Sunday, October 28, 2018

25 Questions that Flash

What is their body of work?

Kent takes field in Refrigerator Bowl
Kent is a tough gig.  In 2012 they had an 11 win season and in the five-plus seasons since then they have won 15 games.  In the 43 years since Don James left, they've had 5 winning seasons.  They've gone winless four times.  They had a rough off-season and were turned down by numerous coaching candidates.  They ended up with Sean Lewis, the Dino Babers OC who coached at BG.  It has been a tough year.  Like BG, Kent has no FBS wins.  They only lost to Illinois by a touchdown and they lost to OU and Akron by 1 point.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 26 which is a pretty typical number.

Who are their statistical leaders?

They have no players ranked in the top 20 in a national category.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are +1.  (Unless otherwise noted, all stats are MAC-only.)

Offense:

How is their QB play?

He is better than they have had for years.  You'll recall a couple years ago they were running a Holley out there due to lack of players.  His name is Woody Barrett and he is a 6'2" 236 pound dual threat QB.  He was a highly touted QB (4-star) in HS, went to Auburn, red-shirted and then transferred to a JUCO and then to Kent.  He's 9th in pass efficiency.  He has 64% completions but only 10.4 yards per completion and 4 TDs over 4 picks.  He's thrown a lot---one more attempt than Doege--as they play FLASHfast.  He is also their second best rusher and has 5 rushing TDs.
#FLASHfast

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are not good.  They are #10 in scoring offense and 7th in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

They aren't great.  They are 8th in the MAC in yards per rush.  Their lead back is Justin Rankin, and he's a good one, averaging 4.6 yards per carry in MAC play.

Do they pass the ball?

Play mix has Barrett #3 in yards per play but they are 7th in passing efficiency.  BG is 4th, FWIW.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 52% of their plays, which is run heavy in today's game.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are 9th in the MAC.

Did they score in the red zone?

They are not good.  First, they have only 11 red zone trips in four games.  Yes, they have scored on 10 of them, but it is 6 TDs and 4 FGs for 4.9 point per trip.  That's not good and (along with third downs) explains the difference between the yardage and scoring numbers above.  Red zone difficulties are not uncommon in the Baylor system, if I recall correctly.

Did they protect the quarterback?

They do.  2.8% of their passing attempts end in sacks.  Barrett is mobile and hard to bring down and remember that the offense is designed to get the ball out fast.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are 11th in points per game and 10th in yards per play.  The only worse defensive team in the MAC is BG.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are pretty good.  They are 5th in yards per rush allowed.  They are rushed against a lot, so their yardage ranking is not as good.

Can they be passed on?

They are 11th in pass efficiency defense.  (BG is 12th).  They allow 64% completions at an eye-popping 13.6 per reception.  That's a toxic mix.  They have only 3 picks and have allowed 7 TDs.

Did they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are last, allowing over 50%.  So no.  Even BG is not this bad.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are really good.  They have six outright stops and allow 4.5 points per trip.

Did they pressure the QB?

They do, getting sacks on 5.7% of attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are pretty good, #3 in net punting.  (BG #8).  They have not been blocked all season.

Punt Return?


They are last in the MAC in punt returns.  They do have one block, season-long.

Placekicking?

They are good, having made 6 of 7.  Long is 49.

Kickoff?

11th in the MAC.  Opponents start on the 25.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 23, all games, which is not good.




Miscellaneous, Intangibles?

This is one of those games.  This is the most winnable game left on both team's schedule.  Both teams are winless in FBS games.  BG looks at Kent as a chance to get a W.  Kent sees us the same way.  Kent has played two 1-point MAC games and BG has not been that close in MAC play.  One of them was against a common opponent, which is OU.

If BG doesn't get the win, a 1-11 season is a probability.  What we don't know is where the team is mentally.  It has been a tough year for those guys and they've been resilient, but they're only human.  I expect a somnolent Doyt on Tuesday, so the game day atmosphere does not promise to be motivating.  I hope we can do it.  The young men on the team have worked really hard and been in some very tough situations this year.  I hope they get rewarded with a win.

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