Flashes Open Season Saturday Against Ohio
8/25/2014 12:59:00 PM | Football
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Kent State opens its 92nd season of football Saturday night, hosting Mid-American Conference East Division rival Ohio inside Dix Stadium at 6 p.m.. The Golden Flashes won their final two games of the 2013 season, including a 44-13 victory in Athens to close out the year. Meanwhile, the Bobcats earned a spot in last year's Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.
Game Day Festivities
The game will be followed by the largest fireworks display in the history of Portage County presented by AMETEK.
Tailgating starts at 3 p.m. with prizes for the best burger.
Happy hour inside the stadium runs from 4:30-5:30 p.m., with dollar drinks and hot dogs.
The Family Fun Zone will feature an inflatable obstacle course, a climbing rock wall, games, face painting and photo opportunities of kids wearing Kent State football equipment from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Just prior to kickoff, the Kent State Aviation Flight Team will perform a flyover and parachuters will present the game ball at midfield.
President Beverly Warren will conduct the coin toss.
Between the first and second quarter, the Mid-American Conference will present Kent State with the Jacoby Award, for excellence in women's athletics.
Facts In A Flash
• Kent State won its final two games of 2013 by a combined score of 68-19.
• The Flashes are opening a season with a conference game for the first time in 11 years.
• In Kent State's last three games, opponents averaged just 11.7 points and 228.0 yards of offense.
• The Flashes' defense allowed only two touchdowns over their last three games.
• Senior tight end Casey Pierce was named to the John Mackey Award Watch List.
• Junior punter Anthony Melchiori was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List.
• Sophomore quarterback Colin Reardon completed 58.9 percent of his passes last year, the third highest single-season rate in Kent State's history.
• Senior cornerback Malcolm Pannell had three interceptions last season, including one in each of his last two games.
• Senior receiver Chris Humphrey has made a catch in 20 straight games.
• Junior lineman Jim Katusha, who started his career at Ohio, is expected to start at left guard for the Flashes Saturday.
• The Golden Flashes will wear number 54 on one side of their helmets throughout the year, paying tribute to Jason Bitsko.
• Junior defensive lineman Nate Terhune was tabbed "Toughest Player in College Football" in an offseason article on NFL.com.
• In May, Dri Archer became the second Kent State player in as many seasons to be selected in the third round of the NFL Draft (Brian Winters).
The All-Time Series
Ohio leads the all-time series with Kent State 39-25-2. Kent State is 5-4 against the the Bobcats during the Frank Solich era, having won five of the last seven. After trailing 13-10 last season in the second quarter, the Golden Flashes scored 34 unanswered points in a 44-13 win (Nov. 19) in Athens. Colin Readron completed 18-of-29 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown toss to Casey Pierce. The last time the teams met in Kent, the Golden Flashes closed out the regular season with a 28-6 win over Ohio to complete a perfect 8-0 MAC run. Kent State's defense totaled eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Ohio leads the all-time series in Kent 21-11-1.
TV/Video/Radio
Saturday's game can be seen on ESPN3 with Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Jerod Cherry (color analyst).
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 fifth year in a row by color analyst Rob Polinsky. Matt Miller is the sideline reporter. The iHeartRadio channel works on a PC, smart phone or tablet.
WebSite, Twitter & Youtube
For Kent State football stories, statistics, photos, video and more, visit KentStateSports.com. For daily football updates follow @ksuathletics on Twitter. For an extensive video library visit the GoldenFlashesTV channel on YouTube.
The Coaches
• Last year, Paul Haynes became the first Kent State head coach to win his debut since 1988, the first to win his MAC road opener since 1986 and is one of only two KSU coaches (Glen Mason) to defeat both Miami and Ohio in his first year. He was a two-time all-conference defensive back at Kent State from 1987-91, despite joining as a walk-on. He returned to his alma mater 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 the 2012 season as defensive coordinator at Arkansas.
• Frank Solich (Nebraska '66) is 124-69 as a head coach and 66-50 beginning his ninth season at Ohio. Solich has led the Bobcats to six bowl appearances, including the program's first bowl victory. He owns the rare distinction of being named both MAC Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year. In 2011, his Bobcat squad set 47 program records.
