After playing its closest game of the season Oct. 12 against Ball State (2-5, 1-2), the Kent State football team was close to victory. The team was unable to break the losing streak, losing by a score of 27-6 to the Bowling Green Falcons (3-4, 2-1).
The loss puts the Flashes at 0-7 (0-3) eliminating them from bowl-eligibility and extending the team’s losing streak to 16.
“I loved the guys’ fight.,” coach Kenni Burns said. “We just couldn’t put it together in the second half on offense. With the defense, I was impressed how they came out and responded in the second half.”
The Flashes’ offense, which was one of the best in the Mid-American-Conference in the prior two games, was unable to muster a touchdown, producing two first-half field goals as its only source of points.
The run game was successful for Kent State, as the team averaged a season-high 5.04 yards per carry on 25 attempts for a season-high 126 yards. Redshirt senior running back Ky Thomas rushed for a season-high 121 yards on 14 carries. His 121 yards are the most he has rushed for as a Flash and the fourth-highest in his career. His 8.64 yards per carry are the second most in a game in which he had multiple carries.
“We were more intentional with getting him the ball and doing stuff that our O-line does well. I think that was a big thing,” Burns said. “I dove into the run game quite a bit this week to try to help it out. Coach Carney (offensive coordinator) still called the game, but I helped them with some of the adjustments and checks, and I thought it was a good team of the O-line coach, coach Limegrover, coach Carney and myself working together to create a run game.”
Thomas was the second-leading rusher in any MAC game Saturday.
For the offense, placing an emphasis on an effective running game left the passing game to be inefficient. Junior quarterback Tommy Ulatowski, who led the MAC in multiple stats and had multiple career-highs in his two prior games, only threw for 78 yards against the Falcons. He went 7-of-27 passing and also threw a pair of interceptions.
Burns cited the formations the Flashes used as part of the cause for the passing struggles.
“It (the three tight end formation) limits your passing game a little bit,” Burns said. “But we can’t let them take (McCray) out of the game. They did a good job of doubling him up and we have to get creative with our pass game and find creative ways to get him singled up and let him do what he does. We didn’t have enough adjustments, starting with me as coaches, for what they were doing coverage-wise to number two.”
Redshirt sophomore receiver Chrishon McCray, who led the MAC in touchdowns and yards in his past two games and had career-highs, only had 21 yards on three catches against Bowling Green.
“Every route he ran, everything he had, someone was dropping under and a corner was over the top of it,” Burns said. “We have to get creative with our bunches, with our stacks, with putting him in motion to create problems for a defense, but credit to them.”
After also having a career-high 130 receiving yards against Eastern Michigan, graduate student receiver Luke Floriea only had 35 yards on two receptions.
The offense picked up just 204 yards of offense, its lowest total against a non-Power Four opponent this year. It also committed a total of three turnovers and after going 8-of-24 (33.33%) on third downs in the last two games, the Flashes went 2-of-14 (14.29%) against the Falcons. The offense was also 0-for-2 on scoring red zone touchdowns.
“We have to score touchdowns in the red zone. You can’t settle for field goals, not in a game like that. You have to score to keep yourself in it and we did not do that,” Burns said.
Defensively, Kent State gave up over 400 yards for the seventh time in seven games. Bowling Green was balanced, throwing for 313 yards and rushing for 121.
Against Ball State, the defense had its hands full with an effective receiving tight end, but kept Tanner Koziol to 43 yards on five receptions. However, against another receiving tight end, the defense was less successful.
Junior tight end Harold Fannin Jr. entered the game on top of the MAC in multiple categories and in the top five in the FBS in receptions. He left the game with 10 receptions for 171 yards.
He accounted for over half of the team’s receiving yards and over 40% of sixth-year senior quarterback Connor Bazelak’s completions.
“Scot (Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler) does a great job with hiding him, putting him everywhere. He was at tight end, he was at receiver, he was at tailback, he was at fullback,” Burns said. “I thought our defense did a good job of responding. We knew we weren’t going to shut him out.”
The Flashes will hit the road again Saturday to play the Western Michigan Broncos (4-3, 3-0) at 3:30 p.m.
“Not frustrated, not frustrated. Just teaching. Teaching moments about execution,” said Burns.
“We’re getting closer, and I know people hate to hear that. They know that. I don’t care about the outside world, that team in there knows that. They know how close they are from being a really good football team. They’re going to keep grinding and fighting. Looking in their eyes after this, they know they have to get better.”
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].