The Mid-American Conference yearly awards came out Wednesday—Kent State was as well represented as expected following a historic season. 

A special visitor stopped by Kent State’s practice Tuesday late afternoon/early evening in Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.

“He called me earlier in the day and asked if were OK if he stopped by,” KSU coach Darrell Hazell said. “He said, ‘I’m in the area recruiting’ and I said, ‘I’d love to see you’.

Senior forward Chris Evans was honored with his second Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week Award this season on Monday. 

Evans shared this week's honor with Ohio's Walter Offutt after leading the Golden Flashes to two wins in as many games this week that included the first win ever by a MAC team against Nebraska.

Evans led Kent State to a 74-60 victory over the host Cornhuskers Saturday by averaging 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds and shooting over 66 percent from the field.

TAKING IT EASY – With star players such as running backs Dri Archer (ankle) and Trayion Durham (hip, quad) battling through injuries and other players dealing with their own bumps and bruises, KSU coach Darrell Hazell is taking it a little easier on his players in practice this week.

“We’ve been practicing for a long time, since August,” Hazell said. “The guys have been going at it since well before August. Now, it comes down to doing the things we’ve done all season. There’s nothing new, we just need to be fresh when we do it – that will help our chances.”

Here is a video of Kent State coach Darrell Hazell and Golden Flashes players talking about the MAC title game, Friday against Northern Illinois.

Through all the broken records and thrills of an 11-1 season, Kent State might have a chance to take another giant step forward in program history. 

Kent State has its highest AP Poll ranking in school history.  

The Golden Flashes are ranked No. 18 in the latest AP Top-25 Poll, released a couple of minutes ago. 

Led by a strong second half, the Golden Flashes took down Nebraska 74-60 in Lincoln in the fourth and final game of the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic.

Chris Evans led KSU with 19 points on 8-9 shooting, including 13 in the second half alone. He also had six rebounds.

With Kent State’s dynamic rushing dou of Trayion Durham and Dri Archer hobbled but still toughing it out against visisiting Ohio, the Golden Flashes defense paved the way for the nation’s No. 23-ranked team to continue its march through this unexpected season of greatness.

The Kent State defense entered Friday’s game leading the nation in turnover margin (plus-20) and quickly showed why. In the first quarter, the unit scored two touchdowns off forced Bobcats turnovers - including a 50-yard fumble return by junior safety Luke Wollet - to spark the Flashes to a 28-6 win at Dix Stadium.

Kent State running back Dri Archer was named MAC East Player of the Week after torching Bowling Green in the Golden Flashes' 31-24 win on Saturday to secure the MAC East Title and a place in the MAC Championship game in Detroit, Mich. 

Archer ran for a career-high 241 yards on only 17 carries, an average of 14.2 yards per attempt. He also had two dynamic touchdowns of over 70 yards, one of which being a highlight-reel 74-yarder and appeared on Sportscenter's Top-10 Plays. The run can be seen below. 

Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell has been named one of 16 semi-finalists for the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. 

Kent State is currently riding a program-record nine-game winning streak, and with a win over Ohio on Friday, would become the first East Division program since 2003 to go 8-0 in conference play. 

Kent State moved up two spots to No. 23 in the latest AP poll that was released Sunday. Northern Illinois, the team the Flashes will play in the MAC title game Dec. 1, is ranked No. 24.

KSU (10-1) plays against Ohio at 11 a.m. Friday at Dix Stadium.

Former Kent State guard Carlton "Scootie" Guyton was released from the NBDL's Erie BayHawks Thursday, only 13 days after he was selected in the 7th round of the draft, held on Nov. 2. 

Update: After being released Thursday morning, Guyton is open to hearing from other NBDL teams and is also open to the idea of playing over seas, with Sweden being a primary option, he told the Beacon Journal. Guyton has spoken with former KSU point guard Mike Porrini, who is currently playing in Turkey, and has heard positive things. 

Stephanie Storm’s in-game blog – KSU at Miami

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Kent State running backs Dri Archer andTrayion Durham (Cincinnati) have both been named nominees for the Doak Walker Award that honors the nation’s best running back. Kent State is one of just five teams to have two running backs nominated for the award.

The lightning and thunder combo have been key to the Golden Flashes 8-1 overall start and perfect 5-0 Mid-American Conference record.

Kent State is showing interest in West Chester Lakota West senior linebacker Mike Kelly, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Kelly, one of Cincinnati’s top linebackers this season, is 6 feet 1 and 210 pounds. He has offers from Yale, Indiana State, Lafayette, Princeton, Brown and Villanova.

Kent State coach Darrell Hazell talks about his football team in his weekly news conference on Monday, Nov. 5.