Through out the years, KSU has sent a lot of players to the Super Bowl. So how much is the publicity worth to Kent State? Can the publicity truly be quantified?

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Julian Edelman got the win over Sean McVay with this performance in 2006. That was a signature win for Edelman and the Flashes over McVay & the RedHawks, starting a 5-game win streak and winning in Oxford for the first time in nine trips.

But in 2007, wide receiver Sean McVay’s three catches for 37 yards help the RedHawks overcome a 260-yard passing, 92-yard rushing performance by Golden Flashes QB Julian Edelman.

Both of them have a win against each other, so this will be the rubber match to decide who's the better of the two.

Go Patriots!!!

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Nice win Flashes!!!

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The MAC went 1-5 this year with Ohio the only team to secure a win for the conference. Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan, and Buffalo all lost. However, despite the poor showing in the bowl games, the most respected computer system ratings (Sagarin, Massey, Colley, Sagarin predictor, and S&P) all have the MAC ahead of C-USA with some of them having the MAC two conferences better.

As a MAC fan living in Nashville, it's always good to see the conference finish ahead of C-USA, even in a down year.

I'm confident that 2019 will be a much better year for the MAC.

Below is a link to a Vanderbilt board discussing what makes Nick Saban great.

Although there are a lot of things that make Saban great, I believe the quote below from an October SEC coaches teleconference offers the best reason for his success.

“The challenge for us is not what happened in the past but what’s going to happen this week and the next week after that, playing these games one game at a time and trying to keep these players focused on what they need to do to be able to play at a high level. That’s my responsibility and obligation to them to help them be successful personally, academically and athletically. That’s a challenge that we embrace and look forward to. It’s what we owe our players and it’s certainly what we’re going to try to continue to do.”

This mindset coupled with an unparalleled work ethic, I believe, makes him the greatest coach of all time.

https://14powers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10050

Jaylin Walker scores 28 points against the Cardinals.

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Kalin is a great example that through faith, perseverance and therapy, a person can overcome autism.

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Kent State Intercollegiate Athletics Mission Statement

Mission
The mission of Kent State Athletics is to graduate student-athletes and win championships.

Vision
We are nationally recognized for the exemplary character, achievements and contributions of our student-athletes to better our society.

Core Values

• Student-Athlete Well-Being: We are committed to the health, safety, academic, athletic and personal growth of each student.
• Integrity: We do the right thing and hold each other accountable.
• Respect: We respect all people, their culture, beliefs, identity and thought.
• Stewardship: We are responsible guardians of the University's resources, relationships and reputation
• Family: We are a collaborative team supporting one another.

Although Coach Haynes has not won a conference championship, his vision and core values are completely aligned with the University. As head coach of the Golden Flashes, Haynes has produced a number of MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes and CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

It was Coach Haynes who gave April Goss the opportunity to kick an extra point for Kent State to become the second woman to score in a major college football game. Recognizing the value that April brought to the football team, Haynes said, "She's a great student, and a great ambassador for the program and for the university."

So if student-athlete well-being, integrity, respect, stewardship, and family are the core-values that Kent State embodies, then the University will not find a better coach, mentor, and man who exemplifies these core-values than Coach Haynes.

Considering all the injuries and adversity this team has had to overcome this year, I don't believe anyone else could have done much better. Rather than roll the dice and hope to find a better coach, Kent State needs to extend his contract at least another year. Otherwise KSU's core-values are just a facade and a lie.

http://kentstatesports.com/sports/2013/7/11/Mission Statement.aspx

Kent State legends who’ve been on the cover of SI.

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From the article, "Study: Common factors in the last 5 MAC champions"

How do you win the MAC? Take a look at what the last five league champions have done against MAC opponents.

All five champions have finished in the top 2 in scoring D in conference games. While the MAC may be thought of for mid-week games and high-scoring affairs, it’s the teams with the best defenses that win the league.

- But the teams also put up their share of points. All finished in the top four in scoring offense, and four scored more than 38 points per game.

