Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/174174
P R E G A M E R E P O R T P E N N STAT E vs . K E N T 3:30 KENT STATE FACTS COACH Paul Haynes (Kent State, '92) COACH'S RECORD 1-2 in his first season as a head coach. P. M. , SEPT. 21 STAT E BTN IN GOODE HANDS Tyshon Goode leads KSU with 14 catches. He caught three against PSU in 2011. 2013 RECORD 1-2 (0-1 Mid-American) RECORD VS. PENN STATE Separated by just over 200 miles, Penn State and Kent State have met only three times in their history. The Nittany Lions have won all three, including the first contest in 1965. PREVIOUS MEETING The Golden Flashes were curbed to just 228 yards of total offense, including 58 on the ground, as Penn State cruised to a 24-0 shutout win. THE GOOD NIX AND CUTS Kent State senior Roosevelt Nix is one of the most touted defensive linemen in the country. He's ranked second among active Football Bowl Subdivision players with career tackles for loss (56.0), fifth in forced fumbles (10) and 14th in sacks (21.5). But he's been fighting a minor injury Kent State Athletics Communications Flash forward THE BAD SECONDARY ISSUE Throughout three games, Kent State has the least efficient pass defense in the MAC. Opposing QBs are completing 70 percent of their passes while the Kent State defense has yet to intercept a pass. THE UGLY OPPONENT RERUN Like UCF last week, KSU enters the PSU game without ever having beaten a Big Ten opponent (0-9). Will it end the streak as the Knights did last week? BWI thinks not. DID YOU KNOW? After having one of the best seasons in school history on the field, Kent State also set a milestone in the classroom last year. The team compiled its highest in-season grade point average in recorded program history. 45 players carried at least a 3.0 GPA. PSU and Kent State aim to rebound from defeat, but Lions hold an edge TIM OWEN | OW E N. T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M Life was good for Kent State in 2012. An energetic head coach led the Golden Flashes to a Top-25 ranking, an 11-3 record and the program's first bowl invitation since the one-hit wonder "Me and Mrs. Jones" originally debuted in 1972. Kent State doesn't want to wait another 40 years for its next bowl trip. It's trying to persuade the public that last year wasn't a fluke, but that hasn't been easy. The school lost its energetic head coach – Darrell Hazell – to Purdue in the offS E P T E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 3 1 season. Graduation played its natural role, and since the start of preseason camp, the injury list has gotten its fair share of ink. After an easy week-one victory vs. Liberty, the Golden Flashes were thumped at home by conference foe Bowling Green, 41-22. Then they traveled to LSU, where they were thrashed by the Tigers, 45-13. On Saturday, Kent State's first-year head coach Paul Haynes will be trying his hardest to put a halt to the two-game losing skid, and he'll be trying even harder to make sure his team B L UE WHI T E ON L I N E . COM