Ohio is about to enter the thick of its Mid-American Conference schedule as it heads into its game against Kent State on Saturday at Peden Stadium.
The Golden Flashes (3-3, 2-0 MAC), who are currently in first place in the MAC East Division, have been a team of low expectations and high return after they were picked to finish fourth in the East Division standings in the coaches preseason poll.
For the Bobcats (2-4, 1-1 MAC), they’re going to have to finally find a way to string together a complete game after their second-half struggles against Northern Illinois last week.
Here’s a look at the Flashes.
All-time series: Ohio leads 44-25-2. The programs met for the first time in 1936 in Athens where the Bobcats won 6-0. The most recent meeting was in 2018, when the Bobcats managed to escape Dix Stadium with a 27-26 win. Ohio currently holds a five-game win streak, which is its second-longest against Kent.
The Kent report: The Flashes are led by second-year coach Sean Lewis (5-13, 3-7 MAC). Lewis coached the Flashes to a 2-10 season a year ago with wins against FCS Howard and MAC East rival Bowling Green.
This season, it appears that Lewis’ system is starting to take hold at Kent. Its three losses all came against Power 5 schools with road games at Arizona State, Auburn and Wisconsin. Its average margin of defeat was by five touchdowns.
Kent, however, built convincing wins against FCS Kennesaw State, and MAC rivals Bowling Green and Akron.
The Flashes defeated the Falcons a staggering 62-20 in a game where they had over 700 total yards of offense and allowed 360 yards. They defeated the Zips 26-3 to go 2-0 in the MAC for the first time since 2012, when they eventually made it to the MAC Championship game.
Offensively, the Flashes are led by quarterback Dustin Crum. The junior beat out Woody Barrett, last year’s starter, and has Kent at one of its best starts in the past decade.
Crum has dual-threat capabilities, which was noted by coach Frank Solich in his Monday press conference, and has totaled 877 passing yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions on a 72% completion rate. He’s just as lethal on the ground with 214 yards on 63 carries and one touchdown.
He’s not the sole beneficiary of the offense. Wide receiver Isaiah McKoy and the Flashes’ multitude of running backs have found success, too.
Through six games, Kent has averaged 352.3 yards per game, which ranks ninth in the conference. Its 170.3 average rushing yards per game and 182 average passing yards per game are ranked fifth and ninth, respectively.
On defense, the Flashes have seen some of the country’s best, and it was noted in a 48-0 loss to then-No. 8 Wisconsin.
It’s important to take those losses against the Power 5 schools with a grain of salt, however, and look more closely at the competition that’s on an even playing field.
In their games against the Falcons and the Zips, the Flashes allowed an average of 328.5 yards against their two MAC opponents.
Counting the Power 5 games, the Flashes defense has allowed 450.3 average yards per game.
Solich and offensive coordinator Tim Albin noted that while it doesn’t have the size, Kent’s front seven plays with quickness off the ball that has the potential to give the Ohio offensive line difficulties to just make blocks off the snap.
How Ohio wins: The Bobcats can win this game if they take advantage of the David – Goliath narrative in the trenches. Ohio’s starters on the offensive line weigh an average of 308.6 pounds. Kent has just four defensive linemen that are over 250 pounds. With how often the Bobcats run the ball, size will have to take over the speed. Defensively, the whole conference knows Ohio’s issues when they don’t have the ball. Kent’s use of up-tempo will limit the Bobcats’ desire to get quicker substitutions and could present problems if they don’t know how to counter it.
Stat to know: 6. The last time Kent defeated Ohio in Peden Stadium was six years ago when it left with a 44-13 win. That 31-point loss was the worst differential against Kent in Solich’s career.
Player to watch: Theo Majette, senior defensive lineman, No. 92
At 5 feet, 11 inches and 238 pounds, the defensive end may not have the largest frame, but he’s a deceptively talented player. With his quick hands and speed off the ball, there’s a reason why he’s fourth in the conference with four sacks. Ohio allowed two sacks last week against a decent NIU pass rush, and if it doesn’t start off strong against the quick Kent defensive line, it could be a long afternoon for the Bobcats.
