The Gridiron Life of John O'Farrell (TCY)
 

It's said that the third time's a charm, and I hope in this case, it is.

I've started two TCY dynasty stories for this forum, and neither one has taken off and flown.

My Roger Allen story was a lot of fun until something went wrong with the file and the game data wouldn't load properly.

My John O'Farrell/Notre Dame story was fun, until I realized that coaching a powerhouse team with the game set to an easy level was too easy. Coach O'Farrell recruited so many studs that before long the Fighting Irish were too good to be fun any longer. The last season I played (which I didn't write about for the forum) saw the Irish go 11-0, outscoring its opponents by a margin of almost 8:1.

This time, I'm keeping Coach O'Farrell as my main character, but I've given him a more daunting challenge. He's just been hired as the head football coach at Kent State University.

The Golden Flashes are among the weaker teams in major college football. They'll open the 2004 season ranked #107; even a couple of teams in the Buckeye Conference (the Solecismic Eight, set in Ohio) are stronger.

KSU's football program isn't known for its high academic standards in this universe, either. It's ranked #118 in Undergraduate Average, and none of its individual academic programs rank higher than #101.

Coach O'Farrell will, therefore, face a daunting task: lead the Golden Flashes to victory on the field while improving the program's academic reputation.

Why Kent State? I have some relatives with connections to KSU. My wife's mom and uncle graduated from there; her uncle was a student at Kent State on May 4, 1970. Click the link, and you'll find out why that fact is significant.

Much of this dynasty story will be written in first person, from Coach O'Farrell's perspective. Think of it as a diary, or as a very honest blog.

I hope you'll enjoy the story.

Preseason, 2004

I'm fairly pleased with the quality of my staff here at Kent State. They seem to be as talented as the coaches at other MAC schools, and most of them are young.

Syndicate coordinator Donovan Herndon, 43, is Excellent at dealing with Syndicate-related issues and at soliciting donations from alumni. He's Terrible when it comes to keeping athletes eligible, so it looks like I'll have to be even more diligent about recruiting good students than usual. Donovan won't be much help with the marginal guys.

Our defensive coordinator, David Buckner, 49, is particularly adept at playcalling. He's Lousy at helping players avoid injury, so the fact that he's Good at rehabilitating them is especially helpful. He's Terrible at helping young defensive linemen develop, but he's Pretty Good with the other position groups he works with.

Offensive coordinator Kendall Ohalete, 49, is a disciple of the Wing T offense. He's a Decent playcaller, and his ability to deal with players' health is the mirror image of Coach Buckner's--Excellent at injury avoidance, Terrible with rehab. His biggest weakness as a teacher is his ability to develop quarterbacks, a skill at which he's Poor. With the running backs and O-linemen that are the key to a successful Wing T offense, he's Good and Fair, respectively.

We plan on concentrating our recruiting efforts close to home, so our Great Lakes scout, Anthony Foley, will probably be the most important member of our scouting staff. Coach Foley, 45, is Terrific at judging the talent of QBs and WRs, and he's Excellent with O-linemen. However, he's basically throwing darts when it comes to identifying good defensive players. I'll have to make sure to visit our defensive recruiting targets myself and verify Coach Foley's evaluations.

Preseason, 2004

Here's the schedule the Golden Flashes will face in 2004. Home games are listed in ALL CAPS. Mid-American Conference games are highlighted in blue.

The preseason ranking of each of Kent's opponents is listed, too. I'll update these throughout the season and include them in my game writeups.



Kent State is in the Mid-American Conference's North Division, along with Akron, Buffalo, Central Florida, Marshall, Miami of Ohio, and Ohio. The MAC South includes Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, and Western Michigan. Akron is Kent State's most bitter rival.

Our preseason ranking is #107. I have no illusions about beating Iowa, but I think we ought to win our home opener against Buckeye Conference foe Youngstown. The Rutgers game will be a good, hard test on the road before we begin our conference schedule. If we're 2-1 at this point, I'll be thrilled.

We need a home win against Akron in our rivalry game, and I think we've got a decent shot at a road upset of Central Michigan. Miami is one of the four best teams in the MAC, so I'm not counting on a win at their place.

If we can beat Marshall at home, we might very well be on our way to a bowl game. The Herd will probably be favored to win. On the other hand, if we can't beat Buffalo and Eastern Michigan, we don't deserve to play in a bowl. The trip to Florida in December will be nice, and it will be even nicer if we win.

My (very) optimistic prediction: 9-2, 7-1 in the conference, and a MAC North championship.

My pessimistic prediction: 5-6, 4-4 in the conference. I'll be pleased if we finish with a winning record, either overall or in the MAC.

Meet the Offense
 

Preseason 2004

Here are the projected starters on our offensive unit this season, along with some other players I expect will play key roles.


Turner is the better QB right now, but Summers has more upside. I'll probably experiment with an "elephant backfield" in order to get both Kennedy and Rodriguez on the field at the same time. They're the two most talented players on the entire team. The receivers are OK, and Wampus has some potential down the line.

The offensive linemen are young and very raw, but they do have some upside. The three freshmen could conceivably play together for four years, and if they do, they could be a very cohesive, effective unit. I hope Wheeler doesn't get destroyed while he learns what's required of a collegiate O-lineman.

It's hard to imagine a situation in which I can't recruit players who are at least as talented as the guys I have on the roster now. Guys like Turner and Jarvis might find themselves starting as juniors and playing behind true freshmen as seniors.

Turner and Wampus look like they're going to be awful students. Turner majors in Business, but he has Bartending and Telemarketing on his class schedule. He's bright enough, but he's lazy as hell (Aspiration 7). Wampus, a Geography major, is neither particularly bright nor particularly motivated. He might struggle to pass Pokemon Training.

On the other hand, the young O-linemen are eager students, and all but Bennefield are brighter than average, too. They'll be fine role models for the younger players I recruit, guys who will exemplify the standards I want Kent State football players to achieve.

Great start. I think you'll find KSU to obviously be more challenging than ND, but also more satisfying once you get the program off the ground.

I'll be following. Good luck.

Meet the Defense
 

Preseason 2004

Here is our defensive starting lineup, with our key defensive reserves.


We'd better score some points, because it looks like our opponents will.

We have a veteran defense, but in this case, it means our below-average players aren't going to get much better. It's strange; Mok's and Donaldson's overall ratings imply they've maxed out their potential, but their individual rating reports show some green bar potential. I'm not sure what to take from that, except that Coach Foley is indeed Lousy at evaluating the talent of defensive linemen.

The linebackers and defensive backs are as unimpressive as the linemen are. Herndon and Bachman have some upside, but not much.

I chose to highlight the more promising younger players here, rather than the mediocre older guys who might get more playing time this year but who lack any real potential to help us down the road.

Mitchell looks like he could be good one day, but again, Coach Foley might not be the most reliable source here.

Our offensive players would beat our defensive players in Trivial Pursuit, best two of three. Herndon, an aspiring dentist, has the highest academic Aspiration on the team (97) but his scholarly bent separates him widely from most of his platoo-mates. Bachman, Cedeno, and Donaldson, for example, have a COMBINED Aspiration of 23.

Hopefully, we can recruit some defensive players this year who will, at least, push the returning players hard in 2005. To be fair, I haven't seen these guys on the field yet. They could turn out to be better than they look on paper. However, I'm not feeling too confident about our defense right now.

Week 1, 2004

Since we don't begin our season until next week, I was able to spend most of my time on recruiting. We concentrated our efforts on Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, and contacted 11 players. We offered scholarships to seven of them.

The most highly touted player we recruited heavily was Broderick Stokes, a safety from Ravenna, Ohio. He's ranked #20 in the nation at his position by rivals.com, and his grades and SAT scores are solid.

I was reminded of how much work we'll have to do to make the Kent State program into what we think it ought to be. Players kept telling us how disappointed they were in the quality of our academic programs. I might have to shift my recruiting efforts toward students who don't care as much about academics, but that's something I really don't want to do.

I think you're right, Recoil. Program-building is one of the things I enjoy most about college sports simulations. If I take on a powerhouse again, I'm going to crank the difficulty level up almost all the way and see what happens.

Thanks for the comment. :)

Week 2, 2004

Kent State at #25 Iowa

As expected, we went to Iowa and got our ears pinned back. We entered the game as 15-point underdogs, which seemed to a lot of people to be very generous. When the smoke cleared, we had allowed nearly 600 yards of total offense, including 350 on the ground, and went home licking our wounds from a 49-3 loss.

