Football Opens MAC Play At Ball State Saturday
9/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Kent State (1-3, 0-0) at
Ball State (4-0, 1-0)
Saturday, September 27, 2008 • Noon EDT
Scheumann Stadium (22,000/FieldTurf) • Muncie, Ind.
Television: ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan (Jim Barbar & Bob Chmeil)
Radio: WNIR 100.1 FM (Tom Linder, Reggie Crook & Ty Linder)
The Opening Kick
Kent State begins Mid-American Conference play with a stern test on Homecoming Saturday at Ball State - which enters the game a perfect 4-0 on the season. The contest will air in much of Ohio on ESPN Plus in addition to running as part of the ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view package across the country.
The Golden Flashes, who have little to show despite wracking up 1,199 yards of total offense in the last three games, will be hard-pressed to stop a potent Ball State offense that is averaging 41.5 points a game and nearly 500 yards of offense - both of which rank in the top 15 nationally.
Flashes Open Another MAC Season
Kent State begins its 58th season of play in the Mid-American Conference on Saturday. The Flashes are 19-36-2 in conference openers, including an 8-22 record when starting the league season on the road. KSU has squared off with Ball State just twice previously in MAC openers and not at all since 1979. The Flashes defeated the Cardinals, 13-12, in 1977 before suffering a 35-10 defeat two years later. Both games took place in Kent.
Flash Facts
• Eugene Jarvis missed just his second career game, sitting out the contest at Louisiana-Lafayette with a sprained ankle suffered the previous week. Jarvis stands in fourth place on the KSU career charts with 2,674 yards rushing. Next up is current Cleveland Browns star Joshua Cribbs at 3,670 yards.
• Julian Edelman has completed 52.6 percent of his passes en route to throwing for 488 yards in the first four games. He is also the team's leading rusher with 304 yards.
• Anthony Magazu and Alan Vanderink hooked up for an 81-yard touchdown on Saturday - the fourth-longest pass play in school history.
• Derek Burrell saw his double-digit tackles streak come to an end at seven games after making nine stops at Louisiana. However, he still leads the MAC and is seventh nationally with 11.0 tackles per game.
• Brian Lainhart and Cobrani Mixon both set career highs on Saturday with 14 and 13 tackles, respectively.
• Beginning with Saturday's contest, six of Kent State's remaining eight games will be televised.
A Glance At The Series
Ball State leads the all-times series with the Flashes by an 18-5 advantage, including a 9-3 mark in Muncie. The Cardinals have won 13 of the last 14 meetings dating back to 1986, with KSU's only victory in that span coming in 2001 at BSU. As a matter of fact, this will mark the fifth time the schools have met since 1996, with four of those contests taking part in Scheumann Stadium.
Television
Saturday's contest will mark Kent State's season debut on the MAC TV Game of the Week which airs on ESPN Plus and will also be a part of the ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view package. Jim Barbar will call all the action while Bob Chmeil will handle the color analyst duties.
Radio
For the second straight year, the excitement of Golden Flashes football can be found on flagship station WNIR 100.1 FM in Northeast Ohio as part of the Kent State ISP Sports Network. New for this year, Tom Linder slides over from the analyst chair to handle the play-by-play duties, with Reggie Crook (defensive back at KSU, 1998-01) joining the team as the color analyst. Once again, Ty Linder will roam the sidelines for all of the broadcasts.
Web Site
Live audio for all Kent State football game broadcasts, live video of select games and live stats are available via the K-Zone on the official athletic department web site (www.kentstatesports.com).
The Coaches
• Doug Martin (Kentucky '85) is in his fifth season as a head coach, owning a 16-34 record at the helm of the Golden Flashes. He was promoted to head coach March 1, 2004, after serving as Kent State's offensive coordinator in 2003. (For a complete Martin bio see p. 13.)
• Brady Hoke (Ball State '82) owns a 26-37 record in his sixth year at his alma mater. A member of the Cardinals' 1978 MAC championship team and a captain in 1980, he returned to Muncie after stints at Western Michigan, Toledo, Oregon State and Michigan, serving as the Wolverines' associate head coach in 2002.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes return home from their two-game road swing to host rival Akron Oct. 4 at noon on a game that will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. The game will mark the 51st all-time meeting between the schools - which are separated by a mere 14 miles. The Zips have dominated the series of late, winning nine of the last 11 battles for the Wagon Wheel.
| Complete Ball State Notes (PDF Format) |