Previewing Ohio
• The Bobcats won six of their first eight games of the 2013 season, with four victories by 25 or more points. Ohio went on to make a bowl appearance for the fifth consecutive season.
• Ohio was picked to finish third in the East Division of the MAC Preseason Poll.
• Ten different Bobcats earned a spot on Phil Steele's Preseason All-MAC Team.
• Ohio is the only FBS team in the nation to keep its head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator for the past nine seasons.
• The Bobcat defense returns eight starters from a team that made 36 sacks last season.
• Since 2006, Ohio has amassed 62 victories, the most by a MAC East team during that time.
Key Players To Watch
• Sophomore defensive end Tarell Basham was the only Mid-American Conference player to be named to the Ted Hendricks Watch List. Basham led the Bobcats with 7.5 sacks in 2013.
• Junior Devin Bass earned All-MAC First Team honors as a kick returner last season and second team honors as a cornerback.
• Junior kicker Josiah Yazdani was named to the Lou Groza Watch List after going 14-of-15 on field goal attempts last season.
• Senior nose guard Antwan Crutcher made 50 tackles last season, including 6.0 tackles for loss.
• Senior receiver Chase Cochran hauled in 37 passes for 689 yards and four touchdowns last season.
• Junior linebacker Ben Russell led the Bobcats with 88 tackles last season and was second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss.
• Senior safety Josh Kristoff finished second on the team with 72 tackles last season.
• Junior running back Daz Patterson averaged 5.6 yards on 38 carries last season with two touchdown carries and a TD grab.
Flashes Pick Four Captains
Last week, Kent State players and coaches selected three seniors (WR Chris Humphrey, TE Casey Pierce, DL Nate Vance) and one junior (S Jordan Italiano) to serve as team captains throughout the 2014 season. Each game, the Flashes will rotate in a fifth captain.
Thrown Into the Fire
In 2013, six Golden Flashes played as true freshmen: Nate Holley, Nick Holley, Darius Redmond, Elcee Refuge, Wayne Scott and Terence Waugh. All six are expected to play larger roles in 2014.
This season, a new pack of true freshmen are expected to make an immediate impact, including Jon Cunningham, who is slated to be the team's starting nose tackle.
A Familiar Foe
For the first time since 2003, Kent State will open the season with the same opponent (Ohio) it closed the previous season with. It will also be first time since 2003 the Golden Flashes open the season with a conference game and the first time since 1986, Kent State opens the season at home for a conference opener.
Season Openers
The Golden Flashes are 32-33-3 in season openers since Trevor Rees took over the program in 1946 with victories in four of the last five seasons. Saturday marks just the second time in six years that Kent State opens the season against an FBS opponent. The other occasion came at Alabama in 2011.
Home Openers
Since 1946, Kent State is 40-27-1 in home openers. The Flashes have won 11 of their last 13 home openers with each victory coming over an FCS opponents. Last year Kent State downed Liberty 17-10, in the head coaching debut for Paul Haynes. Colin Reardon completed 21-of-28 passes in his first career start. Chris Humphrey made six grabs for 88 yards and his first touchdown catch.
MAC Openers
Saturday marks the first time since 1986 that Kent State's opening game was also its home opener and Mid-American Conference opener. The Flashes are 20-40-2 in conference openers following a 41-22 loss to Bowling Green last season. Kent State last played Ohio in a MAC opener in 2011.
Projected All-MAC
Juniors Nate Terhune, Jordan Italiano and Anthony Melchiori were all named to Athlon's Projected 2014 All-MAC Team.
• Last year, Terhune finished second on the team in tackles for loss (7.0), despite missing a portion of the year with an injury. He recorded a pair of sacks and scored a 61-yard touchdown on a fake punt. Terhune was rated No. 8 in Bruce Feldman's Top Freaks in College Football. He's expected to see most of his time at defensive tackle, after playing nose tackle in 2013.
• Italiano claimed the rare distinction of Academic All-America honors as a sophomore in 2013. Playing the star position in 2013, he ranked third on the team with 76 tackles. He forced a pair of fumbles and recorded 2.0 tackles for loss. Italiano returns to strong safety this year, a spot where he made his first career interception as a true freshman.
