When Mike Lude hired Don James in 1971, he knew he was getting a meticulous coach who had an eye for detail. But he didn't realize he would also gain a lifelong friend in the process (click web address below for complete story).

http://www.kentwired.com/latest_updates/article_9261066c-9594-11e6-a771-db822f78c08f.html

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I appreciate the spirituality of Coach Haynes and Will Matthews but don't believe the large silver cross that Will is wearing is going to be welcomed by Kent State's liberal, secular fan base. Even liberal Stephen Colbert understands the antipathy liberals have for Christianity when he said, "...we should not be surprised at all that vampires are Democrats. After all, they scream when they see a cross."

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Faith- Family- Football- Building Men is what Coach Paul Haynes has on his Twitter page. As a spiritual person, I understand and appreciate what Coach Haynes is doing at Kent State University. Although yesterday's disappointing loss at Miami still hurts, I take comfort in knowing Coach is doing things the right way and is shaping "men to be men." As Ole Miss team chaplain John Powell states in the video below, "The game of football itself teaches you so much about life." The chaplain explains, "you can do everything the right way and the outcome still not be in your favor." Powell says, "you can do all the practices, do all the camps, put in all the hard work, be a better team, yet still lose the game."

As we saw yesterday, the chaplain is right. But when that happens, you just need to take a step back to see the big picture. And that big picture is faith, family, and character building of strong and courageous young men.

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College Football News Midseason Top 10 Players has Nate Holley #10...

10. S Nate Holley, Sr. Kent State
MAC schMAC – the guy showed up against Alabama, too. The best open-field tackler in college football, he’s leading the nation with 86 stops with double-digit tackles in every game and 17 in two of them – he’s done this throughout his career. On solo stops alone he’d be 19th in the nation in tackles.

http://collegefootballnews.com/2016...l-roundup-top-players-games-surprises-coaches

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Nick Holley became the first Kent State player to win MAC Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks since Larry Poole in 1973.

I realize the win/loss record is the most basic criteria in evaluating a head football coach. However, fans who only look at that stat alone need to look at the big picture since the game of football is so much more than just the win/loss record.

Sure, I was disappointed after the loss to Akron, but the game showed me that Coach Haynes is able to evaluate talent, develop that talent, and put his players in position to win. When watching Nick Holley play quarterback today for the first time since high school four years ago, I couldn't help wonder why Haynes was the only one to offer Nick and his brother, Nate, a scholarship. What did Haynes see in the Holley's that other coaches didn't see? Although Haynes' recruiting classes have been less than stellar, he has proven that he can recognize talent. The Holley brothers, along with Justin Rankin are proof of that. Against Akron, Nick Holley became the first player to have over 400 yards of total offense (402) since Josh Cribbs in 2004 and was the first Kent State player since Julian Edelman in 2008 to have 100 yards passing (285) and 100 yards rushing (117) in the same game.

To complement Nick Holley's impressive performance, freshman running back Justin Rankin had 181 yards receiving, the most by a Kent State player since 2009 and had 10 catches that were the most by a Kent State player since 2014. Rankin finished the game with 298 all-purpose yards.

Despite the disappointing performance by the defense in the second half, safety Nate Holley had a respectable performance leading the team in tackles (12) for the fifth game this season.

So if you saw today's game, you can look at his players and see the positive things that they are doing. Contrary to what some fans are saying, Haynes and his staff are molding some good players and the systems that they are running allow the players to execute at a high level.

After the Akron game, I believe the reason fans, like myself, are encouraged about the future is because of young players like Rankin. With promising freshmen such as Rankin, Justin Agner, and Mylik Mitchell, I think this team has nowhere to go but up.

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban discusses the 1970 Kent State shootings at his Monday press conference Sept. 19, 2016. Saban was a student on the Kent State campus when four students were shot and killed by national guardsman during a Vietnam war protest. Nine other students were injured that day.

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Terence Waugh and Elcee Refuge talk about Kent State's defense, preview Saturday's 3:30 pm home game vs Monmouth, and share some love for their hometowns.

