Paul Haynes, Luke Wollet, Colin Reardon, and Dri Archer talk about the victory at Western Michigan (see link).

Kent State at Western Michigan Postgame Press Conf

The Huskies are favored by 9.5 (see link). Northern Illinois, 4-0 with wins over Iowa and Purdue, will no doubt be tough to beat.

Las Vegas Odds

From Ryan Lewis of the Beacon Journal:

It's Week 5 of the college football season. For Kent State, in many ways it's also a second Week 1.
Week 5 means the Golden Flashes (1-3, 0-1 MAC) are entering the heart of their Mid-American Conference schedule, which gets going at Western Michigan (0-4) at 7 p.m. today. It also means they're finally past a brutal nonconference schedule that included back-to-back games against Louisiana State and Penn State.
The Golden Flashes are 1-3 and already have a loss in the MAC (Bowling Green, 41-22), but coach Paul Haynes is reminding everyone in the KSU locker room that every objective laid out before the year is still on the table ? namely, the MAC championship that eluded KSU last season.
"You can end up exactly where you want to be," Haynes said on Monday, giving a taste of his mantra this week. "Every goal that we want to accomplish is still in front of us."
Week 5 also means the expected return of star Dri Archer, who's struggled to get back on the field with a left ankle sprain.
Archer lasted only one play against Louisiana State and was held out of the Penn State game last week, both 30-point losses against traditional powerhouses (see link).


Golden Flashes still have goals in sight

Not much Coach Haynes can say about the loss. Hopefully Archer will be back against WMU to give the offense a spark.

Kent State at Penn State Postgame Press Conference

The Broncos are favored by 3 (see link).

Las Vegas Odds

Here is a ranking of KSU in various national statistics (see link). Hopefully, the Flashes' stats will improve after the Western Michigan game.

Sorry, I didn't realize I had the wrong web page until just a moment ago. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the KSU web address to come up for my link. To see the KSU statistics, just click the down arrow for teams and click on Kent State.




This post was edited on 9/29 6:35 PM by nashvillegoldenflash

National Rankings

Kent State University’s Joel Nielsen’s 18 percent raise makes him the highest paid athletic director in the Mid-American Conference.
The university raised Nielsen’s base salary to $308,000 and doubled how much he can make in deferred compensation (see link).
This post was edited on 9/22 9:26 AM by nashvillegoldenflash

Kent State athletic director gets 18 percent raise

By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer

For football programs like Kent State, sometimes the toughest part of the aftermath of a double-digit loss to national powerhouse teams like LSU isn't so much dealing with the emotional scars.
Often times what hurts the most in the long run is absorbing the loss of key players to injuries.
Heading into Saturday night's 45-13 loss to No. 8 Tigers (3-0), the Golden Flashes (1-2) were already playing without left guard Pat McShane (one of only two returners on the offensive line from last season), who suffered a knee injury in preseason camp that has left his availability limited in KSU's first three games.
"Once Pat gets back, we'll be able to settle on a core group up there," KSU coach Paul Haynes said, "but it'll be a judgment call as we go through the week [whether he'll play even sparingly this week at Penn State]."
Gaining even more attention for his injury and limited participation has been KSU's versatile senior Dri Archer. The Flashes' dynamic multi-purpose threat tried to play Saturday, but lasted just one play before his left ankle sprain sidelined him again, leaving this week's availability at Penn State up in the air (see link).

Flashes hurting after loss to LSU

Penn State is favored by 19 (see link).

Las Vegas Odds

In this video, the Flashes discuss their loss at LSU and what they hope to learn from the experience (see link).

Kent State at LSU Postgame Press Conference

The Flashes have a respectable second half against LSU (see link).

SHOWTIME Kent State at LSU September 14, 2013

In this video, Paul Haynes, Phil Huff, and Luke Wollet discuss the game against Bowling Green and the upcoming game against LSU (see link).

