A touchdown worth of takeaways from Kent State's home victory over LIU
Kent State earned its program record 10th consecutive home victory on Saturday, and had plenty of fun doing it as expected while rolling to a 63-10 triumph over FCS foe Long Island at Dix Stadium.
The Golden Flashes (1-2) blitzed the Sharks (0-3) 28-3 in the second quarter, as junior Marquez Cooper (1 yard), senior Bryan Bradford (14 yards) and freshman Gavin Garcia (12 yards) scored rushing touchdowns while junior J.B. Awolowo returned a punt blocked by Garcia 34 yards for a score to put his team up 35-10 at the half. They went on to score 42 straight points, pulling away from a tight contest early in the second quarter.
The Flashes have not lost a home game since October 26, 2019. The current Dix Stadium win streak started with an improbable comeback from a 21-point deficit with under eight minutes remaining against Buffalo on Nov. 14 of 2019. Since then Kent State has gone 8-0 at home against Mid-American Conference competition and 2-0 against non-league foes, outscoring VMI and LIU 123-20.
“Great win, great to set a program record as we continue to build,” said KSU head coach Sean Lewis. “It’s an awesome time to be a Kent State Golden Flash. You talk about where we’re at as a program, the quality of ball that the people of Northeast Ohio can come see and be a part of and help continue to grow. The sky’s still the limit. We’re just getting started.”
Kent State entered the 2022 season as one of 12 FBS teams riding a home winning streak of nine games or more. The Flashes eclipsed 30 points in the first half for the third time in their last four contests at Dix Stadium.
Here’s a touchdown worth of takeaways from Saturday’s resounding victory.
Kent State's unstoppable offense
A Flashes offense that’s averaged 46.5 points during its 10-game home streak was expected to shred the lower-level Sharks, and certainly did just that.
Kent State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions in a combined 8:31, then opened the second half with two more quick scores. The Flashes starters produced six touchdowns in the first three quarters, all on drives that took 2:45 or less. The reserves couldn’t quite keep pace, scoring twice in the fourth quarter on marches that took 4:37 and 3:47, respectively.
Although the Flashes were run heavy, rushing 48 times for 353 yards, they tacked on 203 yards passing by completing 11-of-13 attempts. They converted 6-of-7 third downs and scored touchdowns on all seven red-zone opportunities, two areas that did not live up to standards against stiff competition from Washington and Oklahoma in the first two games of 2022.
“I thought we were extremely efficient on first and second down,” said Lewis. “Only seven third downs the whole game, which was awesome. Very pleased with our effort. We have high expectations, and I thought the kids responded in the right way.”
Kent State lets Cooper set the tone
Kent State used tough inside runs by junior running back Marquez Cooper in the early going to open things up the entire offense. Cooper ran for four, 12 and six yards on the Flashes’ first three plays from scrimmage. He finished the first half with 51 yards on 10 carries and scored on a 1-yard run.
“When we come home and you want to set the expectation for what the game’s going to be, and let them feel you early a little bit, we wanted to give the ball to (Cooper) and establish that,” said Lewis. “The run game sets the tone.”
Cooper added another 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and finished with 89 yards on 18 carries. His teammates followed Cooper's early lead. Garcia finished with 82 yards on nine carries, redshirt freshman Shakhi Carson piled up 61 yards on just six carries, and senior Bryan Bradford added 43 yards on seven totes. All four running backs found the end zone.
After rushing for over 1,200 yards last season, Cooper found the sledding tough during the first two games of the 2022 season against physical Power Five defenses from Washington and No. 7 Oklahoma. But his performances were still praised by Lewis, who said Cooper battled and fought for every yard he could get.
“He’s a real guy, puts in real work,” said Lewis. “He’s a guy that I know we can trust, a guy that I know you want in the fox hole with you."
Schlee shines in first home start
Kent State junior quarterback Collin Schlee delivered a rousing performance in his first start at Dix Stadium, completing 10-of-12 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions while adding 75 yards rushing on just four carries before exiting midway through the third quarter.
Kent State scored touchdowns on six of seven possessions with Schlee under center, only coming up empty when the first-half clock ran out.
“He did a good job of taking whatever they gave him, and a lot of that today was just handing the football off and allowing those guys up front to work,” said Lewis. “He extended some plays with his feet and did a better job of keeping his eyes down field, as opposed to just tucking and running, which is something that we have been talking about.”
Schlee’s second pass was a 50-yard bomb to sophomore Devontez Walker, who caught it in stride after beating his man in single coverage. Schlee recognized that LIU had jumped offsides before the snap and took his shot, a feat he repeated while delivering a 39-yard pass to Luke Floriea in the second quarter.
Schlee enjoys running both on designed plays and when things break down, and tends to use his sturdy 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame to plow through defenders when the opportunity arises. He recognizes that Lewis would prefer he avoid unnecessary contact, but simply can’t help himself at times.
