Here's what I posted on the Kent State OSR after the game:
QUARTERBACK Freshman Spencer Keith wasn’t at his best on Saturday. He completed just 10-of-24 passes and threw two interceptions to offset his two touchdown throws. But, Keith added another dimension to his game by rushing for 48 yards on 10 carries.
“What we ran today was a lot of zone read plays for Spencer to be able to keep the ball,” said KSU head coach Doug Martin. “I think he showed today that he’s a threat running also, so that’s another good weapon that we put down on tape that people have to defend.”
Keith’s biggest mistakes came late in the second quarter when he threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions with under a minute left to play in the first half.
“The second one, we were running out of time so I really just forced it,” Keith said. “The first one, I made a bad read and threw it into double coverage.”
RUNNING BACKS Kent State averaged just 3.7 rushing yards per game, but sophomore Jacquise Terry rushed for over 75 yards for the fourth straight game. Terry ended the day with 18 carries for 79 yards. Freshman Dri Archer carried 11 times for just 25 yards.
WIDE RECEIVERS Both freshman Tyshone Goode and sophomore Kendrick Pressley hauled in touchdown passes and four pass catchers recorded 26 receiving yards or more. But, Goode and Pressley’s greatest contribution might have come in down field blocking; that’s an underrated component of a wide receiver’s game.
OFFENSIVE LINE Keith was sacked just one time for a loss of four yards, but he felt pressure at various times in the game. The KSU running backs didn’t have their most productive outing, primarily due to Eastern Michigan’s pressure inside the box, especially in the first half when the Golden Flashes rushed for just 63 yards on 16 carries.
“In the first half I thought they did a nice job of playing really physical up front and they got their safeties much more involved in run support then what we’d seen on film,” Martin said of the Eagles’ defense. “We had a hard time getting those guys blocked. We made some adjustments in the second half that opened a few things up.”
DEFENSIVE LINE Give this group a game ball. After a slow start, when Eastern Michigan collected most of its 258 yards of offense, the Golden Flashes couldn’t solve the Eagles’ misdirection. Halftime adjustments changed that and the Golden Flashes dominated the second half. A first half goal line stand, highlighted by defensive tackle Quinton Rainey’s fourth-and-goal tackle for loss, certainly changed the outcome of the game.
“When something happens like that, that’s huge,” said junior linebacker Cobrani Mixon of the goal line stand. “I kept telling my D-line, they can’t block you; just get in their head, keep them ready to go. Q came off the ball and made a great tackle in the backfield. That was our D-line right there; they don’t want to be blocked.”
LINEBACKERS Junior Dorian Wood collected a career and game-high 13 tackles. Mixon added 11 stops and senior Anthony Mirando added five for a productive day from the KSU linebackers.
“We changed little things up this week; we wanted to keep it basic--just run some basic plays so we could just play fast and physical,” Mixon said.
DEFENSIVE BACKS Junior safety Brian Lainhart was third on the team with 10 tackles and classmate Danny Hartman added nine tackles and an interception. Eastern Michigan completed just 10-of-19 passes for 75 yards, an average of 7.5 yards per completion. After being torched in their first two MAC games, the Golden Flashes’ secondary dominated on Saturday.
SPECIAL TEAMS Senior Derek McBryde forced a fumble on the game’s opening kickoff. Leon Green recovered the ball and the Golden Flashes drove 38 yards for a 7-0 lead. Anthony Bowman’s 33-yard kickoff return following Eastern Michigan’s field goal set up Kent State’s second score, a 48-yard pass from Keith to Goode. The Flashes averaged 22 yards per punt return while allowing just six yards per return for Eastern. Sophomore Matt Rinehart punted five times for 208 yards, an average of 41.6 yards per punt. Freshman Freddy Cortez was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra point attempts.
INTANGIBLES In the past, a loss like the one the Golden Flashes suffered last week would linger for weeks. Credit the Golden Flashes for arriving in Ypsilanti ready to play. Their big plays early in the game set the tone and they finished the second half in dominating fashion.
“We just didn’t want that to happen again; we learned from last week,” Mixon said. “That’s what you can take from them games, heartbreakers like that; you learn from it. We were talking all week about (being a) sledgehammer and we just wanted to finish it.”
Posted on 10/19 11:57 AM | IP: Logged
A few comments:
I continue to be impressed with the young running backs on this team and the young receivers. I think they do a lot of good things and they will get better and better each game.
Spencer Keith's passing stats were a little misleading with several dropped passes. The interception right before half is acceptable (I think there was 8 seconds left or close to that but I may be mistaken). Running the ball with the QB will add another dimension for the defense to have to think about. Spencer will have to be called upon to win a game at some point and I will be that he does that.
Someone mentioned in another thread that the identity of the team might be the gang tackling mentality of the defense. That certainly would be a great thing if that is the case.
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