'Have to keep improving': Kent State football loses again as run game continues to struggle

KENT — Entering Saturday’s game against Ball State , Kent State was one of the worst college football teams in the nation in the run game.

The Golden Flashes likely will stay that way after suffering their 15th consecutive loss, 37-35 to the Cardinals in a Mid-American Conference game at Dix Stadium. Kent State (0-6, 0-2) is the MAC's only winless team.

“Losing is never acceptable,” Flashes coach Kenni Burns said. “This program is so past moral victories, but they fought until the end. We have to learn to close those games."

The offense has been productive in the last two games for KSU, scoring a combined 68 points. But most of that production is coming through the air.

Junior quarterback Tommy Ulatowski has thrown for 739 yards and seven touchdowns in the last two games while the running game has accumulated a total of 144 yards.

‘We’ve committed to the pass game quite a bit,” Burns said. “There are some opportunities to run the ball a little more, but we also have to quit playing catch up.”

How did Kent State's rushing attack become one of NCAA's worst?

Coming into the game against Ball State, the Flashes were at the bottom of the list on many FBS rushing statistics.

• Kent State was last in rushing yards per game (57.6) and had only scored a rushing touchdown twice in five games. Only two teams had scored fewer touchdowns.
• The Flashes also had the lowest average per carry (1.8 yards) in the FBS. No other team in the nation had an average under 2 yards per carry.
• The team has not eclipsed 100 yards rushing in a game this season.

One factor in those numbers was the difficulty of KSU's nonconference schedule to start the season.

In Week 1 against Pitt of the ACC, KSU ran the ball 38 times for 31 yards. Things got only marginally better from there.

In its four games against nonconference opponents, Kent State tallied 126 carries for 212 rushing yards and no scores.

The first time KSU scored a rushing touchdown this season came in Week 5 against Eastern Michigan. The Flashes have totaled three rushing TDs the past two games and their 72 rushing yards per game against two MAC opponents is a step forward.

But work needs to be done for the run game to help KSU put together wins.

“We have to keep improving there,” Burns said. “The O-line has to keep improving there, the backs have to keep breaking more tackles. We have to put them in positions to win games. There is definitely room for improvement in the run game. It always starts up front and it starts with the backs breaking tackles.”

How will coach Kenni Burns fix the Kent State running game?

A candidate to get the running game going is redshirt senior running back Ky Thomas.

“Ky is a very, very talented back,” Burns said. “He knows he has so much more to give, and he will for sure. I love the fight in Ky.”

Thomas has appeared in all six games and he leads the team in carries (63) and rushing yards (207), and is one of three Flashes to run for a TD this season.

“He is still not exactly what I know he can be,” Burns said. “You saw a glimpse of it today, but we have to get that ankle right so he can be at 400%. He is definitely closer to what he can become.”

But it is more than Thomas or any of the running backs. An offensive line that's used 10 different combinations because of injuries and position switches also needs to improve.

Burns remains optimistic.

“I have tons of confidence in them because I have seen them at their best,” Burns said. “Right now we are not at our best at times. They have to keep improving.”

John Hilber is an Akron Beacon Journal correspondent. You can contact him at jhilber@kent.edu .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Have to keep improving': Kent State football loses again as run game continues to struggle