Kent State University
Central Michigan University
Flashes Host Central Michigan on Senior Night
11/12/2017 1:26:00 PM | Football
Game Notes 640 WHLO on iHeart ESPN3 Live Stats
Fifteen Kent State seniors will be recognized Tuesday night in their final home game at Dix Stadium when the Golden Flashes host Central Michigan at 7 p.m., on ESPNU. The Chippewas (6-4) recently became bowl eligible with their third straight victory.
Facts In A Flash
• Sophomore running back Justin Rankin scored his seventh and eighth career touchdowns at Western Michigan with 67 rushing yards on 14 carries.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Theo Majette made 2.5 tackles for loss at Western Michigan.
• Junior linebacker Jim Jones ranks fifth in the MAC in tackles (8.4pg) and eighth in sacks (5.0).
• Senior defensive lineman Jon Cunningham has made 6.5 tackles for loss in his last three games.
• Tuesday marks the third of 4 straight weeknight games for the Flashes to close out the season.
• In his last home game, quarterback George Bollas scored his first rushing TD of the year against BGSU and had a season-high 84 rushing yds.
• Running back Will Matthews scored his first career touchdown against the Falcons.
• Kent State's touchdown drive in the second quarter matched a season-high of 14 plays. The Flashes had three scoring drives of 12 plays or more.
• Kent State's 10 interceptions (from 7 players) ranks 30th in the nation.
• Senior cornerback Demetrius Monday has 11 career interceptions and ranks 13th in the nation with four picks this season.
• 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.
• In MAC only games, Kent State ranks sixth in the conference in total defense (373.7 ypg).
All-Time Series
Central Michigan leads the all-time series with Kent State 23-11 in a matchup that dates back to 1948. The Chippewas lead the all-time series in Kent 11-6, including a 27-14 victory in 2015. Last season in Mount Pleasant, Shane Hynes kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to give the Golden Flashes a 27-24 road victory. A game-ending field goal attempt also went in the Flashes favor in 2011 in Kent when a CMU kick sailed wide left for a 24-21 KSU win.
TV/Video/Radio
Saturday's game game can be seen on ESPNU with Mike Couzens (play-by-play) and Ray Bentley (analyst) . The game can be heard live on WHLO 640 and the 640 WHLO channel 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.
Getting Off the Field
Kent State's defense forced six 3-and-outs at Western Michigan along with one 4-and-out. The Flashes forced seven 3-and-outs at Northern Illinois.
CMU-KSU Connections
• Head Coaches Paul Haynes and John Bonamego both served on Tom Coughlin's Jacksonville Jaguars staff in 2001. Both head coaches have battled cancer during their current tenure. Both coaches have also endured the death of a player on their roster in their current tenure.
• Cornerbacks coach Joe Tresey served was Central Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2006.
• CMU DC Greg Colby was Kent State's DC when Haynes served as an assistant coach in 1999 and 2000.
• Chippewas' special teams coordinator and safeties
coach Mike Dietzel was KSU's DC in 2001-02.
• Chippewa offensive lineman Matt Doan is a Ferris
State transfer, who played for Flashes' O-line coach
Rob Zeitman in 2015.
• KSU receiver Miles Daniel and CMU defensive
lineman Shahid Bellamy were high school teammates at Oak Park. Defensive lineman Theo Majette was high school teammates with CMU receiver Gervon Winn.
Versatile Freshman
True freshman Kesean Gamble got his first career start at linebacker at WMU and saw action throughout the game on offense, defense and special teams. Since week one, Gamble has seen action at both linebacker and running back. He finished with 21 yards rushing and two tackles at Clemson. Gamble then scored two rushing touchdowns against Howard. At Louisville, Gamble rushed for 45 yards, most of which came after contact. He was also a two-way star in high school.
Passing Breakthrough
After throwing for 119 yards to Western Michigan's 97, Kent State gained more passing yards than an opponent for the first time since 2016.
Hynes Among Career Leaders
Junior kicker Shane Hynes is quickly rising on the list of career field goal leaders at Kent State now alone in fifth place with 30. This year, he nailed a career-long 48-yarder at Louisville.
Hynes is 43rd among NCAA active leaders in field goals.
Hynes is also proven in the clutch. After enduring a punishing hit in the fourth quarter at Central Michigan last year, Hynes bounced back and connected on a 35-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
In wet conditions against NC A&T, Hynes went 3-for-3 on field goals, including a pair of clutch field goals in overtime from 40 and 42 yards out.
Sack Becomes a Weapon
Through their first five game, the Flashes had only three sacks on the season. However, in its last five games, Kent State has combined for 15 sacks.
Adams Pinning Them Back
• Sophomore Derek Adams ranks 17th in the nation in punting average. One of only seven sophomores on the The Ray Guy Award Watch List, Adams has pinned 18 punts inside the 20. 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 month, Adams 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.
Pass Defense
In conference-only games, Kent State ranks second in the MAC in pass defense, allowing just 139.8 yards per game.The Flashes held Western Michigan, Buffalo and Ohio under 150 yards passing.
Previewing Central Michigan
• The Chippewas have won three consecutive games and four of their last five, which includes victories over East Division leader Ohio and their archrival Western Michigan.
• Central Michigan ranks first in the nation in turnovers gained, fifth in fumbles recovered and third in passes intercepted.
• The Chippewas have scored three defensive touchdowns, including two on fumbles.
• Central Michigan carries a plus-seven turnover margin, which ranks 20th in the nation.
• The Broncos are 4-2 at on the road this season, including a 3-0 mark against the MAC.
• The Chippewa offense ranks seventh in the nation in team passing efficiency.
Key Players To Watch
• Sophomore running back Jonathan Ward rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries against Eastern Michigan last week. Ward has run for 751 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. He has also caught 39 passes for 353 yards and a score.
• Senior quarterback Shane Morris has connected on 56 percent of his passes, including 11-of-18 against Eastern Michigan for three touchdowns. Morris ranks 14th in the nation in passing touchdowns with 21. He has racked up 2,364 yards passing on the year.
• Senior wideout Mark Chapman has caught 47 passes for 646 yards and three touchdowns. He has made 135 career grabs.
• Senior defensive lineman Joe Ostman leads the nation with 10.0 sacks and ranks fourth in the nation in forced fumbles with four. Ostman ranks fifth in tackles for loss with 13.5.
• Senior defensive back Josh Cox ranks fifth in the nation with five interceptions. Cox was named to the All-MAC Third Team in 2016. He has 67 tackles on the current season and one forced fumble.