- Most important offensively has been big plays: Five of the past six MAC champs led the league in plays of 30-plus yards in MAC games, while 2014 NIU was 4th.

- Interestingly, while they’ve all been great at keeping points off the board, the last four champions haven’t been particularly good in rushing D, 3rd down D or red zone D. However…

- All five finished in the top two in turnover margin. The defenses force turnovers, all finishing in the top three in takeaways in league games.

(Click the web address below for full article)

http://coachingsearch.com/article?a=Study-Common-factors-in-the-last-5-MAC-champions-2017

Regarding the article, I believe Coach Haynes understands that defense wins championships. Although the Flashes' offense is still a work in progress, the defense is fundamentally sound. That is because Coach Haynes is a defensive minded coach. He was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas and also served as the secondary coach for the Razorbacks. Prior to that Haynes served as the co-defensive coordinator and as the defensive backs coach at Ohio State. I'm not suggesting Kent State will win the MAC this year, but believe building a blue collar defensive-minded team is the best approach for the Flashes to take in the long run. The stats above bear that out.

I like Coach Lewis and wish him well. I believe he brings a lot of energy to the program, and think he's going to be a good coach. However, I realize it will take several years before the team is competitive, and don't have any unrealistic expectations of his inaugural season as head coach of Kent State.

With his first season approaching, Lewis' only claim is that "we're going to get better day in and day out and at the end of the day let the chips fall where they are."

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Given the strength of the schedule, it would be foolish to expect anything more and I'm comfortable with that.

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My concern is with the delusional fan base that is oblivious about the truth of our present and past reality. Although the Golden Flashes were one vote from being unanimously picked as the worst team in the league according to the preseason Mid-American Conference Football poll, one poster on Flash Fanatics posted the following: "I think every MAC game is a toss up game especially towards the end of the season. With the exception of the Toledo game. All the unknowns on the team make the Illinois game interesting. They haven't been a good team and Lovie Smith could be on his way out before the season is over. I think the team goes 6-6 give or take a win."

I really don't know what it is about football and economics but for some reason Kent State students and alums have difficulty understanding basic football and economic principles.

Remember the Florida Obama supporter who said, "It was the most memorable time of my life. It was a touching moment because I never thought this day would ever happen. I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, he's gonna help me."

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Although that quote did not come from a Kent State student or alum, that mindset is common among college students today, particularly at KSU.

So, what happens when reality refuses to bend to delusion? Just like the lady, who found out she still had to pay for gas and pay her mortgage under the Obama administration, the Kent State fan base will find out that wins will continue to be few and far between even in the Flash Fast era of Sean Lewis, at least during the first few years.

Since Kent State is bringing its "team of national distinction" to the Music City, I thought I would come up with 10 things that Kent State fans should know about Vanderbilt.

1. No tattoos. Although the Flashes have a lot of ink, to their surprise they won't see any on the Commodores.

2. Vanderbilt has two McDonald’s All-Americans (Darius Garland and Simisola Shittu).

3. Vanderbilt signed a heralded 2018 recruiting class that the 247Sports Composite ranked as the 13th-best in the nation.

4. Vanderbilt is off to its best start since 2015 after a 79-70 win over visiting Liberty on Monday at Memorial Gymnasium.

5. Darius Garland scored 33 points on 12 of 18 shooting against Liberty.

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6. Vanderbilt has hit at least one 3 in 1,035 straight games.

7. Simisola Shittu is averaging 9.8 rebounds per game.

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8. The Commodores have won five straight home non-conference games.

9. Vanderbilt's home attendance after three home games is 8,691.

10. All walk up tickets for the Kent State game can be purchased for $10.

From Stat Salt:

I will back the Eagles in this instance as they have certainly rebounded to to make their season very special. For this matchup, they will look to end the season on a strong note while looking forward to the postseason that approaches as they will have won seven games all season with a victory over Kent State. Look for them to continue to pound the defense of the Folden Flashes as the defensive unit for the Golden Flashes have not shown the ability to stop the run at all this season. In fact, Kent State has not shown that they can even stop the pass as they are ranked 104th in the nation in this area. In all, expect the Eagles to come out with a solid win over a Golden Flashes team that it gives up too many points.

