Before this season, Kent had registered one winning record (6-5 under Dean Pees in 2001) in the last 24 years.
“I don’t think people realize how hard it is to win football games,” second-year KSU coach Darrell Hazell said Monday during the weekly MAC coaches call. “I don’t care who you’re playing. We’re all doing the same thing as coaches. Every game is going to be a battle. If you can understand that, then you’ve got a chance.”
Hazell, who coached at Ohio State for seven seasons before coming to Kent, led the Flashes to a 5-7 record last season. They’re riding a seven-game winning streak since dropping a 47-14 decision at Kentucky on Sept. 8.
KSU hasn’t won that many games in a row since 1940.
“Coach Hazell has just done a phenomenal job with their program in such a short turnaround,” Miami coach Don Treadwell said. “What’s so impressive is that they’re playing so well on both sides of the ball.”
The Flashes were forced to rally from 14-0 and 21-7 deficits against Akron last weekend, coming away with a 35-24 victory. They ran for 261 yards, the fifth time they’ve cracked the 200 mark this year.
“I knew it was going to be a challenging contest for our team,” Hazell said. “They came out and put 14 on us real quickly, and we had to respond. I thought our kids showed some toughness.
“I think the difference in this team and the team we had last year is there’s a calmness on the sideline. There was no panic when we went down 14 points.
“At the beginning part of last year when we were struggling on offense and playing good defense, I think that makes people panic a little bit. Now the defense sees that the offense can score and the offense knows the defense can stop ‘em and we’re playing good special teams. All three phases are feeding off of each other.”
Kent has a thunder-and-lightning ground attack keyed by sophomore tailback Trayion Durham (190 carries, 887 yards, 11 TDs) and junior slotback Dri Archer (97 carries, 892 yards, 10 TDs). Archer has 1,772 all-purpose yards and has returned three kickoffs for scores.
The Flashes are a run-first squad. They’ve rushed for 1,958 yards and passed for 1,520.
“I think it’s huge in the month of November when the weather is not very favorable, especially in northeast Ohio,” Hazell said. “You’re going to have to turn around and hand the ball off to someone. If you can run the ball and keep the time of possession and get first downs, then you’ve got a good chance to be successful.”
Senior linebacker Luke Batton leads KSU in total tackles with 93. Junior tackle Roosevelt Nix has 12.5 tackles for loss.
“What makes him so special is he’s got such explosion off the ball,” Hazell said of Nix. “He gets his hips and shoulders turned where he splits the double-team all the time. He’s able to redirect fast, and he’s fast for a 250-pound guy.”
Kent has a plus-20 turnover margin and is tied for first in the Football Bowl Subdivision in that category. “We feel it’s the No. 1 component to help you win football games,” Hazell said.
National leaders: Northern Illinois redshirt junior Jordan Lynch has rushed for 100-plus yards in his last eight games, an NCAA record for quarterbacks. He has 185 carries for 1,342 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 162-of-258 passes for 2,175 yards and 19 TDs.
Bowling Green senior defensive tackle Chris Jones is tied for first in the FBS with 11.5 sacks this season.
Milestone season: The MAC is the only FBS conference that has four teams with only one defeat: Northern Illinois (9-1), Toledo (8-1), Kent State (8-1) and Ohio (8-1).
Honor roll: The conference announced its Players of the Week on Monday.
Buffalo running back Branden Oliver (offense) and his teammate, place-kicker Patrick Clarke (special teams), were named in the East Division, along with Kent State’s Nix. West Division honorees were Western Michigan wide receiver Eric Monette (offense), Northern Illinois tackle Ken Bishop (defense) and Central Michigan punter Richie Hogan (special teams).
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