BY EVAN MEYER
One week after getting dominated by the Toledo Rockets, Kent State's Golden Flashes put together an impressive defensive effort that stymied the potent offense of UMass. That defensive performance keyed a 15-10 road win, improving Kent State record to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
The Flashes enter week eight tied with Ohio for second place in the East Division and have already surpassed their win total for all of 2014. Adding to that win column this week figures as a daunting task. East leader Bowling Green comes to Dix Stadium with a supercharged offensive attack led by QB Matt Johnson.
Can the Flashes tame another offensive beast?
(CLICK READ MORE TO CONTINUE . . . )
One week after getting dominated by the Toledo Rockets, Kent State's Golden Flashes put together an impressive defensive effort that stymied the potent offense of UMass. That defensive performance keyed a 15-10 road win, improving Kent State record to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
The Flashes enter week eight tied with Ohio for second place in the East Division and have already surpassed their win total for all of 2014. Adding to that win column this week figures as a daunting task. East leader Bowling Green comes to Dix Stadium with a supercharged offensive attack led by QB Matt Johnson.
Can the Flashes tame another offensive beast?
(CLICK READ MORE TO CONTINUE . . . )
KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (3-4, 2-1 MAC EAST)
LAST TIME OUT: Kent State went to Amherst and defeated the Massachusetts Minutemen, 15-10, at McGuirk Stadium. Redshirt freshman QB George Bollas, in his first collegiate start, completed 20-of-25 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked once and threw an interception.
Freshman RB Raekwon James led the rushing attack with 85 yards on 20 carries. He also led the receivers with eight catches for an additional 56 yards. It was part of an afternoon that saw him register 182 all-purpose yards.
The defense came up big as well, limiting UMass to just 257 yards of total offense and limiting QB Blake Frohnapfel to just 171 yards on 17-of-33 passing with an interception. Overall, KSU registered four sacks, nine tackles for losses and two pass breakups.
ON THE YEAR: The Golden Flashes opened the 2015 season September 3-4 losing to the Fighting Illini of Illinois 52-3 at Champaign-Urbana…They rebounded the following week in the home opener, dominating Delaware State 45-13, then lost a heartbreaker at Minnesota 10-7. A double overtime loss to Marshall at home, 36-29, ended the non-conference schedule at 1-3.
The Flashes opened MAC play with a 20-14 win at home over Miami…After a 38-7 loss at nationally-ranked Toledo, KSU rebounded with the win last Saturday at UMass…The game with the Falcons is the final Saturday game of the 2015 season for the Flashes. Three of their final four games will be at night, beginning on Thursday November 5 when Buffalo comes to Dix Stadium
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
OFFENSE; KSU is averaging 18 points & 317 yards per game
RUSHING: Trayion Durham 88 carries-301 yards 2 touchdowns
PASSING: George Bollas 41-62-2 314 yards one touchdowns
RECEIVING: RB Raekwon James 13-220
DEFENSE: The Flashes are allowing 24.7 points & 290.1 yards per game
TOTAL TACKLES: DB Nate Holley 40-27-67
TACKLES FOR LOSS: DL Terance Waugh 9.5-53 yards
SACKS: Waugh 8-49 yards
INTERCEPTIONS: DB Demetrius Monday 5-39 yards
SPECIAL TEAMS:
PUNTING: Anthony Melchiori 58 – 41.2 avg. per kick
PLACE KICKING: Shane Hynes 6-8 FG / 9-9 PAT
KICK RETURNS: Raekwon James 19-20.7 yds per return
PUNT RETURNS: Ernest Calhoun 17-3.4 avg per return
NOTES : The win over UMass was the Flashes first victory on the road in 2015 and the first overall since November, 2013 at Ohio…DB Nick Cuthbert was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week. He had five total tackles and an interception in the win over UMass…Senior P Anthony Melchiori was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the week as three of his punts in the fourth quarter were downed inside the Minutemen one yard line…KSU leads the MAC in total defense, tackles for losses, turnovers gained and in passing effiency while being 18th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing defense…Terance Waugh leads the MAC and is eighth in the FBS with in tackles for losses with 9.5 …Redshirt freshman QB George Bollas went 20-for-25 passing (80 percent), the highest completion rate for a KSU quarterback since 2010…The Flashes defense ranks seventh in the FBS with 11 interceptions, led by Demetrius Monday with five. Seven players have at least one interception… Raekwon James had a career-high 85 yards rushing and eight pass receptions against UMass
THE SERIES: The game is the 83rd lifetime meeting between the two schools, with the Falcons holding a 57-19-6 advantage…The 43rd lifetime game in Kent with BGSU also holding an edge 32-8-2…BGSU has won the last two meetings in the series, including last year.
BOWLING GREEN STATE FALCONS (4-2, 2-0 MAC WEST)
LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons celebrated homecoming last Saturday by collecting their fourth consecutive victory as they routed the Akron Zips 59-10. BGSU broke the game open early in the second quarter with a 28-10 lead and then scored on five consecutive second half possessions (four touchdowns and a field goal) as the Falcons amassed 532 yards of total offense.
