 CLEVELAND – The last time the Kent State Golden Flashes faced a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference was November, 2006 when they were shutout at Virginia Tech 23-0.
Fast forward to Saturday night to Cleveland Browns Stadium, site of the "Patriot Bowl" where again the Flashes faced ACC competition, and once again were defeated in shutout fashion, this time falling to Boston College, 21-0.
Boston College quarterback Chris Crane, who was making just his second collegiate start, completed 11-of-16 passes for an economical 89 yards and also added 41 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Crane, a senior from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is taking over for Matt Ryan who is with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Crane's lone other start for BC prior to Saturday's contest was in 2006 against Buffalo when he passed for 142 yards and a touchdown in a 41-0 shutout of the Bulls at Alumni Stadium.
“Chris Crane did a great job protecting the football. We did not want to put him in a position where he had to make some dangerous throws” said Eagles head coach Jeff Jagodzinski
The Flashes had a chance to make a statement early in the first quarter after holding Boston College on the game’s first possession taking their first snap of the contest on their own four yard line.
Kent State senior quarterback Julian Edelman, returning this season after missing the final four games of the 2007 season with a broken arm, moved the team converting on three straight third down situations. But then on a fourth down and one from the BC 45-yard line, Kent State went for the first down and failed as running back Eugene Jarvis was stopped by the Eagles defense.
BC took over on downs and needed just eight plays to take a 7-0 lead as Chris Crane ran 10 yards into the end zone.
The Eagles defense held the Flashes on their next possession on three straight plays and punted back to BC.
The Eagles next took the ball on the Kent State 47-yard line and it took just two plays to double their lead to 14-0 as Crane, on an option play, pitched the ball to tailback Jeff Smith who raced 42 yards for the score.
The first half was almost statistically even with Boston College outgaining Kent State by only 30 yards, 163 to 133, but the deepest penetration the Flashes could get into Boston College territory in the first 30 minutes was only to the Eagles' 39 yard-line.
Boston College put their stamp on the game in the third quarter as it ended the competitive phase of the game, moving the ball 88 yards in 16 plays with Crane taking it the final 10 yards for the touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to make it 21-0.
Jagodzinski added “The thing that impressed me the most about my team tonight was no turnovers, and no penalties”
Kent State, bottled up by the BC defense for a majority of the evening, finally moved the ball on what was their final possession of the game after taking possession on their own 33 yard line and in eight plays moved the ball to the Eagles four yard line, their deepest penetration into Eagles territory the entire game. But then Edelman’s second interception of the evening ended any hopes of Kent State scoring on the night.
“Boston College’s defense was as good as advertised, ” said Kent State head coach Doug Martin after the game.
For KSU, Edelman was 10-for-14 through the air for 123 yards but threw two costly interceptions. The first coming in the second quarter when receiver Sam Kirkland was in triple teamed and the second was the Flashes final play of the game when he tried to get a big play deep to salvage a final touchdown. Edelman was also sacked three times.
Jarvis, the junior tailback who was the leading returning rusher in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision last season, was held to just 51 yards on 11 carries. Jarvis was held in check by the Eagles defense with his longest run of the game being a 22-yard carry in the second quarter and his longest play from scrimmage coming on a 34-yard reception of an Edelman pass on KSU’s final possession of the game.
The Eagles rushed the ball for 230 yards and had 336 total yards in the game while Kent State was held to 260 total yards
Martin added “Offensively I thought we did a good job of staying on balance. But we had a hard time protecting against their guys up the middle. But I really liked the way we moved the football.”
The Flashes look to even their record next Saturday as they travel to Ames, Iowa to face the Iowa State Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference. The last time KSU went to Jack Trice Stadium they picked up a 23-14 win..
NOTES: This was the first ever meeting between the two schools…Eugene Jarvis passed the 2500 yard mark in rushing with a four-yard carry in the fourth quarter (2518 rushing yards)… It is Kent State’s first shutout in a season opener since 2006 when Minnesota turned it at Dix Stadium 44-0 and just the eighth shutout on opening day in their 86 year football history… The shutout was also Boston College’s first on opening day since 1973 (45-0 vs Temple) and their first on the road since 1993 at Pittsburgh 33-0…BC QB Chris Crane has played in six collegiate games, three have come against MAC competition (Bowling Green, Kent State, & Buffalo)…BC punter Billy Flutie (nephew of Heisman Trophy Winner Doug Flutie) had a first quarter punt for 34 yards...Jeff Jagodzinski and Doug Martin were on the same staff at East Carolina from 1992-96 |
