Kent State University
1-11 , 0-8
Northern Illinois University
6-6 , 5-3
Flashes Show Fight in Senior Day Setback
11/25/2023 4:46:00 PM | Football
KENT- The Golden Flashes honored the 2023-24 senior class in a pre-game ceremony then gave Northern Illinois all they could handle in a 37-27 setback at Dix Stadium on Saturday.
The Flashes honored 10 seniors pre-game but it was the underclassmen that led the offense on Saturday. Devin Kargman got his second career start and delivered a career day with 245 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns.
He hit Luke Floriea on a nine-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Floriea made a tremendous one-handed grab in the back corner to haul in the touchdown. The drive went 12-plays and 77-yards and was highlighted by an eight-yard rush by Andrew Glass on a fake field goal, setting up the score. Kent State forced a fumble on Northern Illinois' next possession, with DJ Miller scooping up the fumble and returning it to the Huskies' 13-yard line. Floriea gave the Flashes the lead on Kent State's next play, getting an end-around pitch on a reverse for the score, giving Kent State a 14-10 lead, the Flashes led 17-10 at the half.
The teams traded scores in the early part of the second half, Kent State answered a tying score by the Huskies with a drive that ended with an Andrew Glass field goal, giving the Flashes a 20-17 lead. Again, Northern Illinois see-sawed in front only to have the Flashes answer back. Kargman connected with Jameel Gardner on third-and-seven out route and the sophomore made two men miss and flew up the far sideline for a 50-yard pitch-and-catch for Gardner's first career touchdown, giving Kent State a 27-24 lead. However, the Huskies would rally back again, taking a 31-27 lead mid-way through the fourth quarter. The Flashes would drive into Husky territory late, but a fourth-down pass to Floriea was broken up. Kent State did get one more possession late in the game, but the Flashes' final hook-and-lateral was fumbled and recovered by Northern Illinois to round out the score.
Kargman ended the day with 245 yards passing on 14 completions. He connected with Gardner for 111 yards, a career best for the sophomore while Floriea grabbed nine passes for 83 yards. Gavin Garcia rushed for 84 yards on 21 carries to lead the rushing attack. Defensively, a trio of seniors led the way with Bryce Sheppert and Khali Saunders recording 10 tackles and DJ Miller coming up with the fumble recovery.
For Northern Illinois, the rushing tandem of Gavin Williams and Antario Brown combined for 192 yards and a score while Rocky Lombardi threw for 183 yards and ran for two more.
The Flashes end the 2023 campaign at 1-11 and 0-8 in the MAC while Northern Illinois gained bowl eligibility and improved to 6-6 overall, 5-3 in the MAC.
Team Stats
NIU 3, KSU 0
NIU - Woodill,Kanon 36 yd field goal 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 03:33
NIU 10, KSU 0
NIU - Brown,Antario 24 yd run (Woodill,Kanon kick), 8 plays, 81 yards, TOP 04:42
NIU 10, KSU 7
KSU - Floriea,Luke 9 yd pass from Kargman,Devin (Glass,Andrew kick) 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 06:52
NIU 10, KSU 14
KSU - Floriea,Luke 13 yd run (Glass,Andrew kick), 1 plays, 13 yards, TOP 00:11
NIU 10, KSU 17
KSU - Glass,Andrew 21 yd field goal 12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 05:17
NIU 17, KSU 17
NIU - Barnes,Grayson 16 yd pass from Lombardi,Rocky (Woodill,Kanon kick) 3 plays, 16 yards, TOP 00:50
NIU 17, KSU 20
KSU - Glass,Andrew 25 yd field goal 10 plays, 68 yards, TOP 04:53
NIU 24, KSU 20
NIU - Lombardi,Rocky 1 yd run (Woodill,Kanon kick), 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 05:28
NIU 24, KSU 27
KSU - Gardner,Jameel 50 yd pass from Kargman,Devin (Glass,Andrew kick) 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 03:40
NIU 31, KSU 27
NIU - Lombardi,Rocky 1 yd run (Woodill,Kanon kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:38
NIU 37, KSU 27
NIU - Finley,Jacob 0 yd fumble recovery ()
