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Kent State Football Picks
Spring practices are in the books and
fall camps will be here before you know it so that means
getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season.
Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt
Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this
upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006
College Football Preview.
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#114 – Kent State Golden Flashes 1-10 SU; 3-7 ATS
Fargo’s Take Last year was not pleasant for the Golden
Flashes and things aren’t expected to be too much better in
2006. In order to win, teams must be able to run the
football and that is something Kent St. was not able to do.
It finished dead last in 1-A in rushing offense as it
averaged only 45.9 ypg which was close to 30 yards less per
game than the next closest team. The good news is that
Michigan St. transfer Tony Howard is eligible so an
improvement is likely. Consistency at quarterback is a must,
another thing that was not on the field a season ago.
Defensively, the Golden Flashes were near the bottom of the
rankings in both scoring defense and rushing defense. A lack
of experienced linebackers will certainly not help the
latter. Last season, Kent St. won just one game and that
came against 1-AA SE Missouri St. but if there was any good
out of the 10 losses, it was that four of those came by a
touchdown or less. Five winnable games dot the schedule but
four of those are on the road.
Returning Starters on Offense – 9 While the running
game was a disaster last season, it is not the biggest
concern coming into 2006. Injuries to the top five backs did
not help things and new talent is coming in this year to
move things forward. The offensive line is going to improve
thanks to a vigorous offseason program so it all comes down
to quarterback Michael Machen. He was inconsistent last
season with two 300-yard passing games but his 18
interceptions killed the offense. After scoring 30 or more
points three times in its first six games, Kent St. managed
only 40 points in its final five games combined. A lot of
experience returns so improvement should be anticipated, a
key thing to remember when making
football picks.
Returning Starters on Defense – 9 Because of the
inconsistent play of the offense, the defense had it back
against the wall much too often. Not only do nine starters
return, but Pittsburgh transfer Damian Matuschek will be a
big addition to the defensive line. The secondary allowed
the 24th fewest amount of passing yards in the country last
season but a lot of that can be attributed to teams not
needing to throw the ball. Only seven seniors are part of
the two-deep rotation showing just how young this team is so
more growing pains are inevitable. Turning the ball over was
a regular occurrence but taking the ball away was not as the
Golden Flashes finished 109th in turnover margin.
Schedule The schedule does not get any easier this season
even though the MAC slate is one of the easiest you could
ask for. The problem is that the three easiest conference
games are on the road along with non-conference games at
Army and at Temple. Minnesota is the first Big Ten team ever
to invade Dix Stadium and that happens to be the first game
of the season. A trip to Virginia Tech is also on the
schedule which is sandwiched between three games at the end
of the season that can all be won. The problem is that Kent
St. could be 1-7 heading into that stretch, meaning the
fight will be gone.
You can bet on… No win is guaranteed this season like it was
last year when SE Missouri St. was on the schedule. The
Golden Flashes play five games that they have a chance of
taking but the schedule sets up where four of those contests
are on the road. However, those are the games to look for
some value since they will likely be getting a fair amount
of points yet will matching up well. Kent St. covered only
three times last season so we should see some progress
against the number even though it may not be reflected in
the overall win-loss record.
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