By nature I'm a positive person, but it's tough to find many good things about this game. Our backup running backs looked pretty good running against Iowa's second defense; Jake Barton gained 58 yards rushing and true freshman Clay Lowder got 53 on three carries. Jerry Bouman tried one field goal, and made it. We also didn't get banged up too badly. DE Justin Elliott tore a ligament in his thumb, and he'll be doubtful for next week, but that's the only injury we're dealing with.

On the other hand, we let Bo Ogle run for 250 yards against us. If he goes on to win the Heisman Trophy, he'll have us to thank for getting his season off to a great start.

I know Iowa is a good team, from a power conference, and they're nationally ranked. Still, we shouldn't let them gain yardage at will.

Kent State's record: 0-1.
Kent State's ranking: #102.

Week 3, 2004
Youngstown (#115) at Kent State (#102)


We went into this game as two-point favorites, and for 30 minutes, the game was as close as you'd expect from two teams that were that closely matched on paper. After standing toe to toe with Youngstown for a half, we broke the game open in the third and fourth quarters. It was great to see the players respond the way they did.

I couldn't be more pleased with the way we executed our ground game. We ran the ball 56 times for 407 yards!! Jake Barton and Mickey Helms each got 16 carries; Barton gained 120 yards, Helms 197.

As good as they were, the O-line was incredible. Center Gilbert Barrere was credited with nine key run blocks, guard Edgar Bennefield had seven, and second string tackle Bryant Williams added four.

I liked the way Jack Turner looked, too. He went 15-20 for 201 yards, and except for the pick-six he threw, he made good decisions all day long.

Our defense still struggled, and we allowed another RB to run roughshod over us. We'll have to play better against our conference opponents in order to win.

Still, it's great to get a victory under our belts. There was a decent crowd at the game today, and I think we put on a good show for them.

Barrere, Burton, and Helms all got Player of the Week mention.

Nobody got hurt, which makes it all that much better.

Recruiting News
We're getting our first visit from a recruit this coming week. QB Kendall Page from Valley Forge HS in Cleveland will come to campus and look around. Kendall's stats aren't much to look at, but I think he'd be a decent fit here. He's a good student, reporting a 3.33 GPA and an 1190 SAT.

Kent State's record: 1-1.
Kent State's ranking after the game: #76.

Week 4, 2004
Kent State (#76) at Rutgers (#104)


Going into the season, I believed the Rutgers game would present us with a good, hard test. I thought if we played well, we'd have a chance to win the game, and good teams often separate themselves from the pack by winning away from home.

I was right about the game being a good one, and we're extremely happy with the outcome. How could we not be, after we scored a game-winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining?

After Rutgers scored to take the lead, we got a good kickoff return from Kent Isola, a senior WR. On our first play from scrimmage, Jack Turner hooked up with Amos Willis for 48 yards to the Rutgers 15; from there we kept it on the ground and scored. Gilbert Barrere threw another great block on Jake Barton's TD run.

We opened our offense up a little more against Rutgers. Turner threw 39 times, completing 21 for 294 yards, 2 TD and an INT. Willis and Darrin Wampus each caught five passes.

Our running game featured great balance, too. Barton, Mickey Helms, and FB Courtney Kennedy all rushed for between 41 and 59 yards. Barton and Turner were mentioned on the Players of the Week list.

The defense looked a lot better, too. Our senior LB, Isaac Herndon, was all over the field--he made 16 tackles and earned the game ball (the MVP award). Lorenzo Bernier was in on 10 stops, and Hunter Mitchell got two sacks.

At 2-1, we are right where I wanted us to be after three games.


Recruiting Update
Four more players are visiting this week:

• OT Robert Barker
• OLB Jim Goodwin
• RB Levon Browning
• K Patrick John Sy

Sy is also visiting Ohio, so it looks like we're battling a MAC opponent for his services.

Only one of our other top recruits has announced an official visit. ILB Roderick Turnbull is visiting Youngstown this week.

We've offered scholarships to a total of 24 players, hoping to fill up our 16-player recruiting class.

Kent State's record: 2-1.

Week 5, 2004
#44 Akron (2-1) at #71 Kent State (2-1)
TV4



We're developing a formula for victory that I really like a lot. When we're at our best, we keep the ball on the ground and wear teams down, and take control of the game during the second half. That's what we did this week, and we came away with a big win against our biggest rival in our conference opener.

I think our guys were upset about the fact they were seven-point underdogs at home, and they took it out on the Zips.

We ran the ball 63 times for 340 net yards and six touchdowns. Courtney Kennedy, our big fullback, led the way with 120 yards on 16 carries, and Mickey Nelms added 95 more on 17 carries. Not surprisingly, we won the possession battle by a wide margin; we had the ball for nearly 38 minutes. When we did throw, we were fairly efficient.

For the second straight week, nobody on our team got hurt. Justin Elliott is able to play with his bad thumb, so we've been very, very lucky.

A decent crowd came out to watch us, but there were still quite a few empty seats in our stadium. I hope that soon becomes a thing of the past.

Speaking of our stadium, I haven't told you anything about it yet. Dix Stadium opened in 1969, and it seats 29,300 fans. It has a FieldTurf playing surface.

Our local economy is considered Pretty Good, as are our Community Loyalty, Alumni Loyalty, and Student Goodwill. We sold 17,900 season tickets this year. Our seating breakdown and ticket prices look like this:



Recruiting Update

One more recruit has announced he will make an official visit to Kent State:

• OLB Wayne Merrill

No other Kent State recruit has any new visits lined up, and none of the players we've offered a scholarship has signed with anyone. I'm expecting the recruiting action to heat up soon.

Kent State's record: 3-1; 1-0 in MAC play.

Week 6, 2004
#49 Kent State (3-1, 1-0) at #72 Central Michigan (1-2, 0-0)


Central Michigan turned out to be a better team than anyone expected. Their defense played a terrific game, and they were very opportunistic on offense. We turned the ball over four times--three interceptions and a fumble--and when you do that, you have a hard time winning football games.

I have to give some props to Isaac Herndon. He was in on 16 more tackles today, making him third in the nation in total tackles. Isaac is a real playmaker--a big, strong, active middle linebacker who simply knows how to play football. I wasn't expecting him to be quite as good a player as he is.

I checked the NCAA team statistics, and we're sixth among DI teams in rushing yards, and seventh in yards per rushing attempt. Our young offensive line is really jelling, and Gilbert Barrere and Edgar Bennefield are two of the most productive blockers in the conference.

Not much else to say. I tip my cap to Central Michigan for defending their turf and winning a tough, defensive game.

Recruiting Update

We're still waiting on our first commitment, but one of the players who was high on our list signed with someone else. ILB Roderick Turnbull, who would have been a great addition, is going to Youngstown.

OT Brad Chandler, from Pennsylvania, told us this week that he'd like to make an official visit to Kent State. Another OT we've been recruiting, Tyrus Boggs, is going to visit Lima. Our staff thinks Boggs is the better player, but Chandler likes us more at this point.

Kent State's record: 3-2, 1-1 in MAC play.

Week 7, 2004
#55 Kent State (3-2, 1-1) at #83 Miami of Ohio (2-3, 1-1)



Ouch. This one hurts.

If you look at the line score, that "28" for Miami in the fourth quarter really stands out. Don't be fooled, however; the game wasn't that close before then. We were already down 21-6, and it didn't feel like we were really in the game.

We were actually favored to win this one, which I wouldn't have expected at the beginning of the season. The Redhawks played better against us than they've played all year, and that's to their credit.

Once again, we had trouble stopping other teams from running the ball against us. When your opponent gains over seven yards a carry against you, you'll need to have a bunch of breaks go your way if you're going ot keep him off the scoreboard. More often, the outcome looks like what we saw this week: seven touchdowns, all but one scored on ground or set up by long, grind-it-out drives.

Jake Barton played well for us--10 carries, 58 yards--and so did Isaac Herndon. Herndon had another 12 tackles and a sack, and he broke up a pass. He got Player of the Week mention, and I think he's in position for All-MAC recognition, too.

Recruiting Update

When it rains, it pours! Fifteen players informed us that they're making official visits to our campus this week:

• RB Randall Gillespie
• RB Jonathan McSherry
• WR Joey Koehler
• TE Shaun Guidry
• C Colin Cunningham
• G B.J. Webster
• G Tommie Wallack
• T Tyrus Boggs
• T Leon Palmer
• DT Brandon Caskey
• OLB Ross Bowen
• CB Mitch Clark
• S Adrian Castillo
• S Broderick Stokes

I had previously been targeting very few players who were top students, guys with GPAs better than 3.00 and SATs higher than 1150 or so. I wasn't getting as much interest from them as I liked, so this past week I contacted players with slightly lower academic credentials. Several of them immediately scheduled visits, but so did some of the guys we'd been recruiting all along.

