MAC Play Opens with the Wagon Wheel on Homecoming
9/27/2016 8:50:00 PM | Football
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General Admission and Chairback Ticket Prices Go Up on Gameday- Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance Â
In a game where a rivalry alone has both teams  circling a date on their calendars, Kent State and Akron will also open Mid-American Conference play Saturday with the Wagon Wheel on the line.  To make the spotlight even larger, the Golden Flashes will be celebrating their homecoming at Dix Stadium. The home team has captured the Wagon Wheel in each of the last four meetings.
Facts In A Flash
• Senior safety Nate Holley leads the nation in both total tackles per game (15.3) and solo tackles per game (9.0).Â
• Senior defensive end Terence Waugh ranks eighth in the nation in sacks (5.0), fifth in tackles for loss (8.0) and 65th in solo tackles (20).
• Facing one of the nation's best run defenses, freshman running back  Justin Rankin raced 47 yards on the Flashes' first play from scrimmage at Alabama, Kent State's longest carry of the season.
 • Senior linebacker Elcee Refuge has had a hand in a turnover in three of four games this season with an interception and two fumble recoveries.
• Senior linebacker Nick Cuthbert posted a season-high eight tackles at Alabama with 1.5 tackles for loss. Cuthbert had just one B in his undergraduate career, earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2015.
• Five of Kent State's offensive linemen have made a combined 109 career starts.
• Sophomore center Stefano Millin was chosen to wear the No. 54 jersey (see page 6).
• Freshman Derek Adams had a career-long 67-yard punt in the first half at Alabama.  He averaged a career-high 46.0 yards on nine punts.
• Kent State returned 10 Academic All-MAC selections and three MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.
• Picked to finish last in the MAC East in both the media and coaches polls, the Flashes will play a familiar role of underdog throughout the year.Â
All-Time Series
Saturday will be the 59th meeting between the rivals and the first time since 2010, the game has fallen on a homecoming. Â Akron leads the all-time series with Kent State 32-24-2. The Golden Flashes did not pick up a win in the series until 13th game in 1942 (Akron was 11-0-1). Â Kent State then won 10 straight from 1942 - 1954. Â In 1974 the all-time series was tied 11-11-2. Since then Akron has won 19-of-32 meetings and 12 of the last 18. Â However, the Golden Flashes have won four of the last six.
The Wagon Wheel
Since 1946, the Wagon Wheel has been the prize to the winner, with the Golden Flashes leading the series 23-21-1. Â The wheel itself dates back to the middle of the 19th century.
• Legendary stories abound as to the roots of the Wagon Wheel...Perhaps the foremost is the one that includes John R. Buchtel, the founder of Buchtel College, which eventually became the University of Akron...It was said that Buchtel in the spring of 1870, began a horse wagon search for a site for a proposed college around Kent...Legend has it that Buchtel's wagon became stuck in a pool of mud somewhere on the present site of Kent State University...The wheel remained embedded in the ground and was just a piece of wood when it was found in 1902.
The wheel was eventually in the possession of Dr. Raymond Manchester, who was the dean of men at Kent State in the 1940s...He suggested the wheel as a reward to the winner of the Kent State-Akron game in 1946. Â Manchester had the wheel painted in the school colors (of both schools) blue and gold. Â Â
• The two campuses are just 11.6 miles apart, the sixth closest distance among two FBS schools.  Rice and Houston is the closest at 6.1 miles.
• Arguably, the most famous Kent State Wagon Wheel victory came in 2003, when Josh Cribbs led a late comeback in a 41-38 win at the Rubber Bowl.
• In 10 of the last 11 meetings, the team that has scored last, has won.
Cribbs Coming Home
Kent State Varsity "K" Hall of Fame member and former quarterback Josh Cribbs will serve as grand marshal of Kent State's homecoming parade Saturday morning. Cribbs will also conduct the coin toss prior to kickoff.
TV/Video/Radio
Saturday's game can be seen on ESPN3 with Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (analyst) . Â All Kent State games can be heard live on 640 WHLO and Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio. Ty Linder will handle the play-by-play duties and is joined in the booth for the seventh year in a row by color analyst Rob Polinsky. Â Jacob Pavilack will be the sideline reporter. iHeartRadio can be heard on a computer, smart phone or tablet.
The Coaches
• Paul Haynes is in his fourth year at his alma mater.  In 2013, Haynes became the first Flashes' head coach to win his debut since 1988. He was a two-time All-MAC safety at Kent State from 1987-91, despite joining as a walk-on. He returned as an assistant in 1999 and was promoted to assistant head coach in 2000. After seven seasons on an Ohio State staff that won six Big Ten titles (2005-11), Haynes spent 2012 as defensive coordinator at Arkansas.  His current tenure has also brought Kent State's academic achievements to new heights with the highest term and cumulative team grade point averages in program history.
• Terry Bowden (West Virginia '79) led Akron to its best season in a decade in 2015, finishing 8-5 with a bowl victory.  Bowden is now in his fifth year with the Zips, who finished 1-11 in his first season.  He is 2-2 against the Golden Flashes. In six seasons at Auburn, Bowden finished 47-11-1. Prior to Akron, he went 29-9 in three seasons at North Alabama. Bowden also served as head coach at both Salem and Samford, who reached the Division I-AA semifinals. He also spent time as a studio analyst and color commentator for ABC.
WebSite, Twitter & YouTube
For Kent State football stories, statistics, photos, video and more, visit KentStateSports.com. Â For daily football updates follow @kentstathletics and @kentstfootball on Twitter and Kent State Golden Flashes Football on Facebook. Â For an extensive video library visit GoldenFlashesTV on YouTube.Â
Previewing Akron
• The Zips scored nine touchdowns in an impressive 65-38 victory at Marshall on Sept. 17.  Akron's offense tallied 524 yards of offense and 26 first downs.
• Akron's offense has scored on all 14 of its trips to the redzone this season, including 11 touchdowns.
• The Zips rank 13th in the nation in passing efficiency.
• In a loss to Appalachian State, Akron picked up 30 first downs and picked up 353 yards through the air.
• The Zips have saved their best quarter for last, outscoring opponents 52-28 in the fourth.
• Akron ranks 13th in the nation in tackles for loss with 23 different Zips in the TFL category.
• Three different Akron running backs are averaging over 6.0 yards per carry.
Key Players To Watch
• Junior receiver Jerome Lane made nine catches for 134 yards and a touchdown against Appalachian State. He ranks fifth in the nation with 488 yards receiving.
• In his last two games junior quarterback Thomas Woodson has thrown for 732 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Senior transfer JoJo Natson is also a big threat at wide receiver, leading the Zips with five touchdowns. In three years at Utah State, Natson had 127 catches for 1,031 yards and four punt returns for touchdowns.
• Senior defensive lineman Jamal Marcus leads Akron with 6.0 tackles for loss and has forced a fumble.  The Ohio State transfer earned All-MAC third Team honors in 2015.
• Sophomore linebacker Ulysees Gilbert leads the Zips with 39 tackles and 21 solo stops.
Last Time in Kent
In 2014, Colin Reardon found Chris Humphrey in the back of the end zone in the game's final minute to give Kent State a 27-24 victory.
Former Teammates/Coaches
Fourteen players on Akron's roster have a former high school or college teammate at Kent State, including 12 from high schools in Northeast Ohio.
Flashes offensive coordinator Don Treadwell and Akron tight ends coach Trent Boykin worked together at Boston College in 1998.
Penalty Free
Kent State did not commit a single penalty at Alabama, marking the first time the Flashes have not been penalized since the 2012 MAC Championship game.
