Kent State University
1-1 , 0-0
Virginia Military Institute
1-1 , 0-0
Flashes Run Away from VMI in Home Opener
9/11/2021 5:08:00โฏPM | Football, The Golden Flashes Club
KENT, OHIO- The Kent State Golden Flashes rushed for nearly 500 yards and evened their record at 1-1 with a convincing 60-10 victory over the Virginia Military Institute Keydets in front of a raucous Dix Stadium crowd.
The Golden Flashes rushed for 494 yards, the most in a single game since 1954. The Flashes topped 600 yards for the fifth time in the last two year, rolling up 698 yards of total offense, third most in program history. The Flashes also scored 60 or more for the fifth time in school history and fourth in the FlashFAST era.ย Marquez Cooper led a balanced rushing attack with 119 yards, but seven different Flashes recorded a rushing touchdown and five rushed for 70 or more yards. Highlighting the rushing touchdowns was a 49-yard burst for Daniel Bangura. It was his first collegiate touchdown and put an exclamation point on the home-opening victory.
That balanceย helped Kent State race out to a huge lead, scoring on every possession of the first half. The Flashes built a 39-0 advantage on VMI, the largest halftime lead since 2015 when Kent State led Delaware State 36-6. The FlashFAST offense was in full force, with none of the six first-half scoring drives taking longer than three and a half minutes. Cooper got the scoring started with a two-yard touchdown run. Dustin Crum followed with a 35-yard jaunt and Nykeim Johnson showed off his blazing speed, finding the end zone on a 14-yard reverse. Thanks to a two-point conversion, the Golden Flashes led 22-0 after the first. Johnson would make it two trips to the end zone in the second quarter, catching a 20-yard strike from Dustin Crum to cap the first-half scoring.
That would be more than enough for the Kent State defense, who turned the Keydets over four times on Saturday, all on interceptions. Three of them were by Montre Miller as he became the first Golden Flash with three picks in a game since Brian Lainhart did it against the Zips in October of 2008. The Flashes held VMI to just 77 yards of offense in the first half, including minus-one yard in the opening quarter. Kent State held a Keydet offense that averaged over 430 yards during the FCS spring season to just 284 and to their lowest point total since a 2019 loss to Army.
Dustin Crum led a steady passing game, completing 12-of-17 for 180 yards and the Johnson touchdown pass. Collin Schlee added two more completions for 24 yards as the duo spread the wealth to seven different receivers.
The win evens the Golden Flashes' record at 1-1 while VMI falls to 1-1. Kent State is back on the road next weekend, heading to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. Kick time is set for 3:30 p.m. eastern.
Team Stats
VMI 0, KSU 7
KSU - Cooper,Marquez 2 yd run (Glass,Andrew kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:29
VMI 0, KSU 14
KSU - Crum,Dustin 35 yd run (Glass,Andrew kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:14
VMI 0, KSU 22
KSU - Johnson,Nykeim 14 yd run (Lawrence-Burke,Mandela rush), 12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:23
VMI 0, KSU 25
KSU - Glass,Andrew 20 yd field goal 9 plays, 21 yards, TOP 03:16
VMI 0, KSU 32
KSU - Bradford,Bryan 7 yd run (Glass,Andrew kick), 8 plays, 96 yards, TOP 01:43
VMI 0, KSU 39
KSU - Johnson,Nykeim 20 yd pass from Crum,Dustin (Glass,Andrew kick) 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 01:56
VMI 3, KSU 39
VMI - Rice,Jerry 43 yd field goal 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 03:04
VMI 3, KSU 46
KSU - Schlee,Collin 21 yd run (Glass,Andrew kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:17
VMI 3, KSU 53
KSU - Bangda,Joachim 60 yd run (Glass,Andrew kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:17
VMI 10, KSU 53
VMI - Rice,Hunter 5 yd run (Rice,Jerry kick), 13 plays, 99 yards, TOP 05:57
VMI 10, KSU 60
KSU - Bangura,Daniel 49 yd run (Magyar,Casey kick), 1 plays, 49 yards, TOP 00:08