Football Weekly Press Conference - 9/9/13

As we saw against Arkansas State and Liberty, the Flashes without Dri Archer are an average team at best. And of course against Bowling Green, it was no different. KSU played a solid first half against BG but failed to show up in the second half. Now the question remains will Archer be ready to play against LSU or will it really make any difference?

Kent State vs. Bowling Green September 7, 2013

Paul Haynes, Tyshon Goode and Roosevelt Nix discuss the win over Liberty and the upcoming game against Bowling Green (see link).

September 2, 2013 Football press conference

The Mid-American Conference doesn't look as strong as past years, if the first week is any indicator. Northern Illinois defeated Iowa for the first time in school history, serving as the shining moment for the conference.

Bowling Green's defense looks solid again, perhaps becoming the best defense in the conference. BGSU's win over Tulsa was impressive in many fashions, with all three phases playing solid.

Kent State struggled in its opener, barely beating Liberty due to a fourth-quarter comeback. Injuries became a factor for several MAC teams, with KSU's Dri Archer limited to just a few plays after suffering an ankle injury in the first series. He's expected back for next week's key contest with Bowling Green (see link).


Team Report

As an avid MAC fan, I really don't care for Livingston's view on the MAC but believe he is entitled to his opinion. What say you?

Ohio State should stop playing MAC schools

Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke says Danny Hope , the coach he fired this offseason, did a good job for the school. Last year, Hope led Purdue to a 6-7 record and a bowl game. The Boilermakers also came within two heartbreaking finishes of beating Notre Dame and Ohio State .
But Hope is gone, replaced by Darrell Hazell .
"We lost the fan base," Burke said. "I don't care how much you market or rehabilitate, the fan base has moved on and that generally drives most decisions."
The Boilermakers could have kept Hope longer, aware that he'd likely be the same or better as any replacement, or they could replace him, attracting more fans in the short run and hoping the new coach becomes a difference-maker even though the odds for change are against them. Purdue had to pay more for this second option.
Hazell's annual salary is $2 million annually, news organizations have reported, which is a 106 percent increase over the $970,000 Hope made last year. Richard Sheehan, a Notre Dame business professor and author of "Keeping Score: The Economics of Big-Time Sports," said a popular belief attached to college football salaries is the "winner takes all theory," which suggests that prices have risen up and down the coaching food chain because the competition for top coaches is so intense. But he doesn't completely agree. He said that schools aren't trying to hire away Nick Saban of Alabama or someone similar -- their question is, "Who is the next Saban?"




Do schools get what they pay for?

Vegas has BG favored by 5 (see link).

Las Vegas Odds

Even with Dri Archer back, I'm not sure the Flashes will be quite ready for a hungry Falcon team this coming Saturday. The Bowling Green defense totally dominated Tulsa last Thursday and the BG offense appeared sharp for an opening game. Take a look at the game highlights and see for yourself.

Tulsa vs Bowling Green Football Highlights

In this video, Coach Haynes is given the game ball to commemorate his first head coaching victory (see link),





SHOWTIME

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Plenty of action and excitement can be expected before, during and after Kent State's 2013 season opener Thursday, Aug. 29, against Liberty at 6 p.m. inside Dix Stadium.
General tailgating is available in both the east and west lots of Dix Stadium throughout the day. The stadium ticket office, including will call opens at 3 p.m. The Kent State football team will arrive at the main West Gate at 4 p.m. as the cheerleaders and band line the team's walk into Dix Stadium.
Gates open to the public at 4:30 p.m., when Happy Hour begins with discounted prices on food and drinks until 5:30 p.m. Pregame festivities will include a giant American flag stretched over the field as St. Patrick School students sing the national anthem. Fans will also witness 1,500 balloons launched into the sky, a five-plane flyover by the Kent State School of Aeronautics and fireworks. The game ball will then be presented by three skydivers.
The Fan Zone complete with inflatables, caricature artists and more will be located behind the south end zone from 4:30-6:30 p.m. In an effort to set a single-game attendance record at Dix Stadium, AMETEK will bring fans the largest fireworks display in Portage County history after the game.
During the game, James Harrison's parents will be presented with his framed No. 16 jersey. An All-MAC First team performer for the Golden Flashes in 2001, Harrison is a five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 (see link).