Senior QB Matt Johnson completed 25-of-30 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore WR Roger Lewis had eight receptions for 118 yards and two scores. Defensively, Eilar hardy had nine total tackles (six solo). He was part of a Falcons defense that owned five tacklkes for losses, two interceptions two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries
THE SEASON SO FAR:
Bowling Green opened the 2015 season losing to Tennessee in Nashville a game that saw 1,161 yards of total offense on a warm, humid day….The Falcons picked up their first win of the season the next week at Maryland. Behind 13-6 at halftime, they scored 42 points in the second half following a weather delay. They had 105 total plays and 692 yards in the win at College Park…The home opener saw a narrow loss to Memphis 44-41…BGSU rebounded with its second road win over a Big Ten opponent as it defeated Purdue in West Lafayett,e 35-28, when RB Travis Greene scored a 12-yard touchdown with just nine seconds remaining…The MAC opener was in Buffalo, where the Falcons opened a 28-9 lead early in the fourth quarter. They then held on for dear life to defeat the Bulls 28-22. Decisive home wins over Massachusetts, 62-38, and the Zips followed…Like KSU, this is final Saturday game for BGSU as they finish with four night games, beginning on Wednesday November 4 at home against Ohio
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
OFFENSE: BGSU is averaging 43.5 points & 594.3 yards per game
RUSHING: Travis Greene 94 carries-537 yards four touchdowns
PASSING: Matt Johnson 215-305-3 2891 yards 24 touchdowns
RECEIVING: Roger Lewis 54 receptions-1020 yards nine touchdowns
DEFENSE: The Falcons are allowing 32.8 points & 455.7 yards per game
TACKLES: Austin Valdez 32-36-38 (3 TFL-4 Pass breakups)
TFL: Zach Colvin 5 ½-18 yards
SACKS: Taylor Royster 3-18 yards & Terrance Bush 3-16
INTERCEPTIONS: Dernard Turner 2-38 & Alfonso Mack 2-22
SPECIAL TEAMS:
PUNTING: Joe Davidson 21-45.3 avg per kick
PLACE KICKING: Tyler Tate 6-12 FG/ 39-40 PAT
KICK RETURNS: Ryan Burbrink (PR) 7-6.6 avg Scott Miller (KR) 9-22.1
NOTES: Redshirt senior QB Matt Johnson was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in 2015 thanks to his five touchdown performance against UA…It marked the second straight game and third time this season Johnson had thrown for five scores in a game (Maryland and UMass the others)…Johnson’s 2,891 yards passing leads the FBS…The 532 total offensive yards against the Zips was the Falcons lowest so far this season…BGSU has won15 straight games against MAC East competition and is 18-1 in their last 19…Sophomore WR Roger Lewis has 1,020 receiving yards so far this season. He is the eighth player in BGSU football history to surpass that mark and has 2,113 total yards in just 21 games…Lewis’ 1,020 receiving yards is second in the FBS to Josh Doctson of Texas Christian…A win over KSU would make the Falcons Bowl Eligible for the fourth consecutive season and would make them 6-2 overall for the first time since 2004. They would be 4-0 in MAC play for the first time since 2003.
LAST TIME OUT: Kent State went to Amherst and defeated the Massachusetts Minutemen, 15-10, at McGuirk Stadium. Redshirt freshman QB George Bollas, in his first collegiate start, completed 20-of-25 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked once and threw an interception.
Freshman RB Raekwon James led the rushing attack with 85 yards on 20 carries. He also led the receivers with eight catches for an additional 56 yards. It was part of an afternoon that saw him register 182 all-purpose yards.
The defense came up big as well, limiting UMass to just 257 yards of total offense and limiting QB Blake Frohnapfel to just 171 yards on 17-of-33 passing with an interception. Overall, KSU registered four sacks, nine tackles for losses and two pass breakups.
ON THE YEAR: The Golden Flashes opened the 2015 season September 3-4 losing to the Fighting Illini of Illinois 52-3 at Champaign-Urbana…They rebounded the following week in the home opener, dominating Delaware State 45-13, then lost a heartbreaker at Minnesota 10-7. A double overtime loss to Marshall at home, 36-29, ended the non-conference schedule at 1-3.
