# 2019 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

The 2019 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Sean Lewis and played their home games at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio, as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.
Trailing 6–27 in the fourth quarter against Buffalo with a 3–6 record, Kent State proceeded to score 24 unanswered points in the last eight minutes of the game to win 30–27, and later followed that victory with two additional wins to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2012. Kent State were then invited to the Frisco Bowl where they defeated Utah State with a 51–41 score.

## Preseason
### MAC media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Golden Flashes predicted to finish in fourth place in the East Division.
East Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 144 (24) |
| 2 | Miami | 107 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 100 |
| 4 | Kent State | 62 |
| 5 | Akron | 54 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 37 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | 10:00 p.m. | at Arizona State* | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | P12N | L 7–30 | 47,413 |
| September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 9 (FCS) Kennesaw State* | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN3 | W 26–23 $^{OT}$ | 18,679 |
| September 14 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Auburn* | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | ESPN2 | L 16–55 | 84,542 |
| September 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Bowling Green | Dix StadiumKent, OH (Anniversary Award) | ESPN3 | W 62–20 | 19,700 |
| October 5 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 8 Wisconsin* | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPNU | L 0–48 | 74,559 |
| October 12 | 3:30 p.m. | at Akron | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH (Wagon Wheel) | ESPN3 | W 26–3 | 22,692 |
| October 19 | 12:00 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | CBSSN | L 38–45 | 15,009 |
| October 26 | 3:30 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | L 16–23 | 8,455 |
| November 5 | 7:00 p.m. | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | CBSSN | L 33–35 | 16,331 |
| November 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Buffalo | Dix StadiumKent, OH | CBSSN | W 30–27 | 8,450 |
| November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | Ball State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | W 41–38 | 8,825 |
| November 29 | 12:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPN+ | W 34–26 | 13,444 |
| December 20 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Utah State* | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (Frisco Bowl) | ESPN2 | W 51–41 | 12,120 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### At Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Sun Devils | 10 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 30 |

### Kennesaw State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 9 (FCS) Owls | 3 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Golden Flashes | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 26 |

### At No. 8 Auburn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| No. 8 Tigers | 14 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 55 |
at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama
* Date: September 14, 2019
* Game time: 7:05 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Temperature: 88° • Wind: NE 9 mph • Weather: Partly Cloudy
* Game attendance: 84,542
* Referee: David Smith
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Ahmad Brooks (analyst), Kris Budden (sideline reporter)
Game information :
First Quarter
KSU – Matthew Trickett 21 yd field goal, 8:42 (KSU 3–0)
AUB – JaTarvious Whitlow 3 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 5:47 (AUB 7–3)
AUB – Kam Martin 35 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 0:11 (AUB 14–3)
Second Quarter
KSU – Isaiah McCoy 53 yd pass from Dustin Crum (Matthew Trickett kick), 10:47 (AUB 14–10)
AUB – Bo Nix 1 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 8:16 (AUB 21–10)
AUB – Anders Carlson 45 yd field goal, 0:00 (AUB 24–10)
Third Quarter
AUB – JaTarvious Whitlow 16 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 12:02 (AUB 31–10)
AUB – Eli Stove 49 yd pass from Bo Nix (Anders Carlson kick), 5:59 (AUB 38–10)
Fourth Quarter
AUB – Anders Carlson 37 yd field goal, 14:55 (AUB 41–10)
KSU – Kavious Price 15 yd pass from Woody Barrett (2 pt conversion failed), 12:36 (KSU 41–16)
AUB – Joey Gatewood 2 yd run (Sage Ledbetter kick), 8:49 (AUB 48–16)
AUB – Joey Gatewood 2 yd run (Sage Ledbetter kick), 2:27 (AUB 55–16)
Top Passers
KSU – Dustin Crum – 15–24, 198 yds, 1 TD
AUB – Bo Nix – 12–16, 161 yds, 1 TD
Top Rushers
KSU – Dustin Crum – 11 rushes, 30 yds
AUB – JaTarvious Whitlow – 17 rushes, 135 yds, 2 TD
Top Receivers
KSU – Isaiah McCoy – 4 receptions, 85 yds, 1 TD
AUB – Eli Stove – 6 receptions, 88 yds, 1 TD :

### Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| Golden Flashes | 21 | 3 | 17 | 21 | 62 |

### At No. 8 Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 8 Badgers | 7 | 21 | 13 | 7 | 48 |

### At Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 7 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 26 |
| Zips | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### At Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 14 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Bobcats | 10 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

### Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| RedHawks | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| Golden Flashes | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 16 |

### At Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 10 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 33 |
| Rockets | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 35 |

### Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| Golden Flashes | 0 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 30 |

### Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Golden Flashes | 7 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 41 |

### At Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 14 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 26 |

### Vs. Utah State (Frisco Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 17 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 51 |
| Aggies | 10 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 41 |