We also received our first commitment. OLB Wayne Merrill from South Range High School in North Lima, Ohio is the first member of our incoming class. He's the #100 player in Ohio, and is considered the #6 OLB in the state. However, he's a marginal student and has a history of some attitude problems, so he might present us with a few challenges.

I suppose that could be par for the course for a while, before we rebuild the image of the Kent State program.

Kent State's record: 3-3, 1-2 in MAC play.

Week 8, 2004
#73 Marshall (2-3, 2-0) at #76 Kent State (3-3, 1-3)


When Isaac Herndon picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the second quarter, we took a 21-3 lead and it looked like we were home free.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t end the game at halftime. We didn’t score again, Marshall put 30 more points on the board, and we lost another one.
Marshall has a better-than-average offense, and they demonstrated that fact against us this week. Jeremy Cole, their QB, played well, and Freddie McWilliams ran for over 140 yards. They’re both seniors, and they stepped up.

We had to play without one of our seniors, WR Amos Willis. He separated his shoulder, and he probably won’t be back to full strength for another three weeks.

Mickey Helms (12 carries, 93 yards) had a good game, and so did Jack Turner (14-20, 130 yards, TD). And Isaac Herndon was great again—14 more tackles and that pick-six. He’s playing himself into some serious consideration for post-season honors.

Now we’re 1-3 in the Mid-American Conference. We have to turn things around quickly.

Recruiting Update

• RB Randall Gillespie
• TE Shaun Guidry
• C Colin Cunningham
• T Tyrus Boggs
• P Pat Sawyer
• DT Brandon Caskey
• OLB Russ Bowen
• CB Mitch Clark

Sawyer, Bowen, and Boggs are ranked among the 1000 best players in the nation, according to rivals.com. Six of them are listed among the best 100 players at their position, and all of them are on their state's Top 100 list.





Kent State's record: 3-4, 1-3 in MAC play.

Week 9, 2004

We didn't have a game this week, so we went back to work with a vengeance. We also had more time to concentrate on building our future through our recruiting efforts.

Recruiting Update

Four players accepted offers to play for us this week:

• QB Josh Roaf
• G Seth Gourdine
• ILB Darnell Warren
• S Adrian Castillo

Signing Castillo is HUGE for us! He's ranked #8 in the nation among players at his position, he carries a 3.73 GPA, and he scored 1270 on his SAT. I confess; I didn't think we had much of a chance to land Adrian, after I saw the other schools he was visiting: Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, and Michigan State.

We needed to bring in a quarterback, and we think Roaf will be a good one. He's the #724 player in the nation, and the #7 player in a particularly strong group of Ohio QBs.

Three more scholarship offers remain unclaimed, and hopefully we'll have a full recruiting class next week.

Week 10, 2004
#120 Ohio (1-7, 1-4) at #86 Kent State (3-4, 1-3)


This was a game we could have won--perhaps SHOULD have won--and we didn't.

Once again, our ability to stop other teams from running the ball hurt us. Horace Tauke added his name to the list of backs who have rushed for over 100 yards against us. He's a good running back, but we have a way of making good running backs look like great ones.

It was a cold, rainy day, and neither team could pass the ball effectively. We moved the ball on the ground pretty well, with Mickey Helms (14 carries, 116 yards) and Courtney Kennedy (9 carries, 86 yards) doing the bulk of the work.

We didn't have WR Darrin Wampus this week, because he got his knee scoped; Amos Willis showed great toughness by coming back ahead of schedule from his shoulder injury and catching two short TD passes.

Isaac Herndon had another typical Isaac Herndon game: 15 tackles. He now leads all Division I players in tackles. I know that's partially a result of the fact that teams run the ball so much against us, but Isaac also has 14 tackles for losses, and only one of them is a sack. That means he's stuffing a lot of
ballcarriers--many more than most linebackers do.

Recruiting Update
We signed three more players this week:

• QB Deon Scribner
• RB Blaine Kooistra
• G Tommie Wallack

With their signings, our 16-player recruiting class is complete. Looking back, I wish we'd signed a defensive end. We had shots at a couple of good ones, but lost out in each case.

After the season's over, I'll post lots of information about the players in the recruiting Class of 2005.

Week 11, 2004
#95 Kent State (3-5, 1-4) at #94 Buffalo (3-5, 2-4)


According to the computer rankings, this was the closest possible matchup in all of Division I football. Our defense got tired of getting sand kicked in its face, and stood up for itself against Buffalo.

We allowed the Bulls only 77 yards rushing all day, and only 117 yards passing. As a result, our defensive players could come off the field with their heads held high, an experience they haven't had very often this year.

Isaac Herndon had "only" 11 tackles, but he was all over the field, making Buffalo account for him on every down. We also put great pressure on their QB all day. DE Don Mok and DT Ian Donaldson each got a sack. They're our leaders in that category this year: Mok has 7.5 and Donaldson 6.5 to their credit.

I feel really badly for our cornerback, Terrell Fisher. He's out for the year with a compound fracture of his leg. He's a senior, so he's obviously played his last game for the Golden Flashes. I think the defense wanted to play especially well for Terrell, who is one of the happiest, most positive guys on the team.

Offensively, we got our ground game cranked up early, with a great long run by backup RB Clay Lowder setting the tone for the entire day. Mickey Helms (12 carries, 112 yards) had another good day, and our big FB, Courtney Kennedy ran hard all day (10 carries, 52 yards).

We needed this one, if for no other reason than to feel better about the direction we're heading as the season draws to a close.

Kent State's record: 4-5, 2-4 in MAC play.

Week 12, 2004
#99 Eastern Michigan (3-6,3-3) at #86 Kent State (4-5, 2-4)


On a dismal day for football--35 degrees and rain that felt more like sleet--we spotted Eastern Michigan an early touchdown and then shut them out the rest of the way.

Five different players ran for touchdowns as we kept the ball on the ground , controlling the tempo of the game and the clock. We rushed for 301 yards and kept possession of the ball for over 36 minutes, and we picked up 31 first downs.
Mickey Helms (20 carries, 101 yards) and Courtney Kennedy (14 carries, 97 yards) gave us a great one-two punch again today.

It was great to see Adam Rodriguez score a touchdown today. He's a terrific football player who, unfortunately, plays the same position as Courtney Kennedy. I wish Adam weren't a senior this year, because he'd be a great foundation for our offense next year.


Any time your running game is as effective as ours was today, your O-line has to play well, and ours was fantastic today. We gave Gilbert Barrere a game ball for his 7 key run blocks in 14 opportunties, but we could have just as easily honored Edgar Bennefield (6/11) or Phillip Harrison (5/9).

After having very few problems with injuries, we've been hit hard the last few weeks. Very early in the game, QB Jack Turner went out with a knee injury, and he wasn't able to return. The diagnosis wasn't good; Jack tore cartilage in his knee and is probably not going to play again this year. He should recover fully and be ready for spring practice, however. Benjamin Summers came in and played well, and he'll be the starter the rest of the way.

TE Spencer Alston got hurt, too; he tore a calf muscle and, like Turner, he's probably out for the year. Freshman Butch Farler stepped in for Alston. Butch is a better receiver than Spencer is, but Spencer is a better blocker.

Our defense played exceptionally well again, too, holding Eastern Michigan to under 200 total yards. They've allowed only 17 points in their last two games, and I'm thrilled to see them finish so strong.

We have one game left, and we still have a lot to play for. We can finish the season with a winning record, and we can finish .500 in the conference. If Mickey has a big game (161 yards) he can reach the 1000-yard plateau; he'd have had it easily if we didn't spread the carries around as evenly as we do. Both Courtney Kennedy and Jake Barton have good chances to exceed 500 rushing yards.

I'm feeling a lot better about the season after the last two games.

Kent State's record: 5-5, 3-4 in MAC play.

Week 14, 2004
#75 Kent State (5-5, 3-4) at #51 Central Florida (6-4, 6-1)
TV 4


We knew we'd have a tough game on our hands this week. Central Florida, which for some inexplicable reason is in the Mid-American NORTH division, came into the game 6-1 in the conference. No matter what happened today, they had secured a spot in the MAC title game. I hoped we'd ride the momentum of our last two games into Orlando and catch the Golden Knights off guard.

