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By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 02:04 p.m. EDT, Oct 16, 2009
It's hard to say which team is more desperate for a win between host Eastern Michigan and Kent State.
Is it a team like the Eagles, who are still searching for their first victory of the season entering Week Six of the Mid-American Conference schedule?
Or is it the Golden Flashes, who suffered a fourth-quarter meltdown last week in which they blew a 12-point lead in the final five minutes of the game?
''Our players need to go back out and win a football game at Eastern Michigan — that's the best cure for us,'' said Kent State coach Doug Martin of the 4 p.m. game today.
The Flashes are in the midst of an identity crisis after the 36-35 meltdown last week to visiting Bowling Green.
Are they the solid football team that owned a double-digit lead late in the game? Or are they the team that crumbled under the pressure and gave up 140 passing yards in five minutes to suffer the loss?
Eastern Michigan is not any better off. It was blown out 56-8 at Mount Pleasant, Mich., by the conference's top team in Central Michigan.
In addition, both team's defenses have suffered injuries.
Kent State has settled down at quarterback with freshman Spencer Keith stepping in for injured starter Giorgio Morgan (ankle). The Eagles have not found a quarterback since losing senior Andy Schmitt for the season with a torn ACL injury that requires surgery.
Keith has been surprisingly level-headed for a freshman, completing 58.3 percent of his passes for 728 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions.
''You couldn't ask more for a guy in his position right now,'' Martin said of Keith.
Schmitt's loss left Eastern Michigan with two inexperienced quarterbacks in Kyle McMahon and Alex Gillett, both of whom saw time in last week's debacle against CMU.
McMahon earned the start and completed 8-of-14 passes for 76 yards, and Gillette contributed 9-of-18 passes for 51 yards off the bench.
Overshadowed in last week's lopsided loss was the performance of former Green High School standout and redshirt sophomore Corey Welch. Against the Chipps, Welch ran for a career-high 81 yards on 12 rushes and also recorded the first touchdown of his career on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to notch EMU's lone touchdown.
But moral victories only go so far by the midpoint of the season.
''I know what a team is supposed to look like and I have that expectation, but I don't really go in with a lot of other expectations,'' EMU coach Ron English said on AnnArbor.com. ''I just try and assess the situation and so with where we are now, it can be frustrating if you allow it to. But if you allow yourself to become frustrated, you diminish your ability to concentrate on what is really important — and that's improvement.''
Entering the game against Central Michigan, the Eagles boasted the No. 1 pass defense in the nation in limiting its opponents to just 89.25 passing yards per contest. Even after the tough defeat, EMU still brings a respectable fourth ranking into the game against KSU, having now allowed 135 yards per contest.
The Flashes and Eagles will be meeting for just the fourth time in the past six years in MAC cross-divisional action. The game begins a stretch in which Kent State will play four of its final six games on the road.
Stephanie Storm can be reached
at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
It's hard to say which team is more desperate for a win between host Eastern Michigan and Kent State.
Is it a team like the Eagles, who are still searching for their first victory of the season entering Week Six of the Mid-American Conference schedule?
Or is it the Golden Flashes, who suffered a fourth-quarter meltdown last week in which they blew a 12-point lead in the final five minutes of the game?
''Our players need to go back out and win a football game at Eastern Michigan — that's the best cure for us,'' said Kent State coach Doug Martin of the 4 p.m. game today.
The Flashes are in the midst of an identity crisis after the 36-35 meltdown last week to visiting Bowling Green.
Are they the solid football team that owned a double-digit lead late in the game? Or are they the team that crumbled under the pressure and gave up 140 passing yards in five minutes to suffer the loss?
Eastern Michigan is not any better off. It was blown out 56-8 at Mount Pleasant, Mich., by the conference's top team in Central Michigan.
In addition, both team's defenses have suffered injuries.
Kent State has settled down at quarterback with freshman Spencer Keith stepping in for injured starter Giorgio Morgan (ankle). The Eagles have not found a quarterback since losing senior Andy Schmitt for the season with a torn ACL injury that requires surgery.
Keith has been surprisingly level-headed for a freshman, completing 58.3 percent of his passes for 728 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions.
''You couldn't ask more for a guy in his position right now,'' Martin said of Keith.
Schmitt's loss left Eastern Michigan with two inexperienced quarterbacks in Kyle McMahon and Alex Gillett, both of whom saw time in last week's debacle against CMU.
McMahon earned the start and completed 8-of-14 passes for 76 yards, and Gillette contributed 9-of-18 passes for 51 yards off the bench.
Overshadowed in last week's lopsided loss was the performance of former Green High School standout and redshirt sophomore Corey Welch. Against the Chipps, Welch ran for a career-high 81 yards on 12 rushes and also recorded the first touchdown of his career on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to notch EMU's lone touchdown.
But moral victories only go so far by the midpoint of the season.
''I know what a team is supposed to look like and I have that expectation, but I don't really go in with a lot of other expectations,'' EMU coach Ron English said on AnnArbor.com. ''I just try and assess the situation and so with where we are now, it can be frustrating if you allow it to. But if you allow yourself to become frustrated, you diminish your ability to concentrate on what is really important — and that's improvement.''
Entering the game against Central Michigan, the Eagles boasted the No. 1 pass defense in the nation in limiting its opponents to just 89.25 passing yards per contest. Even after the tough defeat, EMU still brings a respectable fourth ranking into the game against KSU, having now allowed 135 yards per contest.
The Flashes and Eagles will be meeting for just the fourth time in the past six years in MAC cross-divisional action. The game begins a stretch in which Kent State will play four of its final six games on the road.
Stephanie Storm can be reached
at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Canton, OH
Posted 06:56 PM, 10/16/2009
The black squirrel flashes will get rolled up & out by the Eagles. . .
