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2009 Kent State Golden Flashes College Football Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

kent-st-611091 The Kent State Golden Flashes handed MAC East champ Buffalo its only loss within the division last season. That shows you the kind of talent this team has. However, consistency has been a major problem as the Flashes finished just 4-8 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. Kent State is now 19-39 in five seasons under head coach Doug Martin, including 13-27 in league play. The team has talent in key positions but the wins are yet to start piling up. Find out if Kent State is ready to breakthrough in this 2009 college football preview. Like college football betting? Our readers get a special $500 match bonus at BetUS. Take advantage of this great bonus this season.

Offense – Kent State has some big shoes to fill at the quarterback position. The team lost QB Julian Edelman to graduation after a season in which he accounted for two-thirds of their offense. With neither Giorgio Morgan or Anthony Magazu, who are competing for the starting job this season, being as gifted running the football as Edelman, the Kent State offense figures to take to the air more in 2009. While both players have some experience under center at Kent State, Morgan appears to have the early edge.

Running back Eugene Jarvis will once again be the feature player in the offense with Edelman’s departure as well. After rushing for 1,669 yards in 2007, the senior tailback only racked up 801 yards last season. The 5′5”, 170-pound tailback remains one of the most exciting playmakers in the league.

With the Golden Flashes expected to air it out more frequently, the receiving corps will be expected to come up big. The coaching staff has high hopes for Tyshon Goode. Goode could emerge as a star in his freshman season if he lives up to the hype of being a two-time all-state player in high school.

The offensive line returns pretty much intact, only losing two players to graduation. This unit was solid in its run blocking a season ago, helping the offense average 230.6 rushing yards per game (11th in the nation), but now they’ll have to prove that they can protect a less elusive QB in 2009.

Defense – The strength of the Kent State defense is on the line. Sam Frist, Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, Chris Favazzo, Kevin Hogan, and Monte Simmons give the Golden Flashes a nice mix of experienced, athletic players up front to standout in Martin’s 3-4 scheme.

The linebacker corps took a hit due to graduation, but Martin doesn’t see this unit as being a weak spot. The team is expecting big things from former Michigan transfer Cobrani Mixon and verteran Anthony Mirando.

The secondary was not as good as expected in 2008 with the upperclassmen underachieving. But junior safety Brian Lainhart gave the Flashes a reason to be excited as he earned second team all-conference honors as a sophomore.

Prediction: 6th MAC East – Losing Edelman figures to set the Kent State offense back in 2009. They’ll try to go to the air more to compensate, but I can’t see this air attack being top notch. While I like the experience on the defensive line, it’s hard to think a defense which allowed 31.7 points per game in 2008 is going to be much better. Bet your college football picks at Bookmaker and get a 20 percent cash sign up bonus!

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