That didn't happen, and it's to UCF's credit that they didn't let it happen.

The Golden Knights roughed us up pretty good. Louie Kuhlman rushed for 198 yards, and his backup, Marlon Hazam, had 76 more.

They ran behind their excellent tackle, Jeff Logan, who will almost certainly make All-MAC, first team. He's the best offensive lineman we've seen all year long.

Kuhlman is the second leading rusher in the conference, with well over 1000 yards going into the game, so it's not like we let a putz run all over us. Still, we shouldn't ever let a back hang nearly 200 yards on us.

In the final game of his collegiate career, Isaac Herndon made 14 tackles, including five more TFL. Kuhlman apparently had very nice things to say about Isaac in a post-game interview. He said Isaac is the best defensive player in the conference, and that their game plan involved making sure #40 couldn't run wild and make plays all day long.

The UCF defense shut us down all day, and we didn't ever get things rolling. Benjamin Summers had a rough day, and their D-line was really tough.

We didn't even get to enjoy some real Florida weather. It was 50 degrees and rainy at game time.

Next week, Central Florida will play Northern Illinois, the South Division champion, in the MAC championship game. The winner will play in the Raisin Bowl out in Fresno.

Kent State's record: 5-6, 3-5 in MAC play.

Postseason Notes, Part One

• Central Florida defeated Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference championship, 28-13.
• However, because Notre Dame earned a spot in a BCS bowl, the Golden Knights went to the Aloha Bowl, instead of taking the MAC champion's automatic bid to the Raisin Bowl. Out in Hawaii, the Golden Knights lost to UNLV, 34-14.
• Northern Illinois traveled to Fresno, CA for the Raisin Bowl. There, #20 Kansas State beat them, 45-13.
• #1 Miami (FL) faced #2 Nebraska for the national championship in the Rose Bowl. The Hurricanes won a classic, 23-20.
• Texas Tech's junior QB, Sammie Knight, won the Heisman Trophy. The Del Valle, TX native completed 305 of 490 passes for 42 touchdowns, and led the Red Raiders to a 10-3 record and a victory over California in the Fiesta Bowl.

Here are Kent State's final statistics for the 2004 season. Graduating seniors are highlighted in blue.



Kent State placed 11th in the nation in rushing yards, and tied for 3rd in yards per carry.

Postseason Notes, Part 2

Some other observations about the 2004 season at Kent State:

• RB Louie Kuhlman of Central Florida, who beat us up so badly in the last game of the season, was named the Mid-American Conference MVP and the Offensive Player of the Year. I can't argue with that choice.
• Central Michigan ILB Blake Ewbank was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year. I can actually understand how the voters chose him over our Isaac Herndon--Ewbank was a beast, finishing with 13 fewer tackles than Herndon did, but recording 6.5 sacks.
• As expected, two Golden Flashes earned First Team All-MAC honors: junior center Gilbert Barrere and senior middle linebacker Isaac Herndon.
• Senior fullback Courtney Kennedy made the All-MAC Second Team.
• Kent State's team GPA was 2.86. Not great, but not terrible, either.
• Our overall academic reputation is pretty lousy, however. We score 32 here, which is 119th among Division I teams. Only New Mexico State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss (the SEC hates this), Louisiana Tech, and Troy are considered weaker academically than Kent State. I think that's a disgrace. I'm going to make sure Kent State improves here, and soon.
• The squad's top students include S William Shipman (3.86, Social Work), G Percy Wheeler (3.80, German), RB Jake Barton (3.74, Metallurgy), OLB Tim Gomez (3.74, Marketing), and G Jonathan Frost (3.74, Trigonometry).
• The worst students are QB Moe Peebles (1.74, Trigonometry), P Richie Bates (1.74, Geography), ILB Joseph Houston (1.74, Geology), CB Oliver Schultz (1.40, Marketing), and WR Mike Hughes (1.38, Random Number Theory). I cut two walk-ons who would have made the bottom five if they were still on the team.
• Peebles and Schultz are seniors, so I won't have to worry about their crappy academic performance dragging us down any longer. I'd cut the other lousy students, but they're all popular players, and I'd worry aobut the effect their loss would have on our team chemistry. Hughes has the ability and the desire to make better grades; hopefully he'll improve next year.
• Mickey Helms pulled a 2.22, but he failed his Marketing class. I suspect Mickey had a bad case of senioritis.
• Our recruiting class was ranked #77 in the nation. It was the eighth-best in the 14-team Mid-American Conference. Marshall and Bowling Green, both of whom had recruiting classes ranked in the top 30, scored the best.

Professor Laertes' grades for our season look like this:


Not bad. It's clear Laertes thought we overachieved in Recruiting Performance, isn't it?

Well, let's kiss 2004 good bye, and move on to 2005...

The Class of 2005
 

In my excitement to move on to the 2005 season, I forgot to collect the information about Kent State's recruiting class of 2005. I wanted to make it a postseason feature, since National Signing Day happens in early February. So much for my added touch of realism! :)

Since I've already ended the 2004 season, this look at the incoming Golden Flashes recruits will reflect their status as they begin their first season as college players. Their listed weights are probably a little higher than they were as recruits. I won't be able to list any of their statistics for you. And instead of GPAs and SAT scores, I'll list their Aspiration and Intelligence ratings.

HSR: national high school ranking, if they made the top 1000 players on rivals.com's list
POS: national ranking among players at their position
STR: ranking among the Top 100 players in the state

At any rate, here are the 16 scholarship players of the Class of 2005:

• Castillo, Sawyer, and Bowen look like the prize members of this year's class. All three represent significant upgrades, both in terms of talent and academic performance, over the players KSU has been attracting in the past.
• After looking at some of the Aspiration and Intelligence scores here, I see how careful I need to be about recruiting guys with GPA's under 3.00 and SAT's in the 850 range. Gillespie, Cunningham, and Merrill all fit that description, and all three look like they'll struggle with college coursework.
• In addition to the scholarship recruits, there's a promising freshman walkon: DE Corwin Heller. Corwin was the #89 player in Ohio last year, and he brings great academic credentials, too (84 Aspiration, 77 Intelligence, Accounting).

2005 Kent State Schedule
 

Preseason 2005

Our 2005 schedule has been released, and it looks like this. Each of our opponents' preseason computer ranking is listed, too.



Home games are listed in ALL CAPS.
Mid-American Conference games are highlighted in blue.

Our preseason ranking is #80, considerably better than last year's #107.

We open the season with games against two Buckeye Conference opponents. We should win our hope opener against Mansfield, and I think we have a shot at beating Dayton, too. We try to play at least one major conference opponent a year, and this time we'll make the short trip to West Virginia to play the Mountaineers. Once again, if we complete our out-of-conference schedule at 2-1, I'll be happy.

Ball State tied for last in the MAC South last year, which is why they're ranked so low this season. We ought to be able to win that game, especially since it's in Kent. The trip to Miami will present us with a challenge, and the Redhawks will be favored to win that one.

We'll need to win the Ohio game to contend for the MAC North title, and if we can win at least one of the two road games that follow, we will probably feel like we're in the thick of things. Circle the Marshall game now; I think it could make or break our chances for a bowl game.

Weather could make a big difference when we go to Buffalo in Week 12. That game, and the rivalry game at Akron, will both be tough, and I hope we have lots to play for at that point in the season.

Unfortunately, I hit my "pessimistic prediction" right on the nose last year. I hope that's not the case again this year.

My optimistic prediction: 8-3, 6-2 in the conference, and a chance to play in the MAC Championship Game.

My pessimistic prediction: 4-7, 3-5 in the conference.

2005 Preview: Meet the Offense
 

Seven starters return from last year's Kent State team, including all five members of the offensive line. Here's the 2005 KSU offensive starting lineup, along with the key offensive reserves:


Turner will probably throw the ball more this year than he did in '04, and he'll have to prove he's up to the task. Barton, too, will carry a heavier load than last year's starting tailback, Mickey Helms, did; the Flashes don't have a fullback like Courtney Kennedy to share the load. Guidry's superior potential gives him the inside track at TE. Barrere leads a solid O-line; he's a first team, All-MAC choice. Oddly enough, Bennefield's current and potential ratings both DROPPED from where they were this time last year. Bouman is a fairly reliable placekicker.

Summers failed to impress in limited action last year. Gillespie should get quite a few touches this year, and Lowder returns after a productive freshman year. Alston might get some playing time at FB. Williams played well as a reserve last year.

