Kent State Earns 23-14 Win At Iowa State
8/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
AMES, Iowa -- Since the day the 2006 season came to a disappointing close, Kent State head coach Doug Martin and his staff have been preaching to the Golden Flashes that they have to finish. Finish plays. Finish each drill. Finish each day in the classroom.
On a perfect Thursday night in Jack Trice Stadium, the Flashes finished off the Iowa State Cyclones, 23-14, for their first win at a BCS school since a 1987 victory over Kansas. It was the season-opener for both schools.
Martin summed it up for his team in the locker room immediately after the victory. “We did today exactly what we've talked about since the end of last season we finished.”
Junior quarterback Julian Edelman threw for 162 yards and a touchdown, adding 75 more yards and another score on the ground. Meanwhile, sophomore running back Eugene Jarvis -- who was doubtful heading into the game due to an injury -- rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Ironically enough, the reason Jarvis even got into the contest was the fact that starter Darren Rogers went out with an injury midway through the first quarter.
“Eugene Jarvis is a winner, and we knew that when we recruited him in high school,” Martin said. “You know he was playing on a bad ankle and only three days of practice.”
Senior defensive back Jack Williams paced KSU defensively with 12 tackles, while classmate Frtiz Jacques and redshirt freshman Brian Lainhart both tallied an interception.
ISU's Bret Myers finished with 148 yards passing and a touchdown, while J.J. Bass rushed for 133 yards and a score.
The game got off to a sluggish start, with the first five drives for each team netting zero points.
The Flashes finally broke through with 4:55 remaining in the half when Edelman hit a streaking Leneric Muldrow on a 42-bomb for the redshirt freshman's first career touchdown reception.
The 6-0 lead was short-lived however, as Bass capped off a quick nine-play drive with a 13-yard burst to put the Cyclones on top, 7-6, with 1:12 remaining.
KSU received a shot in the arm when Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the Iowa State 32. After advancing inside the 10, the Flashes settled for a 24-yard field goal from sophomore Nate Reed to take a 9-7 advantage into the locker room.
Iowa State didn't waste any time in the second half as Allen Bell returned the opening kickoff 40 yards and five plays later Meyer found Todd Blythe open in the end zone for a 16-yard score.
After trading punts, the Flashes took the lead for good on a two-yard plunge by Jarvis with 3:26 left in the quarter. Edelman had kept the 12-play drive alive by picking up three yards on a crucial fourth-and-two play inside the red zone.
Four plays later, Lainhart picked off an errant Meyer pass and returned it 50 yards to the ISU eight-yard line. After a six-yard run by Jarvis, Edelman called his own number on an option play and found paydirt to push the advantage to 23-14.
The Cyclones couldn't muster a rally in the final quarter as the KSU defense limited them to just 38 yards and a missed field goal that banged off the left upright.
“This is a huge win for our program,” Edelman said. “We set the foundation last year. We weren't content with six wins, but it was a good start.”
Kent State returns to action on Sept. 8 when the Flashes travel to Kentucky for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff in Lexington.
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