Kent State fell 55-24 Saturday afternoon from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh to the ACC’s Pitt Panthers. There were bright moments, flashes of building blocks and glimmers of hope. There were also things that reminded Kent State football fans of decades of losing and difficult moments. And a lot of moments where it was a Group of Five team playing a Power Four Team.
The “R” in GRIT for Kent State’s mantra stands for response. How do you respond when something bad happens. In life and in football. Another mantra I have used in life and in coaching and many years working with young people is E + R = O. Event plus response equals outcome. There are a lot of bad things that will happen in a football game. Some of it you can’t control, some if it is self inflicted mistakes you have to try and overcome.
I thought there were signs that Kent State exhibited some positive “R” factor on Saturday. They responded at times. They made adjustments and bounced back. I’ve seen a lot of Kent State teams “take their ball and go home” in both non-conference and conference games over the years.
Kent State Head Coach Kenni Burns was not in the mood for morale victories, or analyzing their “R” factor right after the game.
“Disappointed in the loss, unacceptable on every level from player, coach, myself, take total responsibility for it but unacceptable, every level, from the start to the finish,” Burns said. “We got to take this and say, this is who we are right now and fix it. That’s what the challenge is to this team. I do not think that that is a representation of what our team can be but it was what we were today and we got to own that.”
Burns has been apart of winning everywhere he’s been. He knows what it looks like and he knows what it takes. His task is not easy. “Rome wasn’t built in a day” he says. At Kent State, the challenge is always to overcome the history, the culture and the “same old Kent State” mentality.
We saw signs from the Flashes that this could be a different group. But it will take leaders, not followers. Guys that could care less about the history, and only fixated on creating a different future.
Burns talks about playing harder for longer, and getting comfortable when it gets hard. The Flashes did not finish the game how he would have liked Saturday.
Kent State needs their “A players to get A’s” as former coach Darrell Hazell used to say, or ‘dudes’ as Burns calls them.
“At halftime I made a comment and I said dude’s got to be dudes,” Burns said. “In the first half we weren’t being dudes on offense so again we made some adjustments which you always are going to do and then the playmakers started to show up a little bit. We gotta do that way sooner on offense.”
Who will these Flashes be? Will they take their ball and go home like so many before them when it gets hard? Or will they rise up with an “R” factor that is unlike others and uncommon. Let’s find out together.
“This locker room knows that that is not the team we are, they know that,” Burns said. “I think they are as disappointed as I am right now with the result that they just got. But they have a choice now to again fix it, or continue to live in this misery. And I think they’re going to respond the right way.”
KARGMAN TOUGH: Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman stood in the pocket and took some absolute shots from Pittsburgh defenders on Saturday. To his credit, he kept coming back and stood in there again. The Flashes must protect him better. He missed some throws for sure, but had other good moments on touchdown throws to Luke Floriea and Chrishon McCray. With the inability to run the ball well on Saturday, that forces long down and distances, obvious passing downs and the need to get the ball down the field vertically, which allows pass rushers to get after a young KSU line.
Burns was asked about Kargman. “He’s got to play better and he can. We got to protect him though, we gotta give him a shot up front. I didn’t think our O-line did a great job protecting him. I thought they responded in the second half after being challenged at halftime but we got to play better in every facet and we got to coach better, thats a big thing, head coach, assistant coaches, we’ve got to coach way better.”
Tommy Ulatowski only had a handful of snaps throughout the game, brought in on a 4th and short to pick up a first down. Expected to be used mostly in short yardage and red zone situations, Ulatowski’s athleticism will be useful, especially with the loss of Gavin Garcia to give the Flashes another option.
OLDS FLASHES: Kent State got some big plays from defensive end and Buffalo transfer Kameron Olds. The pass rushing specialist was able to get home for a sack in the second quarter and finished with four total tackles. The 6-4, 245 pound Junior from Richmond, Virginia gives the Flashes much needed depth and athleticism on the D-line.
“Ton of ability, again he’s got to be consistent with it,” Burns said. “I didn’t think he was overly consistent, he showed up here and there but he;s got a ton of ability. He’s a guy we got out of the portal thats a really good player and we need him to play well for us to have success.”
Olds was part of a defensive line that was a small bright spot for the Flashes, forcing pressure at times with Olds and Stephen Daley. However there were a few more chances for big plays, tackles for loss and tipped balls at the line of scrimmage that the Flashes didn’t convert on or finish a play.
FANTASTIC FLORIEA: Kent State graduate student Luke Floriea showed up big time in his last season opener of this career. The veteran from Mentor was a consistent bright spot for the Flashes, finishing with six catches for 104 yards, including a 36 yard touchdown from Kargman on a 4th and 7, on a skinny post route. If Kent State can protect, and develop some depth along with McCray and Floriea, a promising passing attack in MAC play is possible.
JOHNS CALLED FOR TARGETING: Kent State’s Khalib Johns was ejected in the second quarter for targeting on a key fourth down stop for the Flashes. Instead of getting off the field, the Flashes gave Pitt new life in which they cashed in for a touchdown. It was an obvious call, and an undisciplined play by Kent State. The same play could have been made with a break down and shoulder tackle. Instead, it deflated the defense Burns said.
“The penalty happened to Khalib and i thought that deflated our defense. They didn’t respond well after that. He’s a leader for sure at the linebacker and he was playing very well up to that point and I thought we didn’t come in and feed off what he had built up to that point. I thought when he went down in the second half we didn’t have the same juice as we had in the first.”
A very emotional Johns was shown on the television coverage distraught on the sidelines.
THE BALL IS THE PROGRAM: Kent State finished even in the turnover margin Saturday. An interception and sixty yard return near the goal line by safety Alex Branch was a big play, but resulted in no points for the Flashes. A forced fumble by true freshman Nylan Brown on the punt team resulted in a recovery by Naim Muhammed and a 34 yard return for a touchdown off special teams. Kent State’s Josh Baka and Rocco Nicholl dropped for sure interceptions. The Flashes will need to convert those plays moving forward.
Kargman threw one pick and fumbled another when he dropped back to pass and was pressured.
STAY CLASSY…GLASSY: Place Kicker Andrew Glass knocked in a 36 yard field goal Saturday in the third quarter to eclipse the 200 point mark for his career, just the 10th Kent State player to do so in program history.