• Last year, after week seven, Melchiori had Kent State ranked third in the nation in net punting. He earned All-MAC Second Team honors, averaging 44.5 yards on 35 attempts. He placed 14 punts inside the 20. In his freshman season, the Flashes ranked 12th in the nation in net punting. Melchiori also served as the Golden Flashes' starting kicker, connecting on nine field goals, including three last year at Ohio.
Tackling Leaders Back
Junior linebacker Matt Dellinger and junior safety Joradn Italiano give the Flashes two of their top three tacklers from last season. Dellinger, who ranked second on the team with 77 tackles, brings experience to linebacker group that had very little last season. Also returning to the linebacking corps are sophomore Darius Redmond and senior DeVante' Stickland, who each started six games in 2013.
Two Top Targets
The top two expected targets for quarterback Colin Reardon will be senior tight end Casey Pierce and senior receiver Chris Humphrey. The duo combined for 84 catches, 977 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
• Pierce was one of 38 tight ends initally named to the John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List. After making one catch in 2012 Pierce had a breakthrough season in 2013. He led the Flashes with five touchdown catches and his 33 total catches were the most by a Kent State tight end since 1999. In his last six games of 2013, Pierce made 24 catches for 290 yards. Last year, Pierce was among 53 nominees for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation's best player that started his career as a walk-on.
• Humphrey's team-leading 51 catches last season, were the ninth most in a season by a Kent State receiver. His 613 receiving yards were the most by a KSU receiver since 2010. Humphrey needs 19 catches to crack Kent State's Top 10 in career grabs. He has shown continued improvement since he first arrived in Kent and played exclusively on special teams as a freshman. Also serving as the team's holder, Humphrey ran for a two-point conversion and threw a 2-pointer to snapper Chad Bushley.
Walk-on Success Stories
During preseason camp, Kent State awarded scholarships to sophomore Ernest Calhoun, junior Clay Miller and senior Marcus Wright, who all had success as walk-ons. Seniors Casey Pierce and Nate Vance and junior Chad Bushley also started their careers as walk-ons, before making major impacts.
• Calhoun is expected to start at slot receiver. Last year, he was the team's top kick returner & punt returner. Calhoun had just five carries last year, but two went for over 20 yards on reverses. He also made eight catches for 42 yards.
• Wright and Miller are both expected to play major roles on the defensive line. They follow in the footsteps of Vance, who tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks last year and his 46 tackles tied for the most among Flashes defensive linemen.
• Bushley has served as the starting long snapper on punts and kicks in each of the previous two years.
More Walk-ons Contributing
• Senior Andrew Horning took over punting duties for a portion of last season. In his first game, he averaged 42.8 on four punts.
Junior Joe Ziccardi has been a fixture on special teams and started two games at wide receiver last year.
Sophomore Brad Miller served as the starting kicker for part of last season.
Rushing Battle is Key...
Since 2012, Kent State is 14-2 when outgaining opponents on the ground and 1-9 when the opposition runs for more yards. The Golden Flashes outgained their opponents by over 100 rushing yards in each of their four wins last season.
...And a Strong First Half
Since the beginning of 2012, Kent State is 13-0 when leading at halftime and 1-10 when trailing at the break.
Buckling Down in Redzone
At the end of last season, Kent State held opponents without a touchdown in eight of their last nine trips to the redzone.
A Rare Feat
Closing out the 2013 season with a 44-13 victory gave Kent State wins over its two rivals from the southern part of the state (Ohio & Miami) in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1986-87...seven head coaches ago when Glen Mason was at the helm.
Reardon Ready for Second Year
Kent State will reap the benefits of returning its starting qurterback. Colin Reardon's 1,957 passing yards and 12 touchdowns last season were the second most by a KSU freshman QB. Reardon also showed the ability to run the ball, finishing third on the team with 336 rushing yards and two scores.
Behind His O-Line
Sophomores Reno Reda and Wayne Scott and senior Terrell Johnson all return from an offensive that ranked in the Top 20 in fewest sacks allowed.
