The Kent State football team has been able to unlock their vertical passing game through the first two weeks of league play under the direction of quarterback Tommy Ulatowski.
Ulatowski has set career highs in passing yards in back-to-back games in MAC play, going for 345 against Eastern Michigan and 394 against Ball State.
Receiver Chrishon McCray earned MAC Player of the Week with his performance against the Cardinals, catching eight passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns.
In the last two games McCray has gone for 13 receptions for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns, with four of those TD’s going for 57 or more yards. Luke Floriea also had a career day against Ball State with seven receptions for 130 yards and a TD.
Kent State Head Coach Kenni Burns said Monday at his press conference that the emphasis on the pass game is a product of what the defense is giving them.
“We’re running the ball against a loaded box,” Burns said. “If you know anything about football there’s nine guys in the box right now trying to stop the run, and the quarterback run because Tommy’s the quarterback. So, it’s leaving one on one match ups down the field, and a lot of our play action game is that, so we’re play actioning and we’re able to get one on one with him and Luke and there’s big chunks out there and we left some out there. That first drive there’s one to Luke, if he catches that one there’s another 60 or 70 yards out there.”
Kent State will look to continue to create big plays this weekend at Bowling Green however that presents itself.
“Your team is showing you what they can do, and we obviously can throw the ball around, but then also we’re taking what the defense is giving us,” Burns said. “There’s more of an intentionality to stop the run since we’ve been in league play and it’s created some one-on-one matchups for Chrishon to make explosive plays.”
Offensively, the Flashes will look to put up at least 30 points in MAC play for the third straight game for the first time since 2021, when they did it in seven straight games.
Kent State takes on a Bowling Green team that is coming off a disappointing home loss to Northern Illinois 17-7, to drop to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league. The Falcons have played Penn State and Texas A&M tough this year, losing to each by one score.
“I have no question in my mind that this team, if they get the confidence back, could be one of those special teams at Bowling Green,” said BG head coach Scott Loeffler, who is in his sixth year as head coach of the Falcons. “Right now, of course, it’s doom and gloom, 2-4, the world’s falling apart.”
“That’s not true. We’ve played some really good football teams. We’ve lost our confidence a little bit, we’ll get it back, and we’re going to let it rip. We’re good enough, we’re as talented as anyone else in this conference.”
Kickoff from Doyt Perry Stadium is set for 3:30pm Saturday with the game being televised on ESPN+ as well as on the Kent State radio network.