Kent has certainly struggled this season. They are 2-6, and only have 1 I-A victory. Their most recent effort, however, was to demolish Miami in Oxford....so you get the idea. Jarvis hasn't always been healthy and didn't play against Akron, a game they lost in double OT, so that might have made a difference.
What is their best result this season?
Beating Miami in Oxford. See above
What is their worst result this season?
Losing to OU in Kent on their homecoming.
What is the turnover margin?
They are -2 which is 10th in the conference. Their 15 lost turnovers is third worst in the MAC.
What is the injury situation
Offense:
How is their QB play?
Julian Edelman is their QB, and he is in the Joshua Cribbs QB-mode, as opposed to the, I don't know, other kind. He has averaged less than 20 passes a game, 9/8 TD/INT ratio, and 55% completion percentage. His real strength is running. He averages nearly 6 yards a carry and has scored 8 touchdowns.
What is their yard per play?
Its 5.7 yards per play, which is tied for 3rd in the conference.
Can they run the ball?
Oh yeah, they can. They lead the conference with 217+ yards per game, and are in second place with 5.0 yards per carry. They are stronger with the run than NIU and Miami, and you saw what happened there.
Do they pass the ball.
Not really. They are one of only two teams with less than 200 pass attempts this year (NIU is the other). They have the second lowest completion percentage in the MAC, too.
Are they high efficiency or big play?
I am assuming by what I have seen it is a typical spread pass attack, with conservative throws.
Do they convert on 3rd Down.
They are 11th in the MAC with 37.3%, which is surprising for a team that runs well.
Do they score in the red zone?
They average just over 4 points per red zone trip, which is probably a little below average. They are listed as 12th in the MAC in red zone %, but that's a little misleading, because 19 of their 21 red zone scores have been touchdowns. They have been stopped in the red zone 8 times, which, as you will recall, is how we beat them last year.
Do they protect the quarterback?
They have been sacked 14 times, which is the same number as BG, and we throw lots more. If we can get them into passing downs, this would be an opportunity.
Defense:
Topline: Scoring and yards per play.
This is certainly where we have an opportunity. They are 10th in scoring defense and 11th in total defense. Only three teams have given up more yards per play (5.7).
Do they defend the run effectively?
They allow only 4.5 yards per carry and only two teams in the MAC are worse than that. They have given up 21 rushing touchdowns, 12th in the MAC.
Can they be passed on?
They are 10th in pass defense (by yards) and 6th in the efficiency rating. They allow 62% completions against them for 7.4/catch, both among the lowest rankings in the conference. Their efficiency is helped by the low number of touchdowns they have allowed passing.
Do they get off the field on 3rd down?
They are 4th in MAC at 40.9%, so this is something that helps keep them afloat.
Do they defend in the red zone?
In 33 red zone trips, there have been 19 TDs, 10 FGS, and four outright stops. This is actually pretty good. As a curiosity, they have allowed only one TD passing in the redzone, which means you must be able to run on them down there.
Do they pressure the QB?
They are sixth with 13 sacks.
Special Teams:
Punting?
Average: They are 8th in the MAC in punting.
Punt Return?
They are last in this category, which probably means next to nothing.
Placekicking?
This is not a strength. They are only 5 of 9 on FGs. The raw number is tied for the worst in the league and the percentage is among the lowest. They have missed twice inside 30 yards. 48 is the long.
Kickoff?
Kick coverage is 11th in the MAC, and they do not have one touchback.
Kickoff Return?
They are dead-last in kickoff returns with 16.3 yards per return. They've had practice...only one team has returned more kickoffs.
Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.
I don't know. A few thoughts.
- Things will be dreary at the Doyt Saturday.
- Kent had that little flash a couple years ago, but has since returned to their traditional state.
- Their coach, according to this, appears to be one step from slapping himself.
- On the other hand, we really, really need a win, and hopefully, we'll find something in that.
- We haven't won at home this year, and I wonder if that starts to get in your head.
We should still win this game. However, we will have to do two things we have not done very well recently, namely control the ball on offense and get at least some traction on run defense.
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