Both freshman QBs, Josh Roaf and Deon Scribner, are redshirting, as are RB Blaine Kooistra and all the true freshman O-linemen.

2005 Preview: Meet the Defense
 

The Kent State defense got pushed around too much last year, especially by teams with good running attacks. The unit will have a new look this year, as All-MAC middle linebacker Isaac Herndon and three members of the secondary will need to be replaced. Hopefully, several young players will give the KSU defense a new, tougher edge.



Mok and Donaldson demonstrated the ability to put pressure on opposing QBs; this year, they and the other D-linemen have to prove they can stop the run. Bowen might be overmatched as a true freshman, but with his potential, how can I keep him off the field? Geary must step in at Herndon's old position. Clark won the starting job at corner as a true frosh. Castillo could already be the best player on the KSU defense. Punter Sawyer can turn the field around in a hurry.

Yaffin is a pash rush specialist. Preferred walk-on Heller could contribute right away. Merrill will play a lot, and might even start in Bernier's place. Dawkins is the nickel corner. Shipman is a special teams headhunter.

Week 1, 2005
#121 Mansfield at #80 Kent State
TV5


We couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the new season!

A nice crowd came out to Dix Stadium on a picture-perfect day and watched us play as good a game as I’ve seen us play in my short tenure here at Kent State. We got the job done in every aspect of the game—offense, defense, and special teams.

Jake Barton has been bothered with a turf toe injury, so we used him sparingly. That meant true freshman Randall Gillespie got the majority of the carries, and he responded brilliantly: 25 carries, 176 yards, two touchdowns. Another back, senior Devin Tippett, broke loose for a nice 48-yard run. It was great to see Devin perform well.

QB Jack Turner had a good, efficient game, and we didn’t turn the ball over all day.

On defense, we took on a very good running back and shut him down. Derek Brandt gained 971 yards last year, and we held him to 22 yards today. After you deduct the yardage from our sacks, Mansfield had one net yard rushing.

Speaking of sacks, senior DE Darrin Yaffin recorded 2.5 sacks today, which equaled his total for all of 2004.

The true freshmen we played on defense all did a good job. OLB Ross Bowen was in on five tackles, one for a loss. Reserve OLB Wayne Merrill had two tackles. CB Mitch Clark had three tackles, a TFL, intercepted a pass, and returned it 32 yards. S Adrian Castillo was in on five stops, and returned two kickoffs for 59 yards.

On a day like today, football is a lot of fun.

Recruiting Update
We already have a recruit visiting us: offensive guard Kenneth Calixto from North Royalton, Ohio. His dad played at Kent State in the late 70s, and Kenneth grew up rooting for the Golden Flashes. He’s a big kid—6-5, 282 pounds—and he’s a good student, reporting a 3.18 GPA and an 1180 SAT.

Week 2, 2005
#21 Kent State (1-0) at #117 Dayton (0-1)



Wow, that was close!

I thought the computer was being very generous when it ranked us #21 this week. Granted, we did win big against Mansfield, but still...

I have to hand it to Dayton; they fought us hard for sixty minutes, and then some. It took a clutch field goal from Jerry Bouman to tie the score at 17 and send the game into overtime, and then our defense asserted itself.

First, Corwin Heller made a big hit that kept Max Quayle out of the end zone on a conversion attempt. Quayle is a tough runner, and he'd had a good day against us.

On Dayton's next possession, we sacked their QB on two straight plays, after they completed a pass to our 6-yard line. Don Mok and Hunter Mitchell got him the first time, and Darrin Yaffin made a fantastic play and got him again. Those plays forced Dayton to kick a field goal on fourth down. They made it, but it put us in position to win the game with a touchdown, and Devin Tippett delivered for us.

Tippett has given us some impressive backfield depth. Jake Barton still isn't completely healthy, although he got us 106 yards on 19 carries today. Randall Gillespie (8-50) and Tippett (5-30) are really helping take the load off Jake while his turf toe clears up.

Shawn Guidry asserted himself in our passing game today. That's the kind of performance we expected to get when we recruited him.

Our defense played another good game. The score is deceptive; we allowed only 17 points in regulation. Adrian Castillo (15 tackles, 2 TFL) and Ross Bowen (17 tackles, 3 TFL) were making plays all over the place. It's still early, and we haven't gotten into the conference season yet, but it looks like they're both ready for college ball.

Recruiting Update
Another player will be visiting us, and he could fill a crucial recruiting need for us. Marlon Larkin is a good placekicker from Gnadenhutten, not far from here. We've offered a scholarship to him, and we've also offered one to Dwight Ashworth, a kicker from Pennsylvania.

Kent State's record: 2-0.

Week 3, 2005
#29 Kent State (2-0) at #58 West Virginia (1-1)
TV5



Now you see why you can't always trust the computer rankings so early in the season.

We were under no illusions about being better than West Virginia, and the Mountaineers showed us how much we need to improve before we're ready to stand toe to toe with the prestige teams in our sport.

We managed only six first downs, and we scored all our touchdowns on turnovers. It was exciting to see three of our guys bust loose on those long runs, though!

Josh Dawkins has returned two interceptions for touchdowns in two years. He busted one loose against Central Michigan last year.

Vince Geary's 99-yard pick six was the longest interception return I've ever seen. He actually looked pretty good doing it, too. Vince played some running back in high school, and he looked like he remembered a few things.

Spencer Alston's touchdown came after Devin Tippett had made a nice run, got stuck hard, and fumbled the ball. It popped up into Spencer's hands, and he was off to the races.

Otherwise, there's not much to say. Geoff Shellenberger, a senior who was an All-Big East quarterback last year had a great day against us. So did Levon Brewer, who we knew would be a lot to handle. Our inexperienced secondary got roughed up, but they're still holding their heads high.

We'll open our MAC season next week, at home against Ball State.

No news on the recruiting front this week.

Kent State's record: 2-1.

Week 4, 2005
#82 Ball State (1-1) at #73 Kent State (2-1)


I have to hand it to Ball State and their coach, Tony Schilz. They looked at the film of our game against West Virginia and developed a game plan that attacked our secondary, especially our inexperienced cornerbacks. Wally Harmon completed 27 of 38 passes and threw three TDs, and their defense shut us down almost as thoroughly as West Virginia's did.

Randall Gillespie missed the game with a sore hamstring, and Jake Barton wasn't feeling good, either. That put more of the burden on QB Jack Turner, and he didn't play well (10-22, 63 yards, 3 INT).

I stayed up all night one night last week trying to decide if I should pull the redshirt off one of our young QBs, Josh Roaf or Deon Scribner. For now, I've decided to stick with Jack. He's a senior, he's popular with his teammates, and they consider him a leader. I'm concerned about the effect benching him might have on the team's morale.

The one thing we did well was attack their quarterback. Harmon had a great day, but he spent quite a bit of time on his butt, too. Don Mok got him four times, which earned him some Player of the Week love. All in all, we recorded eight sacks, and hurried Harmon into bad throws twice.

We have a bye week coming up, so we'll get back to work and concentrate on recruiting a little more.

Recruiting Update
Two more players have lined up official visits:

• WR Carlton Looman
• K Dwight Ashworth

Both Looman and Ashworth would help us fill fairly immediate recruiting needs. We're looking at several players at both positions, but Looman and Ashworth seem more interested in us than anyone else we're recruiting at WR or K.

Kent State's record: 2-2, 0-1 in MAC play.

Week 5, 2005

Bye week.

Recruiting Update
We received our first commitment this week. G Kenneth Calixto, who grew up a Kent State fan, will be making some boyhood dreams come true when he suits up for us next year.

WR Tito Sexton is visiting this week, too.

Week 6, 2005
#71 Kent State (2-2, 0-1) at #103 Miami of Ohio (0-3, 0-1)



We put together a nice fourth quarter comeback this week, and won a tough road game against Miami. They're a lot tougher than that 0-3 record would indicate.

Recently, we've been making Everett Hanson a bigger part of our offense, and this week it really paid off. People look at him and underestimate how tough he is. In the fourth quarter today, he took a short pass over the middle and broke it open for a long touchdown.

Jack Turner didn't throw often, but he was accurate (11 for 16) and productive. I'm glad I stuck with him.

Wayne Merrill has responded well to starting at OLB. This week he tied Adrian Castillo for the team lead with 11 tackles. In fact, all the freshmen seem to be adjusting to the demands we're placing upon them.

It's always great to win a conference game, especially on the road. Let's hope we can keep these good times rolling!

Recruiting Update
No news here. No new commitments, no new visits. Things should heat up a little bit in the coming weeks.