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Although last night's four-overtime loss to North Carolina A&T was disappointing to say the least, I'm convinced more than ever that a coaching change is not the answer. That was my position when Doug Martin was forced to resign in 2010 and that is still my position today. Of course Martin's critics will claim Kent State winning the MAC East title in 2012 is proof that changing coaches is the solution, but they forget to acknowledge the success of Darrell Hazell's 2012 team could not have been achieved without Martin's recruits. Now Hazell is in his fourth year as Purdue's football coach and has won a total of six games in his first three years. With yesterday's 38-20 loss to Cincinnati, there is a good chance he won’t see his fifth season in West Lafayette (see link below).

As Hazell is finding out, winning football games at Purdue is not an easy task. Most fans would agree that rebuilding a once strong football program should take less time than one buried in mediocrity. But at Miami, a school rich in football tradition, Chuck Martin is struggling to bring the Red Hawks back to respectability. The former Notre Dame offensive coordinator was expected to turn Miami's program around but after yesterday's 21-17 loss to Eastern Illinois, even his most ardent supporters are having doubts.

But whether you are at Purdue, Miami, or Kent State, the decision to fire head football coaches for poor team performance is not always the answer. Research to back this claim can be found from the University of Colorado at Boulder study.

The summary of the research states, "Professors studied the records of college football teams that replaced a head coach for performance reasons between 1997 and 2010. They found that when a team had been performing particularly poorly, replacing the coach resulted in a small, but short-lived, improvement in performance after a change. The records of mediocre teams -- those that, on average, won about 50 percent of their games in the year prior to replacing a coach -- became worse."

The statistical findings "suggest that the relatively common decision to fire head college football coaches for poor team performance may be ill-advised."

The statistical analysis doesn't mean there are no exceptions, Scott Adler said. Some teams that replace their coach do perform better -- but the same can be said about teams that do not replace their coach. "What our findings demonstrate is that, on average, replacing a coach in an attempt to boost performance is not a winning proposition," he said.

"Our findings have important practical implications for the high-stakes environment that is contemporary college football," the authors write. "When a college football team's performance is disappointing, the first and often only remedy administrators, fans and sports writers turn to is firing the coach. This is usually an expensive approach to solving the problem.

"Despite the fanfare that often accompanies the hiring of a new coach, our research demonstrates that at least with respect to on-field performance, coach replacement can be expected to be, at best, a break-even antidote."

No one wants to win more at Kent State than Coach Haynes. In the NC A&T post-game conference, you can see how upset he was with his team's performance. Clearly, the terrible pass interference call made against junior cornerback Demetrius Monday helped deny the Flashes the win but Haynes didn't use that as an excuse for the loss much like last year's double-overtime loss to Marshall when the Herd was aided by a terrible targeting call on Najee Murray in the end zone.

I realize I may be in the minority, but as long as Coach Haynes continues to represent the values of Kent State University, I will defend and support him as long as he is our football coach.

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http://www.jconline.com/story/sport...ck-progress-evident-purdue-football/89916550/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121116124601.htm

No. 24/23 North Carolina A&T (1-0, 0-0 MEAC) at Kent State (0-1, 0-0 MAC)
Date: Sept. 10, 2016
Time: 6 p.m.
Facility: Dix Stadium (25,319) (Kent, Ohio)
Series: First Meeting
Radio: 1320 AM/93.7 FM WCOG; Play-by-play – Donal Ware, Analyst – Al Swann
LAST WEEK’S OFFENSIVE STARTERS: WR Denzel Keyes (6-4, 215, Sr., 5 rec., 64 yds., 2TDs); LT Brandon Parker (6-7, 299, R-Jr., MEAC Offensive Player of the Week); LG Joshua Mattocks (6-3, 332, R-Jr.); C Darriel Mack (6-2, 291, R-Jr.);RG Daquan Blake (6-3, 315, Jr.); RT Wes Cole (6-6, 335, Sr.);FB Anthony McMinn (6-1, 241, R-Sr.); RB Tarik Cohen (5-6, 179, Sr., 8 carries, 65 yds., 2TDs); WR Khris Gardin (5-7, 164, Jr., 3 rec., 23 yds., 50-yard PR for TD); WR Michael Weaver (5-7, 163, 3 rec., 17 yds.).

