The Kent State Golden Flashes showed flashed of turning the corner last season before ultimately finishing with a.500 record in conference. Doug Martin is set for his 7th year as head coach at Kent State and has to be optimistic that this is one of the best teams he has assembled in his tenure. The East division is wide open this year and the Golden Flashes possess enough talent to finish on top. View the full conference breakdown in our 2010 MAC football predictions article.
Injuries play a large role in the lackluster year the Kent State offense had. Star RB Eugene Jarvis went down early in the season with a lacerated kidney and never returned. The NCAA granted Jarvis a 6th year of eligibility, which was a huge boost to the 2010 season. He showed his full potential in 2007 by rushing for nearly 1700 yards. Jacquise Terry is the top returning rusher, gaining 649 yards and scoring four touchdowns. He should form a solid 1-2 punch with Jarvis. Sophomore QB Spencer Keith was set for backup duties in 2009 before an injury to starting quarterback Giorgio Morgan occurred. Keith played well in relief, throwing for 2147 yards and 14 touchdowns before suffering an injury of his own that sidelined him for the final two games. The coaching staff is very high on this kid and love his intelligence at the most important position on the team. WR Tyshon Good is one of the top receivers in the MAC and had a fine freshman season. His 53 receptions were tops on the team and he had more than 400 more yards than the next closest receiver. Keith and Good form the best young QB/WR duo in the MAC. The offensive line should be a solid unit with four returning starters and the majority of their two deep returning. They were extremely young at this position a year ago and will lean on that youth once again this season.
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Defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis did a nice job with the defense last year, holding opponents to a respectable 22 points/game. Rekstis has been with coach martin for the entire duration of their time at Kent State and has a fun group to work with in 2010. Seven starters are back from last year's unit including three all-conference selections. DE Monte Simmons burst onto the scene in 09', tallying 8 sacks in the final seven games of the season. Quinton Rainey is undersized for a nose tackle weighing in at a light 235 pounds, but the front four was excellent against the run last season allowing 137 yards/game. LB Cobrani Mixon is one of the top linebackers in the MAC. After transferring from Michigan, Mixon racked up 108 tackles in his inaugural season in the middle for the Golden Flashes. He was elected to the 1st team All-MAC and is set for a stellar senior season. Many coaches around the league believe that Kent State features the top secondary. They possess two all-con ference safeties in Brian Lainhart and Josh Pleasant plus CB Kirk Belgrave returns this season after missing 2009 with an injury.
It seems that a MAC always pulls off an upset against a power conference team early in the season. Kent State will get two cracks at it with road trips to Boston College and Penn State. Conference play begins on October 2nd at Miami (OH). Home games against Temple and the season finale vs. Ohio could go a long way in deciding the East division champion. Kent State is my pick to win the MAC this season and I believe they reach the 9 win mark.
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