Kent State's record: 3-2, 1-1 in MAC play.

Week 7, 2005
#112 Ohio (0-4, 0-2) at #68 Kent State (3-2, 1-1)



For the second straight week, a team that came into their game against us without any wins took us into overtime, and this time they beat us.

We moved the ball well all game long, but we had trouble putting it in the end zone. In fact, we couldn't even get too deep into Ohio territory before their defense stopped us, or we stopped ourselves.

Jake Barton had a career day: 24 carries, 236 yards. Gilbert Barrere and Edgar Bennefield kept opening big holes for him up the middle, and Jake did the rest. We rushed for 343 yards; when you accomplish something like that, you figure you're going to win. Not today, however.

We really needed this one, and we couldn't finish the job.

Recruiting Update
It would have been nice to get some good news here, to take away a little of the sting of our loss. Unfortunately, there's nothing to report.

Kent State's record: 3-3, 1-2 in MAC play.

Week 8, 2005
#74 Kent State (3-3, 1-2) at #64 Eastern Michigan (3-2, 2-0)
TV5



One thing I can say about this year: things have seldom ever been boring!

Our guys felt like they had to win this week. It's still too early in the season to talk about "must win" games, but this one came close. We needed it, if for no other reason than to get our heads back on straight after the disappointing loss to Ohio.

Once again, Jake Barton was the star of the game for us. He's shown a lot of toughness this year; he's been bothered by a turf toe all year long, and he's playing through the discomfort. The other players are impressed by his dedication. He gained 127 yards on 23 carries, scored the game-winning touchdown, and made a key catch on fourth-and-six to keep a drive going that culminated in Devin Tippett's touchdown run.

Ronnie Brady, another senior, caught a touchdown pass today, and he led the team with four receptions. He wrestled the ball away from a defender in the end zone today, a play that got our guys fired up--we'd been down 14-0, and EMU seemed to have all the momentum going their way.

We learned today that MLB Vince Geary will be out for the rest of the year with repetitive concussion syndrome. Vince had big shoes to fill, taking over the position that Isaac Herndon played so well for us last year. Tyrone Newsome, an athletic sophomore, started in Vince's place today and made eight tackles. Tyrone also gives the ability to bring even more heat when we blitz.

The weather today was beautiful, and we gave a regional TV audience a good show. And, we demonstrated once again how much more fun it is to win a game late in the fourth quarter than it is to lose one.

Recruiting Update
I thought our recruiting season would intensify soon, and this week, it did. Fifteen more players told us they were making official visits to Kent State!

The 15 prospective Golden Flashes run the gamut. Among them are Bennie Horton, the top offensive tackle in Ohio, and Will Clinton, a tight end from Pennsylvania who's the #3 player at his position in the nation. Either one of them would be a big prize for us. We also have players on our list that we think are better than the "experts" do, guys we believe will fill a role for us and who aren't being recruited heavily by anyone else...not yet, at least.

Last year, I learned to be patient, and wait a little longer for the guys I really wanted. Hopefully that lesson will pay off this time around.

Kent State's record: 4-3, 2-2 in MAC play.

Week 9, 2005

Bye week.

Recruiting Update
Three more players commit to us this week, and we're pretty excited about them:

• TE Rusty Flynn, Proctorville, OH
• WR Albert Guenther, Concord, NC
• K Dwight Ashworth, Harrisburg, PA

Flynn is the #21 TE in this year's recruiting class. He comes from a program that prepares its players especially well for college football, so he could get onto the field pretty quickly. He can also play DE, which makes him that much more attractive.

Guenther's stats are crazy good; he caught 79 passes for almost 1900! yards and 14 TDs. I'm not sure he's as good as our assistants say he is, and he's raw, but we decided to roll the dice with him We don't usually take many players from down South, but Albert caught our eye early on.

Signing a kicker was a must, since Jerry Bouman is a senior, and we missed out on Patrick John Sy last year (we'll see him when we play Akron). Ashworth has a powerful leg, and we think he'll be a very good player.

All three are extremely good students, too. Flynn has a 3.95 GPA, and all three scored at least 1230 on their SAT.

Week 10, 2005
#61 Kent State (4-3, 2-2) at #37 Central Florida (6-1, 4-0)



We worked hard during the bye week, and it paid off in the form of another huge road win. Our offensive line executed almost flawlessly and, as a result, we were able to put points on the board against a defense that had allowed 33 points in its last six games combined.

C Gilbert Barrere dominated the middle of the line--we credited him with 11 key run blocks in 22 opportunities. We rushed for 219 yards, as Jake Barton, Randall Gillespie, and Devin Tippett all had good days. Tippett bounced one outside for 49 yards to set up Clay Lowder's one-yard plunge late in the third quarter.

We did a decent job of containing Vinny Harvey, CFU's talented running back, and we kept the pressure on their quarterback all day long.

Now we're on a roll, with two big road wins in a row. We come back home next week to play a very good Marshall team.

Recruiting Update
Three more players announced their intention to play their college ball at Kent State, including two tough O-linemen:

• G Conrad Piper, Attica, OH
• T Roosevelt Godfrey, Columbus, OH
• DE Quinn Cristal, Chicago, IL

Piper isn't very big--254 pounds--but he demonstrates excellent technique, particularly in pass protection. He's the #2 OG in Ohio this year, and I'm even more impressed with him than our assistants are.

Godfrey, on the other hand, is huge, weighing in at nearly 300 pounds. Not surprisingly, he's a devastating run blocker who ought to fit in well with our system. We think he's underrated--he's a product of the outstanding program at Walnut Ridge High School.

Cristal fills a big recruiting need for us, too. He's a smallish DE who excels at rushing the passer off the edge, the same kind of player we have now in Don Mok. In a perfect world, he'd be bigger, but he's 6'4" and might put on weight in college. We'll redshirt him if we can, but we might need him right away.

Again, all three signees are solid academically, too.

Kent State's record: 5-3, 3-2 in MAC play.

Week 11, 2005
#44 Marshall (6-2, 4-1) at #55 Kent State (5-3, 3-2)


We got whooped. Plain and simple, we got whooped.

Marshall ran and passed against our defense virtually at will. They forced four turnovers and capitalized on each one. We fell behind quickly, which forced us out of our preferred offensive mindset; we had to throw more than we like to, and we weren't able to do so effectively. Jack Turner went only 14-33, and threw three picks.

On the brighter side, we got a good game out of WR Darrin Wampus, whose season had been a disappointment so far. He's failed to develop as much as we'd like, and he lost his starting job to Everett Hanson. Darrin caught six passes for 97 yards.

The Tyrones were both very active on defense. MLB Tyrone Newsome is adjusting to his new role as a starter as well as we hoped he would do; he made nine tackles and intercepted a pass. DT Tyrone Lawhorn played a lot because Ian Donaldson is banged up a little bit, and Lawhorn was in on ten tackles.

We had been in sole possession of third place in the MAC North, but this loss drops us into a fourth-place tie. We really need to bounce back against winless Buffalo next week.

Recruiting Update
The eighth, ninth, and tenth members of our recruiting class signed this week:

• WR Carlton Looman, Dayton, OH
• DT Ethan Drake, Erie, PA
• CB Bruce Horton, Neenah, WI

We weren't surprised that Looman committed to us, only that he waited this long to do so. We were the only school he visited, and he seemed pretty excited about coming to Kent State all along. He's a tough kid who isn't afraid to come across the middle, but he's very raw.

Despite being a little on the small side for a DT, Drake is particularly strong at the point of attack. Like Looman, he's going to need a redshirt year to prepare himself for the rigors of college football, because his high school preparation wasn't terribly intense. Ethan is also ranked first in his high school class academically, with a 3.99 GPA. He scored 1490 on his SAT.

Horton's stats leap off the page at you--especially his 12 interceptions--but, like the other two guys who committed this week, he has a lot of developing to do. He could make an impact as a return man, too.

Kent State's record: 5-4, 3-3 in MAC play.

Week 12, 2005
#58 Kent State (5-4, 3-3) at #125 Buffalo (0-9, 0-6)



I thought weather might make a difference in this game, but it wasn't a factor. It was 44 degrees and sunny at game time. Buffalo wasn't expected to be a very good team this year and, if anything, they weren't even as good as people thought they'd be. Until today, that is.

Buffalo did to us what we hoped we'd do to them: control the ball, gain yards on the ground, and play consistent defense. They scored first, controlled the line of scrimmage, and won their first game of the season.