LAST WEEK’S DEFENSIVE STARTERS: DE Kenneth Melton (6-2, 220, R-Jr.); DT Marquis Ragland (6-3, 277, R-Sr.); NT Julian McKnight (6-3, 291, R-So.,); DE Malik Hampton-Prioleau (6-4, 255, Sr., 1 fumble recovery);Julius Reynolds (5-9, 214, So., led A&T with 7 tackles and 1 fumble recovery); LB Joshua Patrick (5-11, 226, Jr., 5 unassisted tackles, 2TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble);LB Jeremy Taylor (5-11, 181, R-Jr., 6 tackles, 2TFLs, 1 blocked punt); ROV Jamaal Darden (5-9, 185, Jr., 5 tackles, 1TFL); FS Zerius Lockhart (5-10, 175, R-Jr.);CB Tard McCoy (5-9, 184, R-Jr.); CB Marquis Willis (5-8, 153, R-So., had a high-flying INT).

The Game: N.C. A&T will play just its fourth FBS opponent in school history when they travel to Kent, Ohio to face the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Flashes have won 13 straight games over FCS opponents while the Aggies have lost their previous three games against FBS foes by an average score 39.7 points. The Aggies are coming off a 62-0 blowout of Division II St. Augustine’s while the Flashes competed with legendary program Penn State for half before the Nittany Lions pulled away. Both teams like to use two quarterbacks. The quarterbacks of N.C. A&T’s choosing are Lamar Raynard and Kylil Carter. Raynard was excellent against the Falcons last week, completing 19-for-23 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 1-yard TD run in the game. For his efforts, he was named MEAC Offensive Player of the Week.

The Flashes used Justin Agner and Mylik Mitchell against Penn State last week. But they were most effective on the ground, rushing for 150 yards led by Justin Rankin’s 82-yard, 13-carry performance. N.C. A&T’s vaunted run defense that has been among the FCS’s best year in and year out will get tested against an offensive line who combined has made 97 starts. Kent State will be looking for its first offensive touchdown of the season after their only touchdown against Penn State came on a fumble recovery.

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News & Notes

• This will be the Aggies fourth matchup against an FBS school in school history. They will have their fifth matchup against an FBS next week when they face Tulsa. It will mark the first time the Aggies have played two FBS schools in the same season. The Aggies have four more matchups against FBS schools over the next five years.
• Aggies senior wide receiver Denzel Keyes has caught at least one pass in 26 out of his last 27 games including catching at least one pass in his last 13 games. The last time Keyes failed to catch a pass in a game was Nov. 22, 2014 at North Carolina Central.
• Junior punt returner Khris Gardin had a 50-yard punt return for touchdown against St. Augustine’s last Saturday. It marked Gardin’s fourth career punt return for touchdown putting him one shy of tying the school-career record of five held by Curtis Deloatch.
• N.C. A&T is the No. 1 black college football team in both the Boxtorow and Sheridan Broadcasting Network black college football polls. The Aggies are ranked 23rd in the nation in the FCS STATS Media Poll, while they are No. 24 in the NCAA FCS Coaches’ Poll.
• Quarterback Lamar Raynard completed 19 of 23 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. His completion percentage of 82.6 percent broke the school’s single-game record, surpassing Connell Maynor’s 81.3 completion percentage against Winston-Salem State in 1990.

Opponent’s Point of View

“North Carolina A&T is the national HBCU Champions, and they are going to come in here with a ton of talent. We’re going to have to face a different style of running back, but nevertheless, another talented running back for the second week in a row. Plus, they have playmakers all over the field on the offensive side. On the defensive side, they are very athletic, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us. If North Carolina A&T played in the FCS playoffs it would be interesting to see how far they could go. I think they are just as talented as some of the top teams like North Dakota State and Eastern Washington. Our guys are going to respect the heck out of them.”

http://www.ncataggies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=24500&ATCLID=211162100

The Golden Flashes will face North Carolina A&T State University for their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. at Dix Stadium.

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Joining Coach Haynes today at the weekly press conference are defensive backs Nick Holley and Najee Murray.

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