Kent State football: 5 things to watch in home opener vs. Saint. Francis

Kent State has much to defend at its Saturday home opener against the FCS’s Saint Francis University.

The Golden Flashes , who finished 1-11 and at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference last season, are coming off a season-opening 55-24 loss to Pittsburgh. The Red Flash lost 18-10 to Dayton in Week 1.

Saturday's game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. at Dix Stadium, with Kent State looking for its eight consecutive home-opening win.

Here are five things to watch for from the Golden Flashes in Week 2:

Ky Thomas and Kent State run game looks to improve after slow start

In Week 1, the Flashes could not muster even an average of 1 yard on 38 rushing attempts against Pitt’s defense, finishing with 31 yards as a team, a 0.8 yards average.

“Our O-line has to play better,” Kent State coach Kenni Burns said in a news conference Monday. “They cannot play so timid in the beginning.”

Senior running back Ky Thomas ran the ball 18 times for 40 yards.

“He played solid,” Burns said. “He ran hard. We have to do a better job of giving him places to run the ball. Ky has a ton of ability.”

The Saint Francis defense allowed 112 rushing yards on 30 carries to Dayton’s top two rushers in its Week 1 loss.

Kent State defensive line play expected to improve

Kent State allowed 201 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Panthers in Week 1.

Led by junior Stephen Daly, the Flashes’ three starting defensive linemen combined for 10 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one pass break up.

“We have to play better on the interior,” Burns said. “(Lineman) Oliver Billotte played solid, but he can play way better than what he played, and (lineman) Kaden Beatty did a really good job, too.”

Last week, Saint Francis ran for more yards (126 on 28 carries) than it did through the air. The team allowed only one sack, but Kent State tallied four sacks against Pitt.

Transfer linebacker Mason Woods should continue to lead Kent State defense

Junior linebacker Mason Woods, a transfer from Towson in his first year at Kent State, led the Flashes defense with nine total tackles last week. In two years at Towson, Woods totaled 122 tackles, three pass break ups, one interception and 1.5 sacks.

The redshirt junior will look to carry his success into Week 2 as the defensive leader.

Kicker Andrew Glass is on the brink of making Kent State history

Senior Andrew Glass is quietly making his mark in the Kent State record book with his leg.

With three extra points last week against Pitt, Glass became the third player in program history to knock through 100 career extra points. Three more field goals will put him above the current record of 56.

Kent State coach Kenni Burns to stick with passing-game playmakers

Luke Floriea had six catches for a career-high 104 receiving yards with one touchdown, and Chrishon McCray had four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown against Pitt.

Quarterback Devin Kargman will look to build on 14-of-28 passing effort in Week 1 that resulted in 181 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Meanwhile, Saint Francis allowed 156 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in its loss last week.

“I expect major jumps this next week with building a game plan to fit the strengths of our roster,” Burns said. “It is built around not only Ky and Chrishon, but Luke Floriea. He showed you what he can do with the ball in his hands.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State football: 5 things to watch in home opener vs. Saint. Francis