Football and Festivities Await Fans on August 29

I personally want to welcome back Coach Gill to Dix Stadium. Coach Gill has always been one of my favorite coaches. MAC fans remember Coach Gill when he coached at Buffalo. Against Kent State, Gill was 3-1 with his biggest win coming during his first year at Buffalo. In 2006. the Bulls defeated the Flashes 41-14. Below is summary of Gill's tenure at Buffalo.

University at Buffalo
Gill agreed to a five-year contract to become the 23rd head football coach at the University at Buffalo on December 16, 2005. The Buffalo Bulls had gone 8-49 under previous coach Jim Hofher, and was considered "one of the three or four worst FBS programs in the nation when [Gill] took over." Under Gill, the Bulls improved each of the first three seasons, winning the Mid-American Conference championship in 2008.2006
Turner Gill won two games in his first season with Buffalo compiling a 2?10 record. Despite its record Buffalo achieved some success. The team set a school record for most points in a season since moving to Division I, with 220. UB also scored the most points of any team in the MAC East Division and defeated an opponent (Kent State University) with a winning record for the first time since joining the MAC in 1999. Kent State had a 5-3 record at the time but ended the season 6-6.2007
Gill's Buffalo team finished 5?7 overall with a 5?3 record in the Mid-American Conference, the first winning conference record the squad had posted since joining the MAC in 1999. This was also the Bulls' first winning record at home since moving to Division I. The team finished third out of six schools in the Mid-American Conference East Division but shared co-division champion honors. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year for 2007.2008
In 2008, Gill's Buffalo team continued its steady improvement, finishing the regular season 7-5 and winning the East division of the MAC. On December 5, Buffalo played #12 Ball State in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. Ball State was heavily favored, as it entered the game with a perfect 12-0 mark, while Buffalo came in off a home loss to Kent State that had ended a five-game winning streak. However, Buffalo scored two touchdowns on fumble returns and won the game 42-24, giving the school its first MAC championship. Following the victory, Buffalo accepted a bid to play in the International Bowl in nearby Toronto, marking the school's first bowl since joining the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999. The season also saw Buffalo break its all-time scoring record, having numerous players break school career and single-season records and saw UB earn unprecedented national coverage, with five appearances on the ESPN family of networks as the Bulls were 4-0 in those contests. Also, four of Buffalo's five losses this season (Pittsburgh, Missouri, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan) came against teams which advanced to bowl games, with two of those teams ranked in the AP Top 25. With Gill's continued success at Buffalo, he once again became the focus of speculation about a possible move to a bigger program. Gill had interviews at Syracuse University and Auburn University but after other coaches were selected Gill agreed to a contract extension and a raise, with his contract running through 2013 and making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the MAC.2009
Buffalo went 5-7, ending Gill's track record of improving his team's win total each year.

Go Flashes!!!



Thu
Aug 29

82°
65°
Partly Cloudy
CHANCE OF RAIN:10% WIND:N at 7 mph

Colin Reardon has officially won Kent State's 2013 quarterback derby.
Reardon was listed as the starting signal-caller in the depth chart released by first-year head coach Paul Haynes on Monday. The redshirt freshman has battled senior David Fisher through spring drills and preseason camp.
Reardon, a 6-foot-1, 202-pound QB from Poland, Ohio, has shown solid arm strength and accuracy throughout preseason camp. He has also sported excellent athleticism, making several big plays on scrambles.
Fisher (6-1, 220) backed up four-year starter Spencer Keith last season after transferring from Vista junior college in California (see link).

COLIN REARDON NAMED STARTING QB