Friday, September 20, 2019

25 Flashing Questions

 What is their body of work?

Look, Kent has a long history of struggling in football.  Since Don James left in 1974, they have 5 winning seasons.  They are 17-57 since the unforgettable 2012 season.

They are coached now by former Falcon assistant Sean Lewis.  They are 1-2 this year, with losses to Arizona State and Auburn and an overtime win over Kennesaw State, a top 10 FCS team.  So, it's one of those situations where it is hard to figure out how good they are.  They were picked 4th in the East, two spots ahead of BG and are a stunning 10-point favorite.  They did beat BG last year, scoring with less than 2 minutes left to win 35-28.

 How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 29...which is an experienced team. 

Who are their statistical leaders?

Jamal Parker is #11 in combined kick returns
Isaiah McCoy is #13 in receiving TDS

What is their turnover ratio?

They are -1, which is not bad given their schedule.

Offense:

How is their QB play?

So, everyone assumed Woody Barrett was all set up to be one of the Top QBs in the MAC and might be the reason Kent was picked 4th in the East.  As it turns out, Dustin Crum has gotten the last two starts.  He was the starter before Barrett arrived and he appears to have won the job back.  He's not bad...completing 63% with 2 TDs and no picks at 11 per completion.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are scoring 16 ppg and averaging 4.5 yards per play, neither of which is very good.   They have played tough competition and didn't score that much even against Kennesaw.

Can they run the ball?


They haven't yet.  Their lead RB is getting 4.3 per carry and everyone else is below that.

Do they pass the ball?

Well, this is supposed to be FlashFast, but they are 97th in team pass efficiency in the country right now.  The WR threat to watch is Isaiah McCoy, who averages 18 yards per reception.

How is their run/pass balance?

Believe it or not, they run on 57% of their plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

At 39% they are about average.

Do they score in the red zone?

It's bad.  They average 3.2 per trip, with one TD in five trips.

Do they protect the quarterback?

They give up sacks on 11.7% of their pass attempts, which is very high.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are allowing 36 a game and 6.5 yards per play, neither of which is very good, but then again they've played a couple very effective teams.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are allowing 5.1 yards per carry, which is not great.  Phil Steele ranked them as having one of the worst Dlines in the MAC.  The BG oline has struggled and this is a game where they might be able to win some more battles.

Can they be passed on?

They are 111th in passing defense efficiency, see caveats above.  They have allowed only 58% completions but a stunning 18 yards per completion.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?


They are not good, at 49%.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Actually pretty good at 4.4 points per trip.  They have allowed TDs on only 9 of 19 red zone trips.

Do they pressure the QB?

Yes they do.  They have sacks on 12.8% of their opponent's passing attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

Their punter, Derek Adams, is #21 in the nation in net punting.  He has 7 over 50.

Punt Return?

They have 6 returns for 26 yards and a long of 20.

Placekicking?

He's good...5 of 6.  Long is only 43, missed once inside 40.

Kickoff?

Not very good, allowing teams to start at the 30.

Kickoff Return?

Pretty good, they start at the 29.  Jamal Parker is a good returner.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

I don't know.  Neither team looks to be very good and both teams think they have a chance to win this game against this opponent.  Kent has home field but is a little bit of a mystery, given the schedule.  On the other hand, BG is more of a known quantity after the La Tech game.  Maybe that game served as the "wake up call" it was discussed being, in which case this is just the week to have that happen.

2 comments :

Hal said...

Your graphics are spot on. How many people recognize the flash cube bar?

Orange said...

That's a good question....not many