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Postmortem: 2010 Kent State Football Season

By Matt Sussman
Spencer Keith wasn't exactly the problem ... and that's why the coach took the fall.
Spencer Keith wasn't exactly the problem ... and that's why the coach took the fall.

It's time to look back on all the MAC football teams this season. The Postmortem will look at what went right, what went wrong, and what will happen in the future. Now up: the Kent State Golden Flashes.

Golden Flashes Football Schedule

Murray St. Thu 09/02 W 41 - 10
@ Boston College Sat 09/11 L 13 - 26
@ Penn St. Sat 09/18 L 0 - 24
@ Miami (Ohio) Sat 10/02 L 21 - 27
Akron Sat 10/09 W 28 - 17
@ Toledo Sat 10/16 L 21 - 34
@ Bowling Green Sat 10/23 W 30 - 6
Ball St. Sat 10/30 W 33 - 14
Temple Sat 11/06 L 10 - 28
Army Sat 11/13 L 28 - 45
@ Western Michigan Sat 11/20 L 3 - 38
Ohio Fri 11/26 W 28 - 6

 

Final record: 5-7, 4-4 MAC

Good things: Mostly Roosevelt Nix, perhaps the runaway best freshman in the MAC and maybe even the best defensive player, who had 20 tackles for loss (10 sacks). D-lineman Monte Simmons and linebacker Cobrani Mixon were also strong up front to give the Flashes the top rushing defense in the conference. Junior Matt Rinehart averaged 42.66 yards per punt, tops in the MAC. 306 yards allowed per game on defense is also a MAC best. Freddy Cortez led the kicking unit as the only one in the MAC not to miss an extra point (31-for-31)

Bad things: Most things offense. Sixth-year senior Eugene Jarvis had nagging injuries, leaving Jacquise Terry to try and do it all by himself on some days. Spencer Keith didn't have a great quarterback year, but they did pass better than they ran. They were the second-most penalized team in the conference (55.8 yards/game). They were also dead last in third-down conversions (30.6%).

One-sentence summation: What a waste of a terrific defense.

Looking to 2011: Well, first they need a coach — perhaps someone, this time, who is more of an offensive mind. Then some cohesion on offense. Keith can probably thrive in a system ... but some blocking and running backs would help. Tyshon Goode needs assistance downfield. The answer on the D-line is simple: build around Nix and find replacements for Simmons, Mixon, Brian Lainhart, Dorian Wood, and Quinton Rainey everywhere else. That's a lot of studs to lose on one side of the ball, so there may be yet again another regression in Kent State football next year.

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