Prediction: Pick: Eastern Michigan Eagles -13.5

https://statsalt.com/games/ncaaf/11-23-2018/eastern-michigan-vs-kent-state-prediction-4871/

11 points

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/teams/team-page.cfm/team/kent-state

I'm really happy for Stefano Millin. As a Pitt grad transfer from Kent State, Millin came in and immediately cemented himself as the team's strongest player and leader of the Panther offensive line at left tackle. With the highest bench press total among the Panthers, Millin, at 6 feet 5 inches, 305 pounds, maxed out close to 500 pounds, but more important, did 32 reps of 225 pounds in fall camp.

And now all his hard work has finally paid off. As the anchor of the offensive line, the Panthers are leading the ACC Coastal Division with a 5-1 conference record. And with Wake Forrest and Miami left on their schedule, the Panthers will probably be facing Clemson for the ACC Championship. Although Clemson will be considered the heavy favorite, Pitt could give the Tigers a good game because the Panthers nearly defeated Notre Dame in South Bend. Pitt led for almost the entire game. Moreover, Pitt had chances to extend its lead with 47-yard, and 36-yard field goals that would’ve put Pitt up 20-12 if both had gone through, but neither did. Despite the loss to the Irish, the experience of playing in Notre Dame Stadium in front of 77,622 screaming fans will be one Millin will never forget.

Other games with lasting memories include the Panthers overtime win over Syracuse (see video below, Millin is # 70), a 23-13 win against #23 ranked Virginia, and a 52-22 win over Virginia Tech.

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One of the biggest differences in playing in a power-five conference compared to the MAC is game-day attendance. In the Panthers final home game of the year against Virginia Tech, 44,398 fans showed up on a day where the game-time temperature was 32, with the wind chill in the teens. In September, 68,400 fans attended the Penn State game, which was the largest crowd of the season at Heinz Field.

I'm not sure how many fans will show up at Dix Stadium this Thursday to see the Flashes play the Toledo Rockets, but if there are more than two thousand in the stands, I will be surprised.

Regardless of how many fans are present for Kent State's second MACtion midweek game this season, I believe it's fair to say most of them are happy with the FlashFast regime.

As for me, it would have been nice to see how the Flashes would have performed with Millin anchoring the offensive line and Nick Holley leading the backfield. But because the decision was made to make a coaching change we will never know how that would have played out. My guess is the Flashes would have won at least four games against Illinois, Howard, Akron, and Bowling Green, which would have been disappointing to most Kent State's fans, but it's better than the two wins the Flashes will probably finish with this season, and more than Kent State will most likely win next year.

If you don't believe Nick Holey would have made much difference, take a look at the video below. Perhaps Holley was not as elusive as Julian Edelman, but he was a dangerous runner with NFL upside as a running back. Despite not making the L.A. Rams final roster, I still believe Holley has a chance to play somewhere next year.

As for Millin's chances of playing in the NFL, I believe his performance this year most certainly improved his stock as an NFL draft prospect. And even if he doesn't get drafted by an NFL team and play professionally, his memories as a Pitt Panther will last him a life time. It's just a shame that his final year of eligibility could not have been with the Golden Flashes.

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Dino Babers brought his “fun-n-gun” offense to Bowling Green which had the quarterback playing mainly out of the shotgun and slinging the football all over the football field. The biggest problem Babers has had at Syracuse the last two seasons is that the Orange are unable to stop opponents as he had thirteen games in which they surrendered at least 30 points. That is the trade-off when you employ the uptempo offense. Assuming Lewis implements the same offense at Kent, expect the Flashes to give up a ton of points on defense.


http://cuse.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=327

http://cuse.com/schedule.aspx?path=football

From Cappers Picks:

Prediction: Toledo 55 – Kent State 17

https://www.capperspicks.com/free-p...golden-flashes-11-15-2018-betting-prediction/

14.5 points

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/teams/team-page.cfm/team/kent-state