A touchdown worth of takeaways from the Kent State football victory over Akron
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A day that could not have started much worse for the Kent State football team couldn’t have ended much better.
The Golden Flashes (3-5, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) overcame an early 10-point deficit and the absence of several key players, including their starting quarterback, to defeat bitter backyard rival Akron 33-27 Saturday afternoon at Dix Stadium. Kent State retained the Wagon Wheel by earning its fourth consecutive victory over the Zips (1-7, 0-4), its longest string since ripping off 10 straight wins from 1942-54, and ran its school-record home winning streak to 12 games.
All these streaks seemed to be in serious jeopardy after Akron scored on its first play from scrimmage and led 10-0 early in the second quarter over the injury-ravaged Flashes. But Kent State scored three touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the first half to take the lead, then held off repeated rallies by the pesky Zips down the stretch.
“It's everything we talk about every single day. Guys stepping up all over the place, showing the character and resolve of our program. Guys not flinching with the slow start and responding in all three phases,” said KSU head coach Sean Lewis, who improved to 4-1 against Akron. “In the face of adversity, with a lot of good players down, a lot of other good players stepped up in a big-time rivalry game in a big-time environment. When the stakes were at their highest this football team responded the right way. I'm very proud of them, very happy to lead them.
“Big-time win, to be able to continue to run Northeast Ohio. That Wheel stays here.”
The takeaways from Saturday's contest begin with true freshman quarterback Devin Kargman, who led Kent State to a comeback victory over ‘The School Down The Road’ in his first collegiate start.
Devin Kargman rescues Kent State
No one was surprised to learn about an hour before kickoff that two of Kent State’s top defenders, junior tackle CJ West and grad student safety Antwaine Richardson, would not play against the Zips after suffering injuries in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss at Toledo.
But word that junior quarterback Collin Schlee was doubtful sent shockwaves through the press box.
Schlee was in full pads and went through warm-ups during pregame. But when the players came out of the tunnel minutes before the start of the contest, Schlee’s pads were suddenly missing.
Turns out the Flashes had been preparing all week for the likely event that Schlee wouldn’t be able to play due to the cumulative effect of injuries he sustained during the first seven games of the season.
When did Lewis know Schlee couldn't go against the Zips?
“At kickoff,” he said. “When he didn’t start, I knew he wasn’t going to play.”
Kargman was KSU's third-string quarterback until junior backup Griffin Brewster suffered a season-ending knee injury during preseason camp. The New Jersey native entered Saturday’s contest having completed five passes as a collegian – three to his receivers for 19 yards, and two to his opponents.
Kargman’s first four passes against the Zips fell incomplete, and two of them could have been intercepted. Just over four minutes into the second quarter Kent State trailed 10-0 and had just 87 yards of total offense. Kargman was 1-of-5 for 13 yards.
“Even though it didn’t start great, nothing changed,” said Lewis. “It’s my job as [Kargman's] position coach and as his play caller to be the rock that he can lean on, the guy that’s going to give him strength to know he’s the guy I trust. That’s why he’s out there. The great thing about Dev is that he never gets too high, never gets too low. He’s a very even-keeled kid who has played in big games in high school. That’s one of the things that drew us to him, he’s a winner.”
Kargman completed 7-of-8 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter, leading the Flashes to three touchdowns that put them up 21-17. He was rock-solid in the second half, avoiding mistakes while repeatedly making key plays.
Kargman wound up completing 14-of-25 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, leading the Flashes to a victory they had to have to keep their MAC championship dreams alive.
“He was able to weather that storm. Guys around him elevated their play so that he could settle into the game, then he operated and did the things he needed to do within the system so we could win today,” said Lewis. “Once he settled into the game he did a heck of a job making decisions, leading the offense. He was very efficient, made big plays when we needed to have them. At no point in time was the game too big. It’s a testament to that kid’s work, and how everyone rallied around him in all three phases.”
Devontez Walker delivers three touchdowns, key block
Sophomore wide receiver Devontez Walker literally did everything in his power to help Kargman. He caught two touchdown passes, ran for another score on a reverse, and sprung junior running back Bryan Bradford for a 58-yard touchdown run with a devastating downfield block.
Walker, who finished with five catches for 72 yards, was most proud of his block afterward.
“They'd been getting on me the past couple weeks about my blocking,” he smiled. “I knew I could do it. Just flipping the switch and doing it for the family today.”
Walker’s first touchdown catch gave Kent State its first lead at 14-10. He broke free down the sideline and caught an easy 35-yarder that helped ease Kargman’s nerves.
“We were keeping Devin’s confidence up, keeping him calm out there. Collin was there by his side,” said Walker. “Once he was comfortable, he was [fine].”
Walker’s second TD catch was must more difficult, a 10-yarder over the middle while closely covered with 27 seconds left in the first half that put the Flashes ahead to stay at 21-17.
Walker then took a reverse 14 yards to the house behind a convoy of blockers, putting Kent State up 27-17 early in the third quarter.
"Coaches called my number to make plays for the family, and I was able to step up and do it,” said Walker.
Walker is now tied for first in the MAC with seven touchdown catches on the season.
Big numbers, big mistakes by DJ Irons
Akron junior quarterback DJ Irons had a huge game statistically, completing 32-of-43 passes for 383 yards and a touchdown while adding 37 yards and two more scores on the ground. On the Zips' first play of the game Irons threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Alex Adams, who was wide open deep in the middle of the field.