The Flashes opened MAC play with a 20-14 win at home over Miami…After a 38-7 loss at nationally-ranked Toledo, KSU rebounded with the win last Saturday at UMass…The game with the Falcons is the final Saturday game of the 2015 season for the Flashes. Three of their final four games will be at night, beginning on Thursday November 5 when Buffalo comes to Dix Stadium
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
OFFENSE; KSU is averaging 18 points & 317 yards per game
RUSHING: Trayion Durham 88 carries-301 yards 2 touchdowns
PASSING: George Bollas 41-62-2 314 yards one touchdowns
RECEIVING: RB Raekwon James 13-220
DEFENSE: The Flashes are allowing 24.7 points & 290.1 yards per game
TOTAL TACKLES: DB Nate Holley 40-27-67
TACKLES FOR LOSS: DL Terance Waugh 9.5-53 yards
SACKS: Waugh 8-49 yards
INTERCEPTIONS: DB Demetrius Monday 5-39 yards
SPECIAL TEAMS:
PUNTING: Anthony Melchiori 58 – 41.2 avg. per kick
PLACE KICKING: Shane Hynes 6-8 FG / 9-9 PAT
KICK RETURNS: Raekwon James 19-20.7 yds per return
PUNT RETURNS: Ernest Calhoun 17-3.4 avg per return
NOTES : The win over UMass was the Flashes first victory on the road in 2015 and the first overall since November, 2013 at Ohio…DB Nick Cuthbert was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week. He had five total tackles and an interception in the win over UMass…Senior P Anthony Melchiori was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the week as three of his punts in the fourth quarter were downed inside the Minutemen one yard line…KSU leads the MAC in total defense, tackles for losses, turnovers gained and in passing effiency while being 18th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing defense…Terance Waugh leads the MAC and is eighth in the FBS with in tackles for losses with 9.5 …Redshirt freshman QB George Bollas went 20-for-25 passing (80 percent), the highest completion rate for a KSU quarterback since 2010…The Flashes defense ranks seventh in the FBS with 11 interceptions, led by Demetrius Monday with five. Seven players have at least one interception… Raekwon James had a career-high 85 yards rushing and eight pass receptions against UMass
THE SERIES: The game is the 83rd lifetime meeting between the two schools, with the Falcons holding a 57-19-6 advantage…The 43rd lifetime game in Kent with BGSU also holding an edge 32-8-2…BGSU has won the last two meetings in the series, including last year.
BOWLING GREEN STATE FALCONS (4-2, 2-0 MAC WEST)
LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons celebrated homecoming last Saturday by collecting their fourth consecutive victory as they routed the Akron Zips 59-10. BGSU broke the game open early in the second quarter with a 28-10 lead and then scored on five consecutive second half possessions (four touchdowns and a field goal) as the Falcons amassed 532 yards of total offense.
Senior QB Matt Johnson completed 25-of-30 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore WR Roger Lewis had eight receptions for 118 yards and two scores. Defensively, Eilar hardy had nine total tackles (six solo). He was part of a Falcons defense that owned five tacklkes for losses, two interceptions two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries
THE SEASON SO FAR:
Bowling Green opened the 2015 season losing to Tennessee in Nashville a game that saw 1,161 yards of total offense on a warm, humid day….The Falcons picked up their first win of the season the next week at Maryland. Behind 13-6 at halftime, they scored 42 points in the second half following a weather delay. They had 105 total plays and 692 yards in the win at College Park…The home opener saw a narrow loss to Memphis 44-41…BGSU rebounded with its second road win over a Big Ten opponent as it defeated Purdue in West Lafayett,e 35-28, when RB Travis Greene scored a 12-yard touchdown with just nine seconds remaining…The MAC opener was in Buffalo, where the Falcons opened a 28-9 lead early in the fourth quarter. They then held on for dear life to defeat the Bulls 28-22. Decisive home wins over Massachusetts, 62-38, and the Zips followed…Like KSU, this is final Saturday game for BGSU as they finish with four night games, beginning on Wednesday November 4 at home against Ohio
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
OFFENSE: BGSU is averaging 43.5 points & 594.3 yards per game
RUSHING: Travis Greene 94 carries-537 yards four touchdowns
PASSING: Matt Johnson 215-305-3 2891 yards 24 touchdowns
RECEIVING: Roger Lewis 54 receptions-1020 yards nine touchdowns
DEFENSE: The Falcons are allowing 32.8 points & 455.7 yards per game
TACKLES: Austin Valdez 32-36-38 (3 TFL-4 Pass breakups)
TFL: Zach Colvin 5 ½-18 yards
SACKS: Taylor Royster 3-18 yards & Terrance Bush 3-16
INTERCEPTIONS: Dernard Turner 2-38 & Alfonso Mack 2-22
SPECIAL TEAMS:
PUNTING: Joe Davidson 21-45.3 avg per kick
PLACE KICKING: Tyler Tate 6-12 FG/ 39-40 PAT
KICK RETURNS: Ryan Burbrink (PR) 7-6.6 avg Scott Miller (KR) 9-22.1
NOTES: Redshirt senior QB Matt Johnson was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in 2015 thanks to his five touchdown performance against UA…It marked the second straight game and third time this season Johnson had thrown for five scores in a game (Maryland and UMass the others)…Johnson’s 2,891 yards passing leads the FBS…The 532 total offensive yards against the Zips was the Falcons lowest so far this season…BGSU has won15 straight games against MAC East competition and is 18-1 in their last 19…Sophomore WR Roger Lewis has 1,020 receiving yards so far this season. He is the eighth player in BGSU football history to surpass that mark and has 2,113 total yards in just 21 games…Lewis’ 1,020 receiving yards is second in the FBS to Josh Doctson of Texas Christian…A win over KSU would make the Falcons Bowl Eligible for the fourth consecutive season and would make them 6-2 overall for the first time since 2004. They would be 4-0 in MAC play for the first time since 2003.
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