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 In the press conference following the 27-15 win Saturday afternoon over Bowling Green, Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell called the recent victory a ‘team’ win. Indeed, the Flashes were good in all three phases of the contest
In the press conference following the 27-15 win Saturday afternoon over Bowling Green, Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell called the recent victory a ‘team’ win. Indeed, the Flashes were good in all three phases of the contest
“For the first time all year, we played all three phases the way we were capable of playing.” Hazell said. “We limited our penalties, we made some plays when we had opportunities to make some plays and we really only turned it over one time early in the football game – which we were able to recover from.”
The KSU offense, coming into the game was averaging just 180 yards and a mere 10 points per game. Both were last in the Mid-American Conference and one of the lowest marks in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision. Against the Falcons, the offense had 319 yards (a season high), while the 27 points was second best to the 33 they scored in their other win of the season (over South Alabama back on September 24).
Two players “resurfaced” in the victory over BG: junior wide receiver Tyshon Goode and senior running back Jacquise Terry.
Goode had only five catches all season. Last Saturday against BGSU, he had four for 43 yards, tying him with junior Matt Hurdle for most receptions in the game for the Flashes. Goode came into the season as one of the top receivers in the MAC as and senior Sam Kirkland were a lethal one-two punch last season. In 2011 however, Goode rarely saw the ball. His consecutive streak of games with at least one reception ended at 18 after he failed to catch a pass at Kansas State. Over the five games preceding BG, he had just one catch, for 10 yards against USA.
Terry had been a key cog in the running game the past two seasons due to injuries to Eugene Jarvis. Most observers felt he would be the main ball carrier in 2011. But like Goode, he faded into the background with just 120 yards in 33 carries. Against the Falcons, he had a season best 65 yards, including a 34-yard run on a drive early in the fourth quarter that set up a field goal.
Junior quarterback Spencer Keith had a solid game against the Falcons, completing 16-of-23 passes for a season-best 179 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. While his fumble while dropping back midway through the first quarter was reminiscent of previous gaffs by Keith earlier this season at K-State and Northern Illinois, Hazell stayed with Keith and the quarterback paid back his coach with a solid performance.
Two other offensive keys in the victory were the play of the offensive line (which did not allow a sack for just the second time this season) and the running of freshman Trayion Durham, who had 62 yards on the afternoon and scored his first collegiate touchdown late in the first quarter.
The defense did give up 445 yards to the Falcons, second most this season (482 in the season opener at Alabama). A whopping 400 of those yards came off the arm of quarterback Matt Schilz, who found senior wide receiver Kamer Jordan 12 times for a career high 203 yards and a touchdown. The defense did hold BGSU to just 45 yards rushing as their freshman sensation Anthon Samuel did not play due to post-concussion syndrome.
The defense did get four turnovers (two fumbles and two interceptions), along with making the Falcons twice turn the ball over on downs late in the game. The Flashes sealed a victory with their second defensive touchdown of the season when sophomore tackles Roosevelt Nix scooped by a Schilz fumble and took it nine yards for a score.
“The defense did not play as well as they have in the past.” Hazell said. But what they did was they stood up when they had to -- when the ball got close to the red zone -- and made some plays deep in the red zone.”
On special teams, place kicker Freddy Cortez made two field goals moving his season total to 8-for-10 on three pointers. He also averaged 64.2 yards on kickoffs. The coverage team also did their job as they held Booboo Gates, one of the top kickoff returners in the MAC, to 21 yards per return. Senior punter Matt Rinehart averaged 42.9 yards on seven kicks.
There is not much time to saver a victory. The Flashes have a short week to prepare for the Central Michigan Chippewas, who come into Dix Stadium Friday night for an 8:00PM kickoff.
The Chips ended a two-game losing streak on Saturday as they traveled to Akron, barely defeating the Zips, 23-22. After building a 20-0 third quarter lead, CMU held on for dear life as UA scored a touchdown on the final play of regulation. They decided to go for two points and failed.
CMU’s offense is led by fourth year junior quarterback Ryan Radcliff, who is completing 57.5 percent of his passes (185-for-322) for 2,375 yards with 17 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Last Saturday against the Zips, he was 17-for-31 through the air for 191 yards and a score.
The running game was led early by Parris Cotton, who still leads the team with 322 yards. However, over the past two weeks, they have had 100-yard games from sophomore Zurion Tipton (110 in their 31-27 loss at Ball State) and true freshman Anthony Garland (141 and a score last week against UA). The receivers are led by Cody Wilson who has 47 catches for 522 yards with three touchdowns and is quietly moving up CMU’s all-time leading receptions list.
The defense is led from the secondary by fourth year junior Jaleel Addae. The strong safety leads CMU in tackles with 77 (34 solo) and is one of the best in the MAC with four interceptions and four pass breakups.
KSU has not won consecutive games since October, 2010, when the Flashes defeated Bowling Green and Ball State. They have not won consecutive games at home since beating Murray State and Akron last season. They look to end those streaks Friday night.
NOTEBOOK:
The game is the 32nd lifetime meeting between the two schools, with Central Michigan holding a decisive 22-9-0 advantage…It is the first meeting since 2007 at Kent (CMU 41-32)…KSU’s last win in the series was 2000 at Mount Pleasant, 24-21, in double overtime and their last home win in series came in 1987 24-21…The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2…Luke Batton-KSU was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week as he had 10 tackles against BGSU with a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit…Freddy Cortez-KSU was named MAC East Special Teams player of the week for his two field goals and 64-yard kickoff average in the win over the Falcons…David Harman-CMU was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for his three field goals in the win over Akron…CMU is in the final game of a three-game road trip and will finish the season with home games against Ohio and Toledo…CMU is 19-3 in their last 22 games against MAC opponents from the state of Ohio.
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