Kent State (2-4, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) fell to number 24-ranked Toledo (5-0, 2-4 MAC) in its first conference road game 38-7.

The Flashes scored its only points of the game early in the first quarter when sophomore linebacker Ryan Seibert recovered a bad snap in the end zone to take a 7-0 lead.

Following that, it was the Toledo Rockets’ show.  The Rockets scored 38 unanswered points, including 17 in the second quarter, to route Kent State.

“They are a good football team,” head coach Paul Haynes said about the Rockets. “They are physical. There is a reason they are twenty-fourth in the country. We aren’t there yet.”

Haynes continued, “The biggest thing to come out of this game … they are a good football team, but ‘did we play our best?’ And we didn’t. Is our best good enough to beat Toledo? I don’t know that, but we wish we could have played better.”

This is the second game this season where Kent State relied on its defense in order to get into the end zone.

Offensively, the Flashes were held to 257 total yards to Toledo’s 518 total yards.

After a less than impressive first half, Haynes and the coaching staff decided to make a change at the quarterback position, replacing three-year starter junior Colin Reardon with redshirt freshman George Bollas.

“We just felt that needed a spark and we needed a change and (Bollas) gave it to us,” Haynes said. “We moved the ball pretty well and shot ourselves in the foot and couldn’t get in the end zone.”

Bollas finished the game 10-for-21 with 77 yards and one interception in the game.

Junior safety Nate Holley led the Flashes defensively with a game-high of 15 tackles giving gives him his third game with at least 12 tackles in his last four games.

“We had a lot of missed assignments,” Holley said. “We left a lot of plays out there.  That’s something we’ve got to clean up and take care of if we want to be a great team and a great defense.  I feel like we beat ourselves.”

Sophomore running back Terry Swanson had a dominant game for the Rockets running for 161 yards on 14 carries. Senior quarterback Phillip Ely added 205 passing yards and two touchdowns on the day.

Freshman wide receiver Antwan Dixon left the game in the first quarter with an injury and never returned.

With the loss, Kent State has now lost eight consecutive games on the road.

Kent State travels to Amherst next Saturday to take on the University of Massachusetts. Kick-off is at 3:30 p.m.

Stephen Means II is a sports reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].