KENT: Freshman quarterback Giorgio Morgan was guaranteed to be a big story win or lose for Kent State on Saturday, but sophomore kicker Nate Reed stole some of the spotlight.

Early on, that was good for KSU, as the Golden Flashes used Reed's leg for two long field goals. Later on, however, Reed struggled with every kind of kick, costing the Flashes 11 potential points in a nine-point loss to Central Michigan, 41-32.

First, the good: Reed, a Wadsworth graduate, booted career-long field goals of 47 and 52 yards on KSU's first two possessions. The 52-yarder set a school record. Paul Marchese had hit a 51-yarder in 1977.

Reed's kicks gave Morgan a chance to settle down in his first collegiate start. CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour did Morgan no favors.

LeFevour led his team to scores on its first five possessions as the Chippewas racked up the points early at a cold and wind-whipped Dix Stadium.

LeFevour had all three of his touchdowns and 254 of his 359 yards in the first half as Central Michigan used a swift, no-huddle offense.

''With the exception of Kentucky, that's the best offensive football team we played this year,'' said Kent State coach Doug Martin, pointing out that he wasn't forgetting about his team's 48-3 loss to No.1-ranked Ohio State on Oct. 13.

''We certainly had our hands full in the first half'' against CMU, Martin said. ''But we got better in the second half,'' holding them to 10 points, ''and one of those (scores) was a short field.''

Morgan didn't match the efficiency of LeFevour, a sophomore, but for someone expecting to redshirt just a week ago, he played well.

Morgan took over for Julian Edelman, who suffered a season-ending broken arm last week.

Morgan threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, which ended with the Flashes trailing 31-19.

''After I got the first hit out of the way, everything else went smoothly from there,'' Morgan said.

In the end, Morgan's stat line read: 18-for-28 for 247 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He had completions to eight receivers, including four freshmen.

''He exceeded all our expectations,'' Martin said. ''He gave us a chance to win today.''

Kent State's offense did not make a turnover, nor did it commit a penalty.

Kent State's first touchdown came with 1:16 left in the first quarter as Morgan found fellow freshman Andre Flowers for a 22-yard touchdown, the first of their careers.

''I was very excited inside,'' Morgan said. ''But physically, I didn't want to show that much expression. I wanted to let my team know we still had more series to go, and we still had a football game to win.''

For all the steps forward Morgan took, it seemed Reed took that many backward after his first two kicks.

Reed struggled in the second half by missing three field goals and an extra point. Anotherextra-point kick was blocked.

Despite the kicking game's trouble, Morgan led the Flashes to within six points at 38-32 late in the third quarter when sophomore Eugene Jarvis scored from 14 yards out.

Overshadowed in KSU's fourth consecutive loss was Jarvis running for 156 yards on 19 carries. His 106 first-half yards gave him his fifth 100-yard half this season.

Jarvis rose to 10th on the school's career rushing list with 2,057 yards in two seasons. His 1,259 yards this season ranks second behind Eric Wilkerson's season record of 1,325, compiled in 1988.