25 Flashy Questions

Today we focus on people
who attended Kent State
but did not graduate.
We start with Michael Keaton.

What is their body of work?

How quick things can change.  In 2012, the Flashes were 11-3 and in the conversation to go to a BCS Bowl.  Darrell Hazel left and they went 6-17 for the next two seasons.  This year, they are 3-4 but could be much better.  Their wins are not great--Delaware State, Miami and UMass (by 5), but they took Marshall to double OT and played Minnesota to within a FG.  A couple bounces and they could easily be the surprise team of the MAC.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

22, which is a very young team.

Who are their statistical leaders?

Demetrius Monday is #3 in the nation in interceptions.
Terrance Waugh is #8 in the nation in sacks.
Nate Holley is #20 in tackles.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are +5 which is high for a team that's 3-4.  Their defense has forced 16 turnovers, so BG has to do its normal good job of protecting the ball.

Offense:

 How is their QB play?

Kent went to a new QB last week against UMass and he had a pretty good game.  He is George Bollas, who was 20 of 25, but with only 135 yards passing.  He also ran 15 for 79 yards and 1 pick.  With a new QB, he's still a question mark, but he is a dual-threat QB.

David Sedaris.
No graduate.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are 4th in the MAC in scoring defense at 24.7.  However, they are far and away the best team in terms of yards per play at 4.2, which is very good. The next team is at 4.8 yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

In terms of overall yards, they are #7.  However, they have the second most run attempts in the MAC.  On a yards per carry basis,

they are 10th in the MAC.  Both of their lead backs are 3.6 yards per carry or below.

Do they pass the ball?

They are last in the MAC in passing yards per game and #12 in passing efficiency.  They have completed only 51.5% of their passes, and almost exactly 10 yards per completion, which is low.  Whether George Bollas makes a significant change remains to be seen.  It appears Bollas had a very safe pass game plan last week.

How was their run/pass balance?

They have run on over 60% of their plays, which is very high.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

No.  No they cannot.  They only convert 25%, last in the MAC.

Do they score in the red zone?

They have only 17 red zone trips in 7 games.  Those 17 trips have yielded only 9 TDs and 4 FGS, which is 4.4 points per trip, which is not good.

Yes! Don King!

Do they protect the quarterback?

They have done well, with only 5 sacks allowed, which is good even with their low number of overall attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They have struggled with the scoring.  They are 12th in the MAC in offense and last in yards per play at 4.3 yards per play.  The next lowest team is just 4.9 yards per play.

Do they defend the run effectively?

Yes, they do.  They are 2nd in the MAC in rushing yards per game and tied for first at allowing 3.0 yards per carry.

Chrissy Hynde.

Can they be passed on?

It is tough.  They are #1 in the MAC in pass efficiency defense.  They have allowed only 48% completions with 11 picks.  They do have 11.7 yards per completion against, which is not good.  Even so, this will be a very tough challenge for the BG offense.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

Yes, they are 1st in the MAC with just less than 30%, which is very good.

Do they defend in the red zone?

This is the one chink in their armor.  They allow 5.4 points per trip, which is a lot.  That's 15 TDs in 20 trips.

Do they pressure the QB?

Huge worry point here.  They lead the MAC with 21 sacks, with the next team only having 17.  That's about 10% of passing attempts, which is a lot.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 8th in net punting.  Melchiore is a good punter.  He gets good yardage, but they have given up the most return yards in the MAC.  He has 17 inside the 20 and only 2 sacks.

Punt Return?

They have 24 returns, which is the most in the MAC, but less than 100 yards in return yardage.  They have one block.

This guy was in Devo.

Placekicking?

He's pretty good.  He is 6 of 8 overall and 5 out of 6 inside 40.  He has been blocked once.

Kickoff?

Teams start on the 30 which is not good.  They have 27 kickoffs and only 5 touchbacks.  They have allowed 1 TD.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 26, with no TDs.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

Not sure what to say here.  I'm not sure there are any huge intangibles.  Kent is better than they look on their record, but they are a team BG should beat and needs to beat, heading into a bye week and the Ohio U. game.