Kent State Golden Flashes: CFN College Football Preview 2021

Pete Fiutak
·9 min read

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Kent State season with what you need to know.

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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule Analysis
– Kent State Golden Flashes Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2020 Record: 3-1 overall, 3-1 in MAC
Head Coach: Sean Lewis, 4th year, 12-17
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 89
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 106
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 66

Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– The FlashFast style of offense under head coach Sean Lewis kept on rolling. The Golden Flashes led the nation in total offense averaging 607 yards per game, were No. 1 in scoring offense with 50 points per outing, and finished second in the nation in passing efficiency. Leading receiver Isaiah McKoy is gone, but everyone else is expected back, and …

– Syracuse transfer Nykeim Johnson comes in after catching 88 passes in his Orange career, and all of the other top Kent State targets return starting with deep threat Ja’Shaun Poke and speedy veteran Isaac Vance. Best of all, they have their main man throwing to them.

Dustin Crum has turned into a high-octane passer – hitting 74% of his throws last season – to go along with his rushing ability. If he’s not the best player in the MAC, he’s close. It’s his job, so backup and former starter Woody Barrett is transferring.

– The running game was outstanding. It finished third in the nation averaging 283 yards per game with four different players hitting the 200-yard mark in the four game season. All three of the top backs return – led by 5-6, 184-pound lightning-quick sophomore Marquez Cooper, who had a team-high five scores – and Crum is in that mix of 200-yard rushers.

Helped by the up-tempo style, the offensive line was great in pass protection and outstanding for the ground game. All five starters return around All-MAC OT Bill Kuduk and senior OG Nathan Monnin forming a solid right side.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Defense

4. Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Defense

– Eight of the top nine tacklers are back and most of the starters are there, but … is there more talent and production? As good as the offense was, the defense gave up yards and points just as fast allowing 38 points per game and having a nightmare of a time against the run.

– The secondary had to make too many tackles, but at least they can hit. CB Tony Butler is done, but the other main guys are back starting with the safety combination of Dean Clark and Richie Carpenter for the deep group of defensive backs.

– For all of the problems on defense, the pass rush was strong. LBs Brandon Coleman and Kesean Gamble each came up with three, and Mandela Lawrence-Burke made two. Now there needs to be more from the defensive front three that returns a ton of experience and decent size, but there aren’t any 300-pound thumpers.

– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Top Players

Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Top Players

Best Kent State Golden Flashes Offensive Player

QB Dustin Crum, Sr.
He figured out how to run the offense and everything took off from there. The 6-3, 207-pounder completed 69% of his career passes for well over 4,000 yards with 35 touchdowns and six picks, and he rushed for almost 1,400 yards with 12 scores. He’s growing into a good NFL prospect, but first he gets one more year to crank up the numbers in the high-powered attack.

2. OT Bill Kuduk, Sr.
3. OG Nathan Monnin, Sr.
4. WR Ja’Shaun Poke, Jr.
5. RB Marquez Cooper, Soph.

Related

Kent State Football Schedule 2021

Best Kent State Golden Flashes Defensive Player

LB Brandon Coleman, Soph.
Built like a big safety, the 6-1, 219-pound Coleman moves well, is great at getting being the line, and turned out to be one of the team’s most disruptive defenders. He came up with a steady season from his inside linebacker spot making 18 tackles with three sacks and four tackles for loss. Now he’ll be turned loose even more.

2. S Dean Clark, Jr.
3. LB Kesean Gamble, Sr.
4. LB Mandela Lawrence-Burke, Sr.
5. DE Zayin West, Sr.

Top Incoming Kent State Golden Flashes Transfer

S Antwaine Richardson, Sr.
Former Syracuse WR Nykeim Johnson might end up being the flashiest transfer coming in, but Richardson could be the most needed. The secondary isn’t bad, and the Kent State safeties are solid, but the defense needs as many veteran players as it can get. The former Maryland Terrapin made 89 tackles in his four years and should be an instant fit.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season

Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season

Kent State Golden Flashes Biggest Key: Offense

Keep everything moving. The offense wasn’t bad at controlling the clock considering its style. It’s fearless – and really good – on third and fourth downs, and it’s outstanding at keeping defenses on their heels. However, the prime goal of the O has to be to not only score, but keep the D off the field.

Last year’s team was able to hold on to the ball for 30 minutes a game. The 2019 version was among the worst in the nation in time of possession, and it showed. The whole thing worked for four games in all MAC play, but it’s going to be a grind to own the clock like last year for a full season.

Kent State Golden Flashes Biggest Key: Defense

The run defense has the experience, and now it has to do something to be a whole lot better. Ie held down Eastern Michigan in the opener, and then the wheels came totally off the defensive front.

It was one thing to get ripped up by the great Buffalo offense for 515 yards and ten touchdowns on the ground – but it was another to get hammered by Akron and Bowling Green for 427 rushing yards and eight scores.

By the way, Texas A&M, Iowa and Maryland are all in September.

Kent State Golden Flashes Key Player To A Successful Season

PK Casey Magyar, Fr.
Of course the key player is somewhere on the defense – it would be nice if the tackles could hold up better against the run – but the kicking situation will be among the biggest issues in fall camp.

Matthew Trickett left for Minnesota, hitting 94 of 95 extra points and 83% of his field goals over the last three seasons. There aren’t a whole lot of other options.

If it’s not new recruit Magyar taking over the kicking job, there’s going to be a big, big problem.

Kent State Golden Flashes Key Game To The 2021 Season

Buffalo, Oct. 9
When we last saw Kent State, it was getting run over and over and over again by Buffalo in a 70-41 loss. It’s a new UB team with a new coaching staff and a whole slew of missing parts from last year’s team, but it’s still a key game if the Golden Flashes want to win the East.

Four of the next five games are on the road, and the regular season ends against Miami University. The Golden Flashes have to beat the Bulls for the second time in five years.

– Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule

2020 Kent State Golden Flashes Fun Stats

– 4th Down Conversions: Kent State 7-of-8 (88%) – Opponents 3-of-7 (43%)
– Sacks: Kent State 12 for 78 yards – Opponents 5 for 33 yards
– Average Yards Per Carry: Opponents 6.2 – Kent State 5.7

NEXT: Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction

Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction

The offense is once again going to be among the best and most efficient in college football.

The competition is going to be ramped up a few notches from last year – when the three wins came against Eastern Michigan, Akron and Bowling Green – but the up-tempo attack gets just about everyone back and should be dangerous every week.

The defense might still have problems – it’s not stopping Texas A&M, Iowa or Maryland, and it’ll get into shootout after shootout – but the O should make up for it against most of the MAC teams.

It’s sort of strange considering how miserable the program was before Sean Lewis showed up – Kent State had just two winning seasons from 1987 until 2019 – but now the expectations are there to not only get to the MAC Championship game, but win it.

Set The Kent State Golden Flashes Regular Season Win Total At … 7.5

Forget about the non-conference games against the Power Five programs, and assume a few other losses along the way like at Western Michigan or Ohio, but there’s no Ball State or Toledo on the schedule from the West.

1971 to 1973. That’s the last time Kent State had three straight winning seasons. The 2021 team will not only make that happen, but it’ll be a whole lot of fun along the way.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Kent State Golden Flashes Schedule Analysis