After finishing its non-conference schedule with no wins, the Kent State football team will try to regroup entering the Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule.
After Saturday’s blowout loss at Happy Valley, Kent State is now in the bottom-five in both passing and rushing yards per game, total yards per game and points per game. The same goes for passing and rushing yards allowed per game, total yards per game and points per game.
They are dead last in six of those eight categories, and that was more than enough to keep the Flashes’ spot at the bottom of the CBS Sports college football rankings.
“There are a lot of things to clean up – a lot of schematic things we can do better as coaches and some stuff we can do better as players as well,” coach Kenni Burns said. “I think everything’s about gradual growth right now for our football team and giving us the best opportunity to compete in our league.”
Kent State kept itself in the game against No. 8 Penn State (3-0, 0–0) until late in the first quarter when the Nittany Lions, who were already up 7-0, scored 21 points in the half’s final six minutes to blow the game open. They then tacked on 14 points in each of the final two quarters to win by a score of 56-0.
With their most difficult games now behind them, the Flashes (0-4, 0-0) will return to Dix Stadium for their homecoming matchup against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (3-1, 0-0).
The Eagles, who are currently favored by 15.5 points against Kent, are 3-0 in games where they have been the favorite. They defeated UMass (1-3), Jacksonville State (1-3), and Saint Francis (1-3, 0-1), a common opponent with the Flashes. Eastern Michigan’s only loss came in a 30-9 road loss to Washington (3-1, 1-0).
Quarterback
On the second play from scrimmage against Penn State, junior quarterback Devin Kargman took a hard hit and was taken off the field on a stretcher with a hip injury. Kargman has since had surgery but will be out for the year.
“He’s fixed and ready to start the rehabilitation process,” Burns said. “He had surgery yesterday (Sept. 23) in Hershey (PA), I was there with him and his family. They’re doing well, in great spirits, and we hope to get him back in Kent here shortly.”
Freshman JD Sherrod, who replaced Kargman, also suffered a season-ending injury when he tore his achilles in the second quarter.
“He’ll be a guy rehabbing as well,” Burns said. “We’re excited to get him healthy and back around the team as well, but that’s two really good players that we won’t have for the rest of the season, but it’s a great opportunity for someone else to step in and fill the role of a quarterback for us.”
Junior Tommy Ulatowski, who has completed one of seven passes this season, will start for the Flashes Saturday.
“I have confidence in all of our quarterback’s arms, if it’s JD Sherrod, if it’s Tommy, if it’s Dev, all these guys have strong arms,” Burns said. “They wouldn’t be playing Division-One football, and Tommy’s no different. What their weapon is, and what their strength is, might be their feet, and I would say that’s what Tommy’s is and that’s what JD’s is but they all have strong, capable arms.”
Burns displayed his confidence in Ulatowski’s ability to throw the ball.
“I know that Tommy’s more than capable of pushing the ball downfield, and we just have to create space for our receivers and concepts that can get them open down the field,” Burns said.
On the other side, the Eagles will have much more experience at quarterback with sixth-year senior and two-time transfer Cole Snyder taking snaps. Snyder has thrown for over 6,000 yards in his career, along with 35 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
This season, through four games, he has a completion percentage of 61.3% and has thrown for 744 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Running Back
After averaging 1.6 yards per carry against the Nittany Lions, Kent State now averages 1.7 yards per rush as a team. Senior Ky Thomas still leads the way for the Flashes in total yards, with 104 yards on 40 carries this season. Thomas has had his carries limited since his ankle injury, as he has only gotten 11 carries in the last two games combined.
“Ky has been battling through an ankle for quite a bit of time here now, so it’s finally looking like he’s back,” Burns said. “I sat him the last two games and played him sparingly to get him back, so he’ll be full go this week.”
Sophomore Curtis Douglas is the second-leading rusher with 73 yards on 22 carries. One-third of the way through the season, the team is yet to record a rushing touchdown.
Sixth-year senior Delbert Mimms III leads the way for Eastern Michigan’s ground game with his 46 carries for 169 yards. He has scored on the ground three times and averages 3.7 yards per attempt.
The Eagles also use Elijah Jackson-Anderson, who averages 12 carries for 38.33 yards through the three games he has played in so far. The Eagles are eighth in the MAC with 121.25 rush yards per game this season.
Receivers
There was very little action through the air for the Flashes last week, with the three quarterbacks going a combined 2-13 passing. Sherrod provided the only completions for Kent State. The two pass-catchers were freshman receiver Ardell Banks, whose catch went for 13 yards, and graduate student receiver Luke Floriea, who had five yards on his catch.
Floriea still leads the team in receptions and yards, with 16 catches for 214 yards and two touchdowns. His two touchdowns are matched by redshirt sophomore receiver Chrishon McCray. McCray’s 12 receptions for 121 yards make him the second-leading receiver on the team.
The Eagles have five players with at least 100 receiving yards. Redshirt junior Oran Singleton is the top receiver for the Eagles with 24 receptions for 260 yards, followed by senior receiver Terry Lockett Jr., who has 155 yards on 14 receptions.
Though he has just five catches, fifth-year senior Zyell Griffin is the third-leading receiver with 144 yards. Junior receiver Markus Allen and junior tight end Max Reese both have nine receptions, but Allen has 111 yards, while Reese has 100.
Defense
For the second straight week, the Kent State defense allowed the opponent to set a program record for total yards. The 718 yards Penn State gained broke its 98-year-old record of 711 yards against Susquehanna in 1926. The Flashes, however, did force a turnover on the first drive for the Nittany Lions and now have a plus-one turnover margin on the season.
Despite having the worst statistical defense in the country, Kent has a few players at the top of defensive categories in the MAC.
Junior linebacker Rocco Nicholl is tied for the third-most tackles in the conference with 38, and junior linebacker Kameron Olds, who had an interception last week, is tied for first in the MAC with three sacks.
The two players tied with Olds for the most sacks in the conference are senior defensive linemen Peyton Price and Justin Jefferson, both of whom are on the defensive line of Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are fifth in the conference in total yards allowed per game with 351.75, and fourth in points allowed per game with 19.5.
“I think the opening up of conference play will bring a different juice from our football team, and hopefully our fans have the same one,” Burns said.
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