Jake Barton had a good game (17 carries, 142 yards, TD), but he was the only player who really stood out for us.

To make matters worse, we lost our good freshman OLB, Wayne Merrill, to an elbow injury. He won't play in our season finale against Akron.

If we beat the Zips, we'll finish the season with a winning record. We'll also end up at .500 in conference play. Those goals are worth playing for, and it will be Senior Day. We'll want to send the seniors out in style.

Still, if you'd told me we'd beat both Central Florida and Miami on the road, I'd have felt very good about our chances for a bowl game.

Recruiting Update
Our recruiting class now numbers 12, as two more players signed with us this week:

• WR Jackie Bosworth, Belvidere, IL
• CB Robbie Nobles, Roy, UT

I know what you're thinking. Why would a team that depends on its passing game as little as Kent State does bring in three wideouts in a single recruiting class? There are actually several reasons why. One reason why we haven't thrown much is the fact that our receivers haven't been all that good. Bosworth impresses us with his ability to get open, and he's very good at making people miss and gaining yardage after the catch. I think Jackie will be a very good player for us.

We recruited several players from out West this year. The most intriguing prospect was a QB from California named Walter Davidson who ended up visiting us, but signed with UCLA. We also liked what we saw of Nobles, offered him a scholarship, and now he's a Golden Flash. Robbie is ranked #95 among players at his position nationwide; he has good size (6'0"), and he recorded 4.5 sacks and 14 interceptions as a senior. He's also a dangerous punt returner.

Unfortunately, we lost out on several players we really hoped to land. Will Clinton wanted to get as far away from Pennsylvania as possible, so he picked Boise State. Bennie Horton, the offensive tackle we took a shot at, surprised nobody when he picked Ohio State. We lost a very good ILB prospect, Pete Kulaga, to Miami of Ohio, so we'll have to play against him now. That hurts twice as much.

With our four remaining scholarships, we hope to bring in another linebacker, a defensive end or tackle, and a fullback. Steve Doyle, the #16 fullback in his class, has narrowed his choices down to Kent State and Texas Tech, and we're currently the leader for the services of Kris Kawaguchi, the #44 fullback.

Xavier Heetderks, the #2 ILB in Ohio, will choose between us and Cleveland. We're also in the running for Darrin Dunlap, another in-state LB.

Kent State's record: 5-5, 3-4 in MAC play.

Week 13, 2005
#93 Akron (3-6, 3-4) at #68 Kent State (5-5, 3-4)



Our players were admittedly frustrated and ashamed after their losses to Marshall and Buffalo ended their chances for a breakthrough season. They took those emotions out on Akron this week and earned a victory that gave them a winning record for the season.

We controlled the ball for almost 36 minutes and ran 80 plays from scrimmage: 50 runs, 30 passes. We gave three backs lots of touches: Jake Barton (18-91), Randall Gillespie (16-64) and Devin Tippett (10-72). Jake and Devin are seniors, so we wanted to make sure our fans got a good chance to see them one last time. It would have been great to see Jake get 1000 yards, but he fell 12 short. That turf toe he dealt with all season long was the difference there.

Senior C Gilbert Barrere racked up seven key run blocks, giving him a conference-best 53 for the season. I can't imagine him not repeating as the first team All-MAC center.

Both senior quarterbacks, Jack Turner (8-10-141, 2 TD) and Benjamin Summers (10-20-175, TD) saw lots of action. Together, they threw for 316 yards.

Everett Hanson isn't a senior, but he caught 10 passes for 168 yards and two scores.

DE Don Mok and DT Win Van Brocklin both got sacks in their final games at KSU.

Today's game was a satisfying ending to a rollercoaster season. We still have a few recruiting tasks to complete, but otherwise, it's time to close the book on 2005.

Recruiting Update
Three players committed to play at Kent State next year:

• DE Leon McWilliams, Perry, OH
• DT Harvey Van Pelt, Youngstown, OH
• ILB Darrin Dunlap, Cleveland, OH

McWilliams and Van Pelt give us some much-needed reinforcement on our D-line. Leon is the #5 DE in Ohio, and he's a big, mean pass rusher. Harvey is a run stopper who has been especially well-coached in high school. He's also an aspiring CPA with a 1580 SAT score.

Dunlap is smallish for an ILB (204 pounds) but he's surprisingly tough against the run, and he's demonstrated some ability to rush the QB, too. He pounced on his chance to play for KSU, unlike Xavier Heetderks, who's still making up his mind. Another ILB, Thurman Talley, has also entered the picture.

Now we have one scholarship left. FB Kris Kawaguchi opened up his recruiting a little more, and is now making all five of his official visits. He added big-name schools Louisville, West Virginia, and Oklahoma to his list. FB Steve Doyle is still weighing offers from Kent State and Texas Tech.

I suppose the best-case scenario would be for either Kawaguchi or Doyle to sign with us and claim that last schollie. Still, I'd be happy to bring either Heetderks or Talley on board. They're both very good football players, and if I don't bring in a fullback, I can possibly move Spencer Alston there permanently. Or, perhaps a good walk-on can help us out there.

Kent State's record: 6-5, 4-4 in MAC play.

Week 14, 2005

We completed our regular season last week. Here are the final regular season MAC standings:


Central Florida and Western Michigan will play for the Mid-American Conference championship. UCF will almost certainly receive a bowl bid, even if they lose to WMU. I also think Ball State will play in a bowl, and possibly Bowling Green as well.

Recruiting Update
The early bird gets the worm, and the early decision-maker gets the scholarship.

While Xavier Heetderks, Steve Doyle, and Kris Kawaguchi hemmed and hawed, ILB Thurman Talley stepped in and claimed our final scholarship. Thurman is a big, tough run plugger from Hamtramck, Michigan, and he was ranked #9 among ILBs in his state.

Postseason Update, Part 1

• Central Florida trounced Western Michigan in the MAC title game, 41-6.
• UCF then traveled out to Fresno for the Raisin Bowl, where they faced Colorado. The Buffaloes won a thriller, 20-19.
• Central Florida was the only MAC team to earn a bowl bid.
• Florida State defeated Texas, 19-13, to win the national championship.
• UCLA's dynamic wide receiver, Conrad Knauls, won the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Knauls, a junior, defeated last year's winner, Texas Tech QB Sammie Knight, to win the coveted award. Knauls caught 88 passes for 1412 yards and 18 TD for the #3 ranked Bruins, who finished the season 11-1. Conrad's ratings? A dazzling 88/96.

Here are Kent State's 2005 statistics. Graduating senors are highlighted in blue.

Postseason 2005, Part 2

Some further observations about the 2005 season at Kent State:

• Sophomore QB Donnell Southrey of Marshall was the Mid-American Conference MVP and its Offensive Player of the Year. Southrey threw for 2724 yards and 19 touchdowns. I'm a little surprised by this choice, as it appeared to me that a couple of players had better statistics and, while Marshall was a good team, they weren't a great one.
• Western Michigan DE Rob Wheeler was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Wheeler, a sophomore, was a fine choice. Already a two-time first team All-MAC performer, Wheeler recorded 19 sacks this season.
• G Clay Walton and T Jeff Logan, both of Central Florida, were the only MAC players to earn All-American recognition, and both made the first team.
• S Adrian Castillo became the first Kent State player to achieve national honors, when he earned a spot on the national Freshman Team. Strangely enough, Adrian didn't earn a spot on either the All-MAC First or Second Teams.
• Center Gilbert Barrere made the All-MAC First Team for the second straight season. Barrere, a senior, was the only Kent State player to make the first or second All-MAC squads.
• Two KSU seniors--RB Jake Barton (3.87, Metallurgy) and T Tyrus Jarvis (2.89, Electrical Engineering)-- made the MAC Academic Team. Barton earned a 4.0 this year.
• Kent State's team GPA was 2.83, which is 0.06 lower than last year.
• The program's academic reputation ranking went up one, to 118th. Still not where we want it to be, but it's an improvement.
• The team's highest GPA was a perfect 4.00, achieved by redshirt freshman LB Darnell Warren. Another redshirt frosh, RB Blaine Kooistra, pulled a 3.88, and sophomores G Percy Wheeler and S William Shipman earned a 3.83.
• Twelve Kent State players currently carry GPAs of 3.50 or better. Five of them are players Coach O'Farrell recruited last year.
• Unfortunately, seven Golden Flashes struggle with sub-2.00 GPAs. Three of them--RB Randall Gillespie, G Tommie Wallack, and QB Josh Roaf--are Coach O'Farrell's recruits. The worst of all, walkon freshman CB Phil Witt, produced an abysmal 1.06, with no grade higher than a D+. Again, I'd cut Phil from the team if he wasn't such a popular player.
• There's no excuse for Roaf's poor academic performance, because he's above average in both Intelligence and Aspiration. Wallack, too, should do better. On the other hand, Gillespie is a student athlete" in only the most general sense .
• Until KSU improves its academic reputation, I think I'll be stuck with some dumb and/or unmotivated walkons.

