Flashes to Host Miami on Homecoming

Golden Flashes Radio Game Notes Live Stats ESPN3

Kent State hosts its 2017 homecoming game against Mid American Conference East Division rival Miami Saturday at Dix Stadium. The Flashes entertain the RedHawks on a homecoming for the sixth time since 1999. Kent State looks to mimic what the RedHawks did last season when the teams also met in week 7 in Oxford, igniting a six-game Miami winning streak.

Homecoming Events

Facts In A Flash
• Senior cornerback Demetrius Monday has 11 career interceptions and ranks fifth in the nation with four picks in his last five games.
• Senior Jerrell Foster and junior safety Juantez McRae each made their first interceptions of the season, giving Kent State defensive backs eight picks on the year (13th in nation). Foster has four interceptions in his last 14 games.
• In their last home game, the Flashes amassed 24 first downs and 444 total yards against Buffalo. Both were the most in the team's last 27 games.
• Junior quarterback George Bollas threw for a career-high 242 yards against Buffalo, completing 17-of-26 passes.
• Sophomore receiver Trey Harrell had career-highs of six catches and 122 yards against the Bulls.
• Junior kicker Shane Hynes has made his last four field goals and is tied for 5th place among Kent State career leaders with 27 field goals made.
• Sophomore Derek Adams ranks ninth in the nation in punting average. One of only seven sophomores on the The Ray Guy Award Watch List, Adams has pinned 13 punts inside the 20.
• Senior Nathan Puthoff was chosen to wear the No. 54 jersey in honor of late teammate Jason Bitsko. Puthoff is also on the Rimington Trophy Watch List, honoring the nation's best center.
• Kent State returned 12 players who have earned Academic All-MAC honors in their career and three MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes.
• Kent State ranks 32nd in the nation in time of possession at 32:14.

All-Time Series
Miami leads the all-time series with Kent State
48-16, which dates back to 1942. The in-state rivals
have met every year since 1955. The RedHawks also lead the series in Kent 22-9. Last year, Miami came back from 14-3 second half deficit to stun the Flashes 18-14 with a 55-yard score in the game's final two minutes. The last time the teams met at Dix Stadium, the Flashes topped Miami 20-14. An interception by Juantez McRae ended a Miami comeback bid.
KSU's only three-game winning streak in the series was from 1986-88. The matchup in 1973 remains the only time two nationally ranked teams have met in Kent and was the largest crowd in Dix Stadium history (27,363).

TV/Video/Radio
Saturday's game game can be seen on ESPN3 with Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Je'Rod Cherry (analyst). The game can be heard live on WHLO 640 and Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio. Ty Linder will handle the play-by-play duties and is joined in the booth for the eighth year in a row by color analyst Rob Polinsky. Jacob Pavilack will be on the sideline. iHeartRadio can be heard on a computer, smart phone or tablet.

Previewing Miami
• Three of Miami's four losses have been one possession games. The RedHawks held a 17-6 fourth quarter lead against Cincinnati and a 29-24 lead over Bowling Green.
• In their lone MAC road game this season, the RedHawks downed Central Michigan 31-14 in Mount Pleasant.
• Saturday against Bowling Green, the RedHawks picked up 37 first downs behind a balanced attack of 238 yards rushing and 374 yards passing.
• Miami has not allowed a yard on opponent punt returns in six games.
• The RedHawks are 12th in the nation in time of possession at 33:42.
• Miami ranks fourth in the MAC in both pass defense and pass efficiency defense.

WebSite, Twitter & YouTube
For Kent State football stories, statistics, photos, video and more, visit KentStateSports.com. For daily football updates follow @kentstathletics and @kentstfootball on Twitter and Kent State Golden Flashes Football on Facebook. For an extensive video library visit GoldenFlashesTV on YouTube.

Offense at Home
Kent State's two best offensive performances have come at home this season. Against Buffalo, the Flashes ran for over 100 yards (124) and threw for over 300 yards (320) in the same game for the first time since 2014 (vs. Army). Kent State's 294 yards rushing against Howard are the third most by any MAC team in a game this season.

Limiting a Potent Offense
Despite Northern Illinois' 72 plays from scrimmage, the Kent State defense held the Huskies to 266 yards and 15 first downs. NIU had been averaging 377 yards a game. The Flashes defense forced a season-high seven 3-and-outs.

Bringing Moore Pressure
Senior defensive end Marques Moore recorded his first two sacks of the season at NIU. Moore saw his most action of the season Saturday, after missing four games with an injury.
• With the help of Moore, the Flashes piled up a season-high 10 tackles for loss. KSU's previous high was 6.0 TFL.

On Homecoming
Since 1947, Kent State is 25-44 in its homecominggames, winning four of its last seven. Since 1988, the Flashes are just 8-21 on homecoming. Kent State is 1-5 in homecoming games against Miami. Miami successfully crashed Kent State's homecoming party on its first five attempts, before the Flashes defeated the RedHawks 20-14 in 2015.
Last season, the Flashes dropped a heartbreaking homecoming against Akron. The Zips scored with 20 seconds remaining to pull out a 31-27 win.

Honoring Tyler Heintz
The initials T.H. will be on the back of Golden Flashes' helmets throughout the season, honoring Tyler Heintz, who passed away in June, following the second morning of summer workouts. The incoming freshman had just graduated from Kenton High School, where several other Flashes had attended before him. The helmet decal will be in blue and red, representing the colors of both Kenton and Kent State.

Adams Pinning Them Back
Derek Adams had the longest punt in the MAC this season and Kent State's longest punt since 2009, with a 74-yard boot at Northern Illinois. Last week, he was named MAC East Special Team Player of the Week for the second time this season and the third time in his career after averaging 48.5 yards on four punts against Buffalo. Adams is on the Ray Guy Award Watch List for the second straight season. At Clemson, Adams. had four punts of 50 yards or more and the following week against Howard he placed 4-of-5 punts inside the 20.
As a freshman Adams pinned 29 punts inside the 20 with only one touchback.

Jones Becoming Consistent
Junior linebacker Jim Jones had a career-high 14 tackles at Northern Illinois with a half sack and fumble recovery. Now the Flashes leading tackler on the year with 50, Jones is averaging 8.7 tackles per game dating back to the 2016 season finale, where he also had a sack and forced a fumble.

Players Mentioned

Derek Adams

George Bollas

Jerrell Foster

Trey Harrell

Shane Hynes

Jim Jones

Juantez McRae

Demetrius Monday

Marques Moore

Nathan Puthoff

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