I realize to some Kent State fans, the 2012 squad was the best football team in school history. However, I will make the argument that the 1973 team was even better than the 2012 squad. The 1973 team had a 9-2 record with a 17-9 loss to (9-1-1) San Diego State. The other loss came against (11-0) Miami that finished 15th nationally. Unfortunately the 20-10 defeat to Miami cost the Flashes the MAC Championship.

The 2012 team finished with an 11-3 record with a 47-14 loss to (2-10) Kentucky, a 44-37 loss to (12-2) Northern Illinois, and a 17-13 loss to (10-3) Arkansas State in the Go Daddy.com Bowl.

Certainly the embarrassing loss to Kentucky and the bowl loss to Arkansas State makes the argument much easier to make.

But the purpose of this post is not about which is the best Kent State team, but to point out the history of Kent State's fair-weather fans. In the article, "A dynamite team..." Charlie Stricken writes, "When the best Flash team in history (9-2) returned home for their final game the following weekend, they ran onto the field to the cheers of almost no one. By game time, there were only 3,870 fair-weather fans, many of whom left before the game ended."

When only 3,870 fans are on hand to watch Kent State's greatest team play, that is the epitome of fair-weather fans especially when you consider that was a time before they had big-screen TVs and the availability of so many games on television. The disappointing loss to Miami was no excuse for the poor attendance for the Flashes final home game. Even the lack of support prompted Coach James to lament, "I'd like to take this team somewhere where they would be appreciated."

Kent State has always had poor attendance at Dix Stadium. Occasionally, when the Flashes were winning, Kent State had some decent crowds, but unfortunately KSU has had too many fair-weather fans to have consistent attendance.

And with college football attendance declining nationally, I don't expect to see the attendance improving any time soon even with the FlashFast offense.

Note: To fully appreciate the 1973 team, you have to read Stricklen's account of the 1973 season below.

A dynamite team...

by Charlie Stricklen

Nineteen seventy three was a banner year for Kent State football. Head Coach Don James and his Golden Flashes were victors nine times, including a 21-7 "Super Saturday" triumph over Bowling Green, a game which many thought would decide the Mid-American Conference championship.

But later in the season, Miami, which had stormed through its first eight games without a loss, came to be ranked 17th in the nation to face Kent's 19th-ranked Flashes for the MAC title.

The contest was appropriately tagged "Super Saturday 11" and more than 27,000 fans-a record crowd-jammed into Dix Stadium to peer through a driving snow as the Golden Flashes made their bid for Kent's second straight conference championship.

But it was not to be. Miami's powerful defense-ranked No. 2 in the nation-stymied Kent State's "high octane" offense and the Redskins returned home to Oxford with a 20-10 victory-and the Mid-American Conference title.

The loss was a crushing blow to the Flashes and to their fans. It had been a valiant effort by the Flashes, though. They had been pitted against a Miami squad which went on to finish the season undefeated (10-0) and was ranked 15th nationally at the season's end.

The Flashes were able quickly to bounce back after the devastating defeat, but the fans never recovered. A week after losing the championship, the Flashes traveled to Toledo where they ripped the Rockets, 51-16.

When the best Flash team in history (9-2) returned home for their final game the following weekend, they ran onto the field to the cheers of almost no one. By game time, there were only 3,870 fair-weather fans, many of whom left before the game ended.

Kent handily won the contest, beating Central Michigan 28-7 despite the lack of support-which prompted Coach James to lament, "I'd like to take this team somewhere where they would be appreciated."

Even more disappointment was to come. Players, coaches and fans alike expressed disillusionment when a well-deserved post-season bowl invitation never came.

Thus, a team which had almost completely re-written the Kent record books and had outscored its opponents 299-131, finished the long season unheralded and seemingly unappreciated.

Spirits were lifted somewhat when Coach James announced that he would definitely be back next year--dispelling rumors that he would leave to take a higher paying, more prestigious position.

So even with the loss of 16 seniors from this year's squad, there is reason to be confident that the Golden Flashes will again be in the thick of the title race in the coming season.

https://ia802908.us.archive.org/Boo...hestnutburr1974kent_0178.jp2&scale=4&rotate=0

With the Bulls winning both the women's and men's basketball conference championships today, it might be prudent to study Buffalo's Intercollegiate Athletics Strategic Plan and then decide which elements to benchmark.

