The Kent State football team extended its losing streak to 16 games Saturday after a 27-6 defeat at Bowling Green (3-4, 2-1). The loss put the Flashes at 0-7 (0-3) and kept them just out of last place in the CBS Sports’ College Football rankings after week eight. With Kennesaw State (1-6, 1-2) beating Liberty (5-1, 3-1) Tuesday night, the Flashes are now the only winless team in the FBS.
“I’m disappointed in the loss. We have to continue to get better, we have to continue to work at the things we’re deficient in,” said coach Kenni Burns. “We have to raise our floor. As more guys go down, guys have to step up and be ready to play. I was encouraged by the response of our defense in the second half. I was encouraged by the run game that we got going this week.”
For the ninth straight game, Kent State allowed the opponent to score first when Bowling Green kicked a field goal in the first quarter.
After the Flashes answered with one of their own, the Falcons scored the next 10 points. Kent State again kicked a field goal to cut the lead to seven, but they would not get any closer as Bowling Green scored the game’s final 14 points on its way to its second Mid-American-Conference victory.
Saturday, the Flashes will take a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take on the Western Michigan Broncos (4-3, 3-0), who stand alone on top of the MAC.
Though the Broncos are 3-0 in conference play, they only have an average point margin of 6.67 in those games. They have one common opponent with Kent, the Ball State Cardinals (2-5, 1-2), who they beat by three on the road Oct. 5.
Quarterback
After impressive performances in his first two starts of the season, junior quarterback Tommy Ulatowski was unable to match that level of play. Against the Falcons, he threw for just 78 yards on 7-of-27 passing to go with a pair of interceptions.
“I think Tommy felt the pressure at times, and he escaped the pocket probably sooner than we wanted him to. Tommy has to trust his protection,” Burns said. “Tommy has to relax in the pocket and trust his O-line and take what the defense is giving him.”
Redshirt senior Hayden Wolff will be under center for the Broncos. Wolff has been efficient this season with a completion percentage of 68.48%, which is second in the MAC and 17th in the FBS. He has thrown 12 touchdowns, tied for second in the conference, and just two interceptions, tied for the least in the conference among quarterbacks with 100 pass attempts.
Wolff has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of MAC quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts.
His 1,378 yards land him sixth in the conference in passing yards, and his 8.35 yards per throw average puts him second in the conference, only behind Ulatowski. Wolff also has the highest rating in the conference and 25th-highest in the FBS with a rating of 160.2.
Running Back
The ground game for the Flashes finally got on track last week. The team ran the ball for a season-high 126 yards. Kent moved up from 133rd in rushing yards per game to 132nd after its performance against the Falcons.
Redshirt senior running back Ky Thomas ran for 121 yards on 14 carries, the most he has run for as a member of the Golden Flashes.
“They gave us a little bit more in the run game than we’ve seen before, but I think we as a coaching staff were much more diligent in finding creative ways of finding what our O-line does well,” Burns said. “It’s a credit to the kids and them believing in what we were doing and going out there and executing it.”
The Kent defense will be facing the fourth-highest rushing team in the MAC. Western Michigan has rushed for 1,314 yards this season with an average of 4.94 yards per rush, third in the conference. Its 15 rushing touchdowns are the most of any MAC team.
The leading rusher is redshirt junior Jaden Nixon, who has rushed for a MAC-best 617 yards on 96 attempts. His 6.43 yards per carry average is the best in the MAC among players with at least 25 carries. His nine rushing touchdowns also lead the MAC.
The Broncos also use senior Zahir Abdus-Salaam and redshirt sophomore Jalen Buckley. Abdus-Salaam has rushed for 296 yards and two touchdowns on 67 carries for an average of 4.42 yards while Buckley averages 5.77 yards on 47 carries for a total of 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Receivers
After coming off back-to-back games, in which they both performed in the upper echelon of the MAC, redshirt sophomore Chrishon McCray and graduate student Luke Floriea did not match those performances. Floriea went for just 35 yards on two receptions while McCray had 21 yards on three receptions.
McCray is still third in the MAC with 543 yards while Floriea sits at ninth with 456. The two are the third-leading receiver duo in the conference, combining for 999 yards.
Though neither player caught a touchdown against Bowling Green, McCray only dropped to second in the conference with seven touchdowns and Floriea is tied for sixth with four. The duo is second in the MAC in touchdowns by a pair of receivers.
As a pair, they have caught 55 passes for an average of 18.16 yards per catch, just short of first place in the MAC.
Western Michigan has a trio of effective pass-catchers, all with at least 20 catches and 200 yards. Its top receiver is fifth-year senior Anthony Sambucci, who has 25 catches for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
The Broncos also utilize their junior tight end, Blake Bosma. Bosma leads the team in receiving touchdowns with five, tying him for third in the MAC.
He has racked up 270 yards on 24 catches, making him the conference’s fourth-leading tight end in receptions.
The 270 yards put him at third in the conference, which means the Flashes will have had to face each of the MAC’s top three receiving tight ends in three straight games.
Graduate student receiver Kenneth Womack is next up for Western Michigan. Womack has caught 20 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown.
Though he has not filled up the stat sheet quite like the other Bronco receivers, the Flashes will have to keep an eye on junior receiver Malique Dieudonne, who averages 20.33 yards on nine catches for a total of 183 yards and a touchdown so far this season.
Defense
The Flashes defense allowed 27 points to the Falcons, the least they have given up against an FBS opponent since Oct. 21 of last season. However, they still gave up 434 yards, extending their streak of allowing over 400 yards to eight, dating back to last season.
“We got after it a little bit (in the second half),” Burns said. “We didn’t change the scheme, we didn’t do anything different. I thought the guys played with a good motor, and they got to the ball and swarmed. We just did a better job.”
The 27 points allowed was not enough to dig Kent out of the cellar of the FBS, as they are still in last place in points allowed per game with 45.86. They are also last in the FBS in yards allowed per game with 536.14.
Out of the 134 FBS teams, the Flashes rank 127th in passing yards per game allowed and 134th in rushing yards per game allowed. Within the MAC, only Ball State (2-5, 1-2) allows more rushing yards per game.
For Western Michigan, its defense is not its strong point. They are ninth in the MAC, allowing 35.57 points per game. They are 10thin the conference in passing yards allowed with 278 yards per game allowed and eighth in the MAC in rushing yards per game allowed with 178.42 yards per game given up. Overall, the Broncos are 10thin the MAC, giving up 456.43 yards per game.
“I’m still encouraged by this football team and its growth,” Burns said. “You’re judged on your wins and losses, and I know that, but in the same breath, I know we’re in this for the long haul as a coaching staff and to build something that is sustainable. I have an experienced coaching staff, I’m blessed to have that, and those guys are working diligently to help build this thing up and get it to where it needs to go.”
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