Schlee did not run the football on Saturday until around the four-minute mark of the second quarter.
"Our protection held up very well,” Schlee said. “They had a very light box, so I knew I was going to have a lot more time in the pocket and I knew the running game was going to be there the whole day. I was trying not to get out of the pocket and run, trying to sit in the pocket and respect the O-line. When I needed to go, I went.”
Schlee finally went at around the four-minute mark of the second quarter.
Facing a third-and-three from his own 18, Schlee took off, took out 220-pound linebacker Dom Barbuto with a stiff-arm in the open field, and raced for a 29-yard gain. He had a chance to run out of bounds after about 25 yards, but instead turned back inside and looked for contact.
“We had a conversation about that,” Lewis smiled. “Great individual effort, great stiff-arm, protects his legs, gets the first down, then just know when the journey is done. It’s a long season, and you don’t need to take unnecessary hits. Later in the game kind of the same thing happens and he slides out of bounds. He’s coachable. He's also very competitive. Collin believes that he can make everyone miss. That’s the kind of mindset that I want him to have. It's a fine line of allowing him the freedom to do that, but also understanding the whole picture.”
Schlee sniffed the end zone during a third-quarter run, taking on four defenders at the end of a 22-yard run that reached the LIU 1. His Saturday highlight reel also featured an 8-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Dante Cephas where Schlee dodged a free blitzer, rolled to his left and slung the ball sidearm across his body to Cephas in the back of the end zone.
Schlee ended his day by banging a 50-yard punt that actually flew over 55 yards in the air before bouncing backwards.
“I never thought I would be in that situation. Anything for the team,” Schlee smiled. “I was told to kick it as far as I could, so that’s what I tried to do.”
Big-play freshman Gavin Garcia
True freshman Gavin Garcia has wedged his way into a crowded Kent State running back group by taking advantage of opportunities that first presented themselves on special teams.
Garcia recovered a fumble on a kickoff in the opener at Washington. He delivered another splash play on special teams against LIU, blocking a punt that junior teammate J.B. Awolowo returned 34 yards for a touchdown that put Kent State up 35-10 late in the first half.
“Gavin Garcia did a great job. Timed up the snap, awesome job not killing any grass there and being able to shave that thing off and get his hand on it,” said Lewis.
Garcia was inserted at running back in the second quarter and promptly ripped off a 32-yard run. He then scored his first collegiate touchdown in the third quarter on a 12-yard scamper.
“Gavin loves to compete, he loves ball,” said Lewis. “His character gives him a chance to be successful. Gavin’s got a great approach, great attitude. He's one of those guys that stays humble, stays hungry. He wants to be coached.”
Kent State defense struggles early, regroups
A Kent State defense that showed signs of dramatic improvement overall and especially against the run while battling national behemoths Washington and Oklahoma struggled early on to stop an LIU squad that had produced just 21 points in its first two outings of 2022.
Sharks tight end Owen Glascoe was a particular nuisance. The 6-4, 258-pound junior caught three passes for 36 yards on LIU’s opening drive, then slipped behind the safety and took a short pass from grad student quarterback Derek Green 60 yards to the house by outrunning the KSU secondary.
“We knew coming into the game that he was one of their key players, and they wanted to get him the ball in space,” said Kent State grad student defensive end Zayin West. “They had a good game plan, found something we weren’t prepared for. But we got it handled, got our eyes in the right place and picked it up.”
The Flashes controlled Glascoe individually and the Sharks as a whole from the 9:40 mark of the second quarter on, pitching a shutout. Glascoe caught just one more pass after the first quarter, and finished with five grabs for 101 yards.
“Just calling us out on playing to our standards,” said West, when asked what adjustments were made to shut down the Sharks. “We knew we shouldn’t be letting these things happen. We talked about it all week, playing our style of football, just dominate. We got back to it, back to the basics.”
The Flashes were solid against the run once again, allowing just 112 yards on 38 carries. They're now allowing 3.5 yards per carry, a number that's been five or above every other season under fifth-year head coach Lewis.
“Our kids are playing really hard because their confidence is growing,” said Lewis. “Our guys are doing a really good job of setting the edge, which then leverages the ball back to where the help is. We’re getting better each week as we go.”
Extra points: Defensive starters Marvin Pierre (grad student linebacker) and Capone Blue (senior cornerback) were held out due to injuries. Blue missed his second straight game. Grad student running back Xavier Williams and senior wide receiver Ja’Shaun Poke were held out of action for the third straight week while recovering from injuries. … Freshman backup quarterback Devin Kargman threw his first collegiate touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, a 4-yarder to fellow true freshman Trell Harris.
Next: The Flashes will close the non-conference season by visiting defending national champion and current No. 1-ranked Georgia (3-0) next Saturday at noon.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Six takeaways from Kent State's 63-10 victory over visiting LIU