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https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/e/2/guaz0d14uhv0ju/Strategic_Plan-format_long_version.pdf

The schedule is daunting. The Flashes play at — gulp — Arizona State, Auburn, and Wisconsin in non-conference play (and their other non-con is against burgeoning FCS power Kennesaw State), then have to play at Ohio and Toledo. There are winnable games, but five nearly guaranteed losses means the win ceiling is probably four or five, if they win a majority of their close games.

Of course, when you haven’t won more than three games in a season since 2013, four doesn’t sound too bad.

The Flashes had more competitive moments last fall than they had in a while, and they were more fun, too. Expect both of those trends to continue. Offensive continuity suggests good things, and an increasingly talented secondary should hold its own, too. The weaknesses are obvious, but there are more strengths here than there have been in a while.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...t-state-football-preview-2019-schedule-roster

When comparing the rankings between Rivals and 247 Sports, it appears 247 might be guilty of grade inflation based on the number of 3-star recruits Kent State signed versus Rivals.

https://247sports.com/college/kent-state/Season/2019-Football/Commits/

https://kentstate.rivals.com/commitments/football/2019

247 has 15 of Kent State's signees as 3- stars, Rivals has 1 of Kent State's signees as a 3-star.

But nevertheless, I'm happy to have all of our recruits. Ten years ago, the 2009 Recruiting Class was ranked first in the MAC according to Rivals and there were a couple of 2-star recruits who played in the NFL. Dri Archer was drafted by Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft and Brian Winters was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Although Archer's NFL career was brief, Winters just completed his sixth season with the Jets.

It's interesting that Julian Edelman was only a 2-star recruit from the 2006 Class, but was the MVP in last Sunday's Super Bowl and a serious candidate for the NFL Hall of Fame.

https://kentstate.rivals.com/commitments/football/2006

Jennifer Matthews, the sister of Clay Matthews #57, made the following post on Twitter today:

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Perhaps she is right. The number of stars by a recruit's name doesn't tell how much heart the recruit has. Julian Edelman is proof of that.

Note: Rivals currently ranks Kent State's 2019 recruiting class 11th in the MAC, but I strongly believe, just like last year, the ranking will go up considerably in the next few days. 247 Sports, on the other hand, has Kent State ranked 4th in the MAC. With a ranking that high, it will be interesting to see how this class compares to the class of 2009, which again was ranked first in the MAC by Rivals and 5th in the MAC by 247. Why there is so much discrepancy between Rivals and 247, I really don't know.

These two coaches have 12 titles between them and have done an insane job at rotating years of victory. Despite those combined 12 titles over the past decade, Belichick and Saban haven't ever won a title in the same year.

2009-10
• Alabama: Wins BCS National Championship game, 37-21, vs. Texas Longhorns
2011-12
• Alabama: Wins BCS National Championship game, 21-0, vs. LSU Tigers
2012-13
• Alabama: Wins BCS National Championship game, 42-14, vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2014-15
• New England: Wins the Super Bowl, 28-24, vs. the Seattle Seahawks
2015-16
• Alabama: Wins the College Football Playoff National Championship game, 45-40, vs. Clemson
2016-17
• New England: Wins Super Bowl, 34-28, vs. the Atlanta Falcons
2017-18
• Alabama: Wins College Football Playoff National Championship game, 26-23 (OT), vs. Georgia Bulldogs
2018-19
• New England: Wins Super Bowl, 13-3, vs. the Rams in Atlanta

So what are the chances that Belichick or Saban will win a title for the 2019-20 season?

Browns fans will remember that Saban spent four seasons (1991-1994) as Belchick’s defensive coordinator in Cleveland. In his final season with the Browns, Saban’s unit allowed the fewest points in the league (204), the sixth-fewest points ever surrendered in an NFL season at the time.

A Football Life - Cleveland 95 takes a look at the collapse of the Cleveland Browns in 1995 amid the bankruptcy of owner Art Modell and his decision to move the team to Baltimore, while the coaching staff would go on to enormous football success in later years.

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https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/pos...ontinue-weird-alternating-championship-streak

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.