Kickoff from Dix Stadium in less than 20 minutes, Kent State hosting Army on Homecoming Saturday. Heres a capsule preview of todays game: What: Kent State football, Homecoming 2014 Who: Army (2-4) vs. Kent State (0-6) When/Where: Today, 3:30 p.m./Dix Stadium TV/Radio: ESPN3/WHLO 640 AM. Head Coaches: Jeff Monken, Army (2-4, 1st season; 40-20 overall); Paul Haynes, Kent State (4-14, 2nd year). Last Years Records: Army 3-9; Kent State 4-8. Series: Army leads 2-1, but the Flashes won the last meeting in 2012 (31-17 in West Point). Latest Line: Army by 3.5. Scouting Army: The Black Knights will bring their patented triple-option offensive attack to Dix Stadium, featuring senior quarterback Angel Santiago and senior running back Larry Dixon. Santiago (5-foot-11, 201) is second on the team in rushing (86 carries for 466 yards, 6 TDs) and has completed 23-of-34 passes for 325 yards and a score. Dixon (5-11, 239) leads the Black Knights with 612 yards rushing on 103 carries, and has scored five TDs. … Army is typically among the nations top rushing teams, and this year is no different. The Black Knights rank third in the country with an average of 323.5 yards per contest on the ground. So far this year theyve run the ball 345 times, compared to 57 passes, and eight players average 4.9 yards or more per rush. … Army averages a highly respectable 27.5 points per game, but has struggled defensively — coughing up 35.3 points and 441.3 yards per contest. Every opponent has scored at least 24 points on the Black Knights this season. … Armys defense is led by Jeremy Timpf, a 6-1, 225-pound sophomore linebacker who has compiled 52 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions. Senior linebacker Stephen Ricciardi (6-0, 222) has seven tackles for loss. … The Black Knights are 2-0 against Mid-American Conference foes this season, with home wins over Buffalo (47-39) and Ball State (33-24), but are 0-4 against non-MAC teams and 0-3 on the road. They have not won more than three games in a season since 2010. Flash Facts: The Flashes are searching for their elusive first victory of the season. Theyve had chances to win all three previous home games before fading in the final three minutes, when theyve been outscored 23-0 by Ohio, South Alabama and UMass. … Kent State is 0-6 for the first time since 1998, when it finished 0-11 under first-year head coach Dean Pees — who now serves as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, and won Super Bowls as an assistant coach at New England (XXXIX) and Baltimore (XLVII). … Although the Flashes have struggled offensively for most of the season, ranking last in the MAC in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rushing (68.2 ypg), the ground attack has shown improvement of late. They rushed for a season-high 150 yards on 27 carries last Saturday against the Minutemen. Still, KSU averages just 2.4 yards per rush. Sophomore Nick Holley leads the team with 220 yards on 68 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per tote and 36.7 yards per game. … Sophomore quarterback Colin Reardon has completed 118-of-216 passes for 1,227 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. His favorite targets are senior wide receiver Chris Humphrey (24 catches for 270 yards) and senior tight end Casey Pierce (23-259). … KSU scored a season-high 17 points in last weeks loss to the Minutemen, but did not score in the fourth quarter. … The Flashes defense is coming off a disappointing performance last Saturday, when it surrendered 482 yards to previously winless UMass. They are now allowing 34.7 points and 465.5 yards per contest. … After forcing 11 turnovers in the first give games, Kent State did not force a turnover against the Minutemen. … Sophomore free safety Nate Holley continues to lead the MAC in tackles, averaging 13.3 per game, while star junior punter Anthony Melchiori (Aurora) is second in the conference with an average of 44.6 yards per kick. … The Flashes have won two of their last four Homecoming games, the last triumph coming in 2012 (41-24 over Western Michigan), but have won just six of their last 27 Homecoming matchups. Quoting Kent State coach Haynes: “Yeah weve got young guys, but theyre not young anymore. This is the seventh week of the season. We cant use that anymore. Weve gotta demand more. Weve gotta demand it and make sure theyre doing it.” Quoting Army coach Monken: “Kent State will provide a challenge for us. I know their kids are giving it their best effort and they want to get their first win, and our guys want to see some improvement. They have some talented players. I’m sure they’re just like us, there is a sense of urgency to get a win, so they’re going to be ready and we’ll need to be as well.”
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 19:14:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015