Recruiting 2005

According to TCY Today, this year's Kent State recruits are not nearly as impressive as last year's were.

The 2005 KSU recruits rank 112th in the country, and last in the 14-team Mid-American Conference. I would like to think the future Golden Flashes will prove they're better than this, where it counts--on the field.

Four of Kent State's recruits ranked among the nation's top 1000 players: TE Rusty Flynn (#485), WR Albert Guenther (#578), G Conrad Piper (#631), and
CB Bruce Horton (#982). No member of the Class of 2006 is as highly recruited as Adrian Castillo,

Here are the 16 recruits who will make their way to the Kent State campus next fall.



POS = player's rank among the top 100 players at his position nationwide
ST = player's rank among the top 100 recruits in his state
SP = player's rank among the top 10 players at his position in his state

I think every player on the list has a chance to make an impact on the Kent State program before he graduates. The class, as a whole, is stronger academically than last year's was, too.

Here's how Professor Laertes graded our program this year:



Our overall grade is up six points from last year. We improved in most areas, but our recruiting score went down, and our academic grade was the same as it was in 2004.

On to 2006 we go...

Preseason 2006

Here is our 2006 schedule, along with each of our opponents' preseason computer ranking:



Home games are listed in ALL CAPS.
Mid-American Conference games are highlighted in blue.

Our preseason ranking is the best it's been in my three years at KSU: 68.

We open the season with two non-conference home games, both of which we have a very good chance of winning. After each of these games, we have a bye week. We then go on the road to play a good Northern Illinois team, before we return home to play Buffalo. I don't think I need to tell you how eager we'll be to avenge last year's upset loss to the Bulls.

The game at Ohio will be another tough test on the road: the kind of game a conference champion ought to win. We host last year's MAC South champion, Western Michigan, and they'll put up a hard fight. Then it's off to Marshall. Hopefully we can pay them back for the beating they laid on us at home in 2005.

We travel to Mansfield during Week 10 for a non-conference game before we finish our MAC schedule with a trip to Akron and a home game with Central Florida.

Since there's no team like West Virginia or Iowa on this year's schedule, there's no game I look at and think "we're going to lose this one." Since most of the teams we play seem to be very comparable to us, our record is almost impossible for me to predict. We might go 10-1; we might go 1-10.

My somewhat optimistic prediction: 7-4.

2006 Preview: Meet the Offense
 

With new starters at some of the skill positions and a big, strong O-line that features a blend of youth and experience, the Kent State offense could be very good, very weak, or somewhere in between.

Here are the key offensive players for the 2006 Golden Flashes:


Roaf has great potential, but will he be ready to step right in as a redshirt freshman? Scribner is not quite as advanced, but has lots of talent.

Kooistra beat out Gillespie for the starting job at RB, but both will get lots of carries. So will Tippett, who was very productive when called upon last year.

True freshman Guenther joins an improving receiving corps that includes last year's leading pass catcher, Wampus. Guidry should be a formidable weapon, too.

Three freshman linemen join juniors Harrison and Bennefield. Wheeler developed slowly, and has lost his job to Gourdine, who looks like he could be really good. Cunningham must replace two-time All-MAC center Gilbert Barrere.

Schulz won the placekicking job over highly recruited Dwight Ashworth, who will redshirt.

We might throw a little more than we have in the past, in order to take advantage of Roaf's talent.

2006 Season Preview: Meet the Defense
 

This year's Kent State defense features a number of promising youngsters with the potential to become impact players. One or two of them are probably ready to make that kind of statement already. Like their offensive counterparts, the KSU defense could have a terrific year if the young players are ready to step up. If they aren't there yet, it could be a long, hard season.

Here are the starters and key reserves for the 2006 KSU defense:


Three new starters must step in on the defensive line. Heller played a lot as a freshman, and played fairly well. Caskey is intriguing; he's a huge presence who could be an elite run stopper and a fearsome pass rusher. Mitchell has shown the ability to pressure the QB, too. True freshman Drake will have to grow up quickly, because there's very little D-line depth. Cristal might one day be a star.

Merrill and Bowen both held their own as true freshmen last year, and both have improved significantly since this time last year. If they take similar strides this year, they'll be in the running for post-season honors. Geary would start at MLB, but he's still recovering from his concussion-related issues. Newsome will fill the breach until he's better.

Castillo looks like he's every bit as good as advertised: a heat-seeking missile who disrupts opposing offenses on a regular basis. Contois is a three-year starter, and corners Clark and Babin are fairly solid. Rhodes and Shipman don't hurt the team when they play, and true frosh Nobles has talent.

Sawyer is a weapon that can help the Golden Flashes win field position battles all day long.

Week 1, 2006
#84 Troy at #68 Kent State


It was a good win, but a costly one.

Early in the second quarter, one of our starting OLBs, Wayne Merrill, broke his foot. In the fourth quarter, the OTHER starting OLB, Ross Bowen, tore ligaments in his knee. Both of them are sophomores, and we probably lost both of them for the season.

Ross is almost certainly done for the year; the early prognosis indicates it'll be six months before he's back to full strength. Wayne's injury isn't quite as serious, but they're saying 13 weeks for him. Now all three of our projected starting linebackers are out, since Vince Geary is still recovering from repetitive concussion syndrome.

Tim Gomez and Percy McCareins are the new starters at OLB. They're both juniors, and they've both appeared in every game the last two years, but mostly on special teams. Tim and Percy are tough, and they've got some talent, but neither of them have the potential Wayne and Ross have. In the short run, we'll be OK; in the long run, we'll have to see what the injuries do to the potential of two very talented players.

On a brighter note, we got a great effort from Blaine Kooistra (26 carries, 156 yards, 2 TD) in his first collegiate game. We used Randall Gillespie at fullback some, and he did a good job, too (12 carries, 56 yards). QB Josh Roaf hung in there (9-22 passing) but, most importantly, he didn't turn the ball over and ran the offense well enough for us to put up 31 points.

Adrian Castillo brought the crowd to its feet with a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown. He also led the team with 11 tackles and intercepted a pass. He can flat-out play football.

Time will tell what effects the injuries to Bowen and Merrill will have on our team. I wish them all the best as they recover.

Recruiting Update
It's encouraging to see some talented players showing a little more interest in our program than has previously been the case. Several guys on the rivals.com Top 100 show up on our recruiting report as "blue," and a couple are "green." We're recruiting all of these players, and if anything comes of our efforts, I'll let you know.

Kent State's record: 1-0.

Week 2, 2006

Bye week. We continued our recruiting efforts, but no players have arranged to visit us yet.

We're getting some positive vibes from the #7 player in the nation: DE Wes Gray, from Phelps, KY. We've offered him a scholarship, and so has Louisville. Landing Wes would be a huge, huge step forward for our program.

Needless to say, we're not expending all our recruiting efforts on players like Wes Gray. We're continuing to recruit heavily in the state of Ohio, looking for talented, possibly overlooked, players whom we have a good chance of bringing to campus.

Week 3, 2006
#97 Dayton (0-1) at #44 Kent State (0-1)
TV5

We played as well offensively as we have in my two-plus years at Kent State. We executed almost flawlessly in both our running and passing games, and the result was 49 points, 517 total yards, 33 first downs, and almost 39 minutes in possession of the ball.

Blaine Kooistra had an even better game than he did against Troy, with 31 carries, 211 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Randall Gillespie got 20 carries and managed only 52 yards, but he scored twice and caught four passes.

Josh Roaf took a huge step forward today. He went 20-22 for 250 yards and a touchdown, and threw one interception. He sure didn't look like a freshman out there.

Neither did Wes Gourdine, who contributed six key run blocks. The rest of the line added 13 more, which is impressive.

We all got a kick out of watching big Deron Jamison pick up a fumble and "run" 50 yards with it for a TD. He shook off a tackler and kept his legs moving, and before he knew it he was in the clear.

We have another week off before we play our conference opener at Northern Illinois.

Recruiting Update
We're continuing to make contact with recruits and invite them to campus, but nobody has lined up a visit yet. I'll keep you posted.

Kent State's record: 2-0.