Kent State football | How can Golden Flashes defeat BGSU for first win of season?

KENT — Kent State is still searching for its first win of 2024, and last Saturday's 37-35 home loss to Ball State means the first half of the season has already come and gone.

The two-point Mid-American Conference defeat was the sixth of the season for the Golden Flashes (0-6, 0-2), but it also was the team’s closest game of the year.

“We fell short coming back and trying to close that game,” Flashes coach Kenni Burns said. “A lot of credit to Ball State. They did some good stuff execution-wise at the end of the game. We have to keep growing, playing better, learning from each game that we play. We can see we’re getting closer and closer.”

At 15 games, Kent State has the longest losing streak in Division I football. The next longest is the University of Texas–El Paso’s nine-game skid.

Burns will be looking for the second win of his 18-game tenure with the Flashes at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Bowling Green (2-4, 1-1).

Against Ball State, KSU’s aerial attack led the way for the second game in a row, and the passing game will be leaned upon once again Saturday.

“We obviously can throw the ball around,” Burns said. “Also, we’re taking what the defense is giving us. We did a good job of finding ways to get [the receivers] in one-on-one situations.”

After a terrific first start against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 28, junior quarterback Tommy Ulatowski outdid himself with career highs in passing touchdowns and passing yards against the Cardinals . He threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns while completing 17 of 36 attempts, although he threw an interception for the second game in a row.

Redshirt sophomore wideout Chrishon McCray also showed out with a career day against Ball State. He hauled in eight receptions for 213 yards and three touchdowns on his way to earning MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. His receiving yards and touchdowns were both career highs, and only once before in his career had he caught more passes in a game.

Ulatowski had another efficient receiver in graduate student Luke Floriea , who tallied 130 receiving yards and one touchdown on six catches.

In all, Floriea and McCray accounted for 343 of Ulatowski’s 394 passing yards.

Over the last two games, the passing attack has opened up the offense, and it showed in the box score.

The Flashes have scored more than 30 points in each of their last two games, which they had not done in any previous games this season. The offense has produced over 700 passing yards and seven touchdowns in that span.

But KSU will have its hands full with the BGSU passing defense Saturday. The Falcons secondary only allows 175.7 passing yards per game, which ranks 25th in the country, although the unit only has one interception this season. The most passing yards an opponent has had this season against BGSU is 219 yards.

The KSU defense will need to follow the offense’s lead to win games in the second half of the season, Burns said.

“We’re playing so many new faces on defense,” he said after the Ball State game. “Defensive football is so much about togetherness and communication. I thought they did a solid job, but our defense is still coming together.”

The defense surrendered 37 points last week against the Cardinals, its lowest total allowed since a 23-17 loss to Saint Francis in Week 2 . Overall, the Flashes allow 49 points per game and have given up 50 or more points four times to rank last nationally in scoring defense.

Kent State will need to bounce back after allowing 191 rushing yards, 215 passing yards and four touchdowns against Ball State. Last week, Bowling Green threw for just 98 yards and a touchdown and ran for 107 yards and no scores in a 17-7 loss to Northern Illinois.

“We don’t believe in moral victories at all,” Burns said. “Creativity and positivity is how we respond in our program. We have to let these kids keep growing up — they’re getting better.”

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

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State football | How can Golden Flashes defeat BGSU for first win of season?