“First play of the game, nice pitch and catch,” said Lewis. “Really well-designed play. We've got to read our keys better. He threw 43 passes and ran 22 times, so 65 of their 86 snaps he impacted. He warrants the attention that he gets. He's a really good player. He's going to make some plays. But our kids didn’t flinch. It was everybody doing their part so we could impact him enough to get him off schedule.”
Irons was sacked seven times and threw two interceptions deep in KSU territory that played a huge role in determining the outcome of the game.
While Irons’ numbers look more impressive than Kargman’s, the Kent State’s freshman's passing efficiency rating was slightly better – 154-147.6.
“To me those are the two critical factors in a game, turnover margin and quarterback efficiency. If you can win those two battles, generally speaking you’re going to win the game,” said Lewis. “We won the turnover battle. We were able to impact their quarterback more than they were able to impact ours. We valued the football in all three phases, we created extra opportunities and didn’t give them extra opportunities, and our [quarterback] had a more efficient day than theirs.”
Zayin West fourth-quarter sacks lead to pivotal Kent State field goal
The Flashes were clinging to a 30-24 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and Akron had the ball at its own 20-yard line facing a second-and-8. Kent State grad student defensive end Zayin West promptly produced sacks on back-to-back plays, shoving Akron all the way back to its own 2.
“[Defensive line coach Colin Ferrell] challenged us [between the third and fourth quarters], said go get two sacks," said West. "The first one I did my job, executed. The second one we schemed up a great play, and I did my job again.”
Forced to punt out of his own end zone against the wind, Akron’s Noah Gettman managed just a 25-yard boot. The Flashes took over at their own 27 and gained just two yards, but sophomore Andrew Glass kicked a 42-yard field goal that made it a two-score game with just under 12 minutes remaining.
West had only two sacks in the first seven games of the season.
“He's a kid that has been through a tremendous amount of highs and lows since he’s been here, and because of that adversity he’s gained strength,” said Lewis. “Especially in a game like this when we have good players down, the best players that are available need to be at their best. In critical moments our best guys showed up, and he was one of them that flashed.”
Kent State defense delivers big plays
Kent State’s defense had surrendered a slew of big plays in the first three MAC games of 2022. The unit flipped the script against the Zips.
A secondary that had intercepted just two passes all season picked off two against the Zips. Sophomore safety JoJo Evans intercepted Irons in the end zone in the first quarter to keep Akron from taking complete early control, then senior cornerback Montre Miller picked off Irons at the KSU 13 early in the third quarter.
A pass rush that had generated just 10 sacks in the first seven games of 2022 put Irons on the ground behind the line of scrimmage seven times. West led the way with two sacks, followed by senior Saivon Taylor-Davis and sophomore Macyo Williams with 1.5 each.
“They were disruptive, and they caused havoc today. It builds momentum, builds enthusiasm, builds energy that guys feed off of and start flying around,” said Lewis. “The nature of college football and the way that it’s wired right now is that you’re going to concede some yards, but you’ve got to win the got to have it moments. Our defense did that today.”
Early on Akron was able to take advantage of Kent State’s undersized defensive line that was missing its only player over 280 pounds, tackle CJ West. Irons repeatedly gained solid chunks of yardage with designed runs up the middle in the first half. But down the stretch the Flashes’ speed up front gave the Zips fits. They sacked Irons four times in the fourth quarter.
“Energy. That's what we focused on in practice this week,” said Zayin West. “And the next man up mentality, that guys were down but we were still going to [get the job done] for our brothers.”
Kent State rushes to victory
Junior running back Marquez Cooper eclipsed 100 yards for the third time in four MAC games, rushing for 137 yards on 28 carries. Bradford showed tremendous speed for a 251-pound back while breaking off his 58-yard touchdown run, and true freshman Gavin Garcia added 25 yards on four carries.
Even with Kargman at quarterback and the Zips focused on slowing down the run, Kent State was able to churn out 242 yards on 39 carries – an average of 6.2 yards per rush. Along with praising the backs, Lewis was sure to credit his offensive line – sophomore left tackle Marcellus Marshall, sophomore left guard Jack Bailey, grad student center Sam Allan, senior right guard Elijah Ratliff and junior right tackle Savion Washington.
“That rush attack is the quarterback’s best friend,” said Lewis. “We know that’s a strength of who we are, knew that was a way that we could attack. Those guys up front do a heck of a job, play with great pad level. We’ve been very fortunate to play with all five of those guys consistently from the first start all the way through this season. They make everything happen.”
Meanwhile, the Zips managed just 109 yards rushing on 43 carries thanks in major part to 50 yards lost on sacks.
Extra points: The Flashes held off the Zips in the fourth quarter without two of their top three offensive weapons, Schlee and junior wide receiver Dante Cephas – who suffered a left leg injury at the 9:34 mark of the third quarter and never returned. Cephas finished with 3 catches for 44 yards. Lewis had no update on his condition afterward. … Grad student linebacker Marvin Pierre led Kent State’s defense with 14 tackles. … Former Aurora High School star Bubba Arslanian, a senior linebacker, paced Akron with nine tackles.
Next: The Flashes will get a couple extra days off they can certainly use to heal up before starting midweek games by hosting Ball State (4-4, 2-2) on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Six takeaways from the Kent State football victory over Akron
