt rushing touchdown in the third quarter extended the gap once again, but a 36-yard field goal from senior kicker Andrew Glass made the score 35-24 at the time.

Pitt would go on to score 20 unanswered points before the game ended.

A couple of field goals and a couple of short passing touchdowns sealed the win for Pitt, and the Flashes dropped the first game of the season on the road 55-24.

A deeper look

In the Burns era of KSU football, the Flashes have allowed 50 or more points against non-conference Division I opponents three times out of five games played dating back to last season.

Burns went with Kargman at quarterback to start the season, and he went 14/28 for 181 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The touchdowns went to Floriea and McCray, who each caught their first touchdowns of the season. Floriea caught six passes for a career-high 104 yards in addition to his touchdown.

McCray caught four balls for 49 yards. The two receivers accounted for 153 of Kargman’s 181 passing yards.

“We made some adjustments and then the playmakers started to show up a little bit,” Burns said. “We have to do that way sooner on offense.” 

Redshirt senior running back Ky Thomas produced the most in an otherwise inefficient running game.

Thomas rushed 18 times for 48 yards, but the team as a whole rushed 38 times for 31 yards, a 0.8 yards per carry average.

“It is going to be Ky’s show,” Burns said. “Ky is a competitor, and he was out there fighting. We need to do a better job up front giving him holes and giving him creases to run through. He’ll come back and respond.”

Pitt’s junior running back, Desmond Reid, single-handedly outran KSU, as he ran the ball 14 times for 145 yards, a 10.4 yards per carry average.

“They ran the ball well – we did not,” Burns said. “We have to do a better job of running the ball. I think we did a better job in the second half after we calmed down and relaxed a little bit and got in the groove of the game. We have a long way to go.”

The Kent State defense did force two turnovers – one forced fumble, which was returned for a touchdown, and one interception. Other than the turnovers and four sacks, the defense did not provide much resistance, as Pitt scored seven touchdowns and totaled over 550 yards on the day.

“On defense, we have to play complimentary football,” Burns said. “In the first half, the defense was doing solid. We did some things that are not like us.”

Glass was perfect on special teams – he went 3/3 on his extra points and converted on his only field goal attempt. Glass scored his 100th career extra point in the game, and he is only the third KSU kicker to convert that many attempts in program history.

Pitt dominated KSU in many aspects of the game including first downs (31-15), yards per play (7-3.2), third-down conversions (9-16 – 3-16) and sacks (5-4).

Looking ahead

The Flashes will come home to Dix Stadium for their home opener Saturday against Saint Francis University.

SFU started its season with a loss to the University of Dayton, giving the team an early 0-1 record. 

The Red Flash went 4-6 last season in the Northeast Conference but finished second in the conference last season.

Kickoff will be at 2:30 p.m.

“We have a lot to learn from,” Burns said. “You make your biggest jump from week one to week two. This is a talented football team – I am not afraid to run away from that after this score. They have to put it together and find out how to play complementary football.”

John Hilber is sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].