The Kent State football team (1-6, 0-4 Mid-American Conference) lost by one on Saturday, its second one-point loss in its past three games.  

The play that shaped the outcome of Saturday’s Wagon Wheel matchup was on a low snap which was fumbled on a hold by sophomore second-string quarterback Dustin Crum on an extra point in overtime, while three weeks ago it was a late touchdown run by Ohio quarterback Nathan Rourke that led the Bobcats to a late victory over the Flashes.

Coach Sean Lewis is treating the two heartbreaking losses as teaching moments.

“We’ll continue to fight, and we’ll continue to learn from these lessons that we get week in and week out and I know that we’ll be better for it in the end,” Lewis said.

Lewis acknowledged there were some things that kept him up Saturday night after the game.

“Thinking through all of the different things that we could have done differently throughout the course of the week,” Lewis said. “(Thinking about) where could we have made just one more play so that it wouldn’t have gotten down to just that last situation so the game doesn’t go to overtime.”

One major difference during the Akron game was that sophomore linebacker Cedepha Phillips started over senior Matt Bahr.

“(Philips) has infectious, genuine energy that you can feel, and he loves playing the game,” Lewis said. “He made plays from sideline to sideline, and that showed up this past weekend. We put a big emphasis on if you can demonstrate excellence, then your role and responsibilities will increase, and in that Miami (OH) game, he demonstrated excellence at his position, so we gave him an opportunity.”

The Flashes will need that energy as they take on a struggling Bowling Green (1-7, 0-4 MAC) squad that has dropped its last five games.

The Falcons rank last in the MAC in scoring defense, giving up an average of 47.8 points per game as well as total defense where they give up 515.5 yards per game.

Lewis has stressed stopping the run from week to week, and this week should be one of their easier tasks, as the Falcons average a conference-low 107 yards per game on the ground.

All eyes will be on sophomore quarterback Woody Barrett as he takes on the third-best passing defense in the conference (182.6 ypg). Barrett has totaled 2,126 yards so far this season, the third-highest mark in the MAC.

The game is set to kick off at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

Ian Kreider is the sports editor. Contact him at [email protected]