Kent State Golden Flashes

The Kent State Golden Flashes are an NCAA Division I FBS team competing in the Mid-American Conference.
== History ==
===2016 Season===
The 2016 season was the first season for the Golden Flashes. Under killernjm, they went 3-7, failing to make the postseason.
===2017 Season===
The 2017 season was the second season for the Golden Flashes under killernjm. They went 3-9, again failing to make the postseason.
===2018 Schedule and notes===
Kent State came into 2018 with a true freshman, John Garland, starting at quarterback. After their 4th week loss to Purdue, paperllamasunited was brought in as the new head coach. Immediately, he instilled confidence in the team, saying that he'd be surprised if any MAC team could put up a better fight with the #9 team in the country, and he said he was impressed by Garland's record-setting performance.
That confidence would be shattered over the next two games, as Kent State fell to #12 Minnesota and 3-1 Miami (Ohio). Garland tossed 9 interceptions to just one touchdown in these games.
The team regrouped for a Thursday night matchup at Central Michigan, with ImposterCauster's Chips even trailing Kent State at one point. Unfortunately, the Golden Flashes were unable to hold their lead.
Over the next month of the season, things were a mess in Kent. paperllamasunited announced an indefinite leave of absence following the loss to CMU due to "personal reasons", naming KSU-alum Marcel Weeks as the interim coach. The team was on bye. The next week, both llamas and Weeks co-coached the team to a loss to Bowling Green. A week 11 Open Date allowed llamas to regain total control of the team, and there was a massive overhaul of the Kent State offense. At one point, John Garland was to be benched for fellow freshman Louis Milner, and was even slated to be the backup runningback. However, Coach llamas retracted the depth chart move, and named Garland the starting QB. He also named freshman fullback Harrison Mullin the starting running back for the rest of the season, a nod to Eastern Michigan playing FB Mark Macleod as RB, and replacing senior RB William Banks, who had been ineffective to that point.
Kent State again took a lead during Week 12 against Western Michigan, with Harrison Mullin dominating in his debut, scoring 3 TDs. The Kent State team managed to score 49 points, but three John Garland interceptions, two returned for touchdowns by Western Michigan phenom Sean Taylor, along with allowing stud senior back Emmanuel Fields to score 4 TDs of his own, doomed them in.
Kent State finally won a game in Week 13, beating Buffalo 28-24. John Garland managed to not turn the ball over, while Mullin pounded the Bulls for 3 TDs. 
Kent State continued to dominate and upset, beating Ohio in Week 14.
After falling to New Mexico in Week 15, the Golden Flashes capped off their season and beat Akron in Week 16, winning 3 games in a season yet again.
paperllamasunited subsequently resigned from Kent State as head coach following the season to take the same job at Central Michigan.
===2019 Season===
The Golden Flashes were without a coach until Coach Danr took the helm after Week 6 of the season. Unfortunately, Danr quickly resigned due to personal issues and was replaced by Coach Stretch72hornet after Week 9.
===2020 Season===
After a difficult year for the Golden Flashes, coach Tazerman was hired to right the ship and begin to build a future for the program after a poor recruiting class in 2019. Kent State became bowl eligible for the first time, but lost to Utah State 23-27, finishing 6-7 overall and 5-3 in conference.
== Season-by-Season Records ==
Year 	Coach(es) 	Conference	Wins	Losses	Conf. Wins 	Conf. Losses	Bowl	Final CP Ranking
2016 	killernjm 	MAC 	3 	7 	3 	7 	None	NR
2017 	killernjm 	MAC 	3 	9 	3 	4 	None	NR
2018 	killernjm 	MAC 	0 	3 	0 	0 	None	NR
2018 	paperllamasunited	MAC 	3 	6 	3 	4 	None	NR
2019 	Vacant 	MAC 	1 	4 	0 	0 	None	NR
2019 	Danr 	MAC 	1 	1 	1 	1 	None	NR
2019 	Stretch72hornet 	MAC 	2 	3 	2 	3 	None	NR
2019 	Vacant 	MAC 	1 	0 	1 	0 	None	NR
2020 	TazerMan 	MAC 	6 	7 	5 	3 	Yes 	NR
Total	20 	40 	18 	22 	(all games)	 	 	
===2016 Season===
The 2016 season was the first season for the Golden Flashes. Under killernjm, they went 3-7, failing to make the postseason.
===2017 Season===
The 2017 season was the second season for the Golden Flashes under killernjm. They went 3-9, again failing to make the postseason.
===2018 Schedule and notes===
The 2018 season started with killernjm as head coach, and the Golden Flashes went 0-3, until killernjm resigned, and paperllamasunited took over, going 3-6.
Week	Gametime 	Opponent 	Rank 	Location 	Result 	Record 	Conference Record	Notes
1 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
2 	Friday 8pm EST 	Duke 	- 	Kent, OH 	13-24 	0-1 	0-0 	
3 	Saturday 12pm EST 	at Vanderbilt 	- 	Nashville, TN 	0-18 	0-2 	0-0 	
4 	Saturday 12pm EST 	at #9 Purdue 	- 	West Lafayette, IN	17-41 	0-3 	0-0 	
5 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
6 	Saturday 12pm EST 	#12 Minnesota 	- 	Kent, OH 	0-49 	0-4 	0-0 	Head Coach paperllamasunited's first game
7 	Saturday 330pm EST	at Miami (OH) 	- 	Oxford, OH 	7-40 	0-5 	0-1 	
8 	Thursday 8pm EST 	at Central Michigan	- 	Mount Pleasant, MI	21-33 	0-6 	0-2 	
9 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
10 	Friday 8pm EST 	Bowling Green 	- 	Kent, OH 	7-24 	0-7 	0-3 	
11 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
12 	Thursday 8pm EST 	Western Michigan 	- 	Kent, OH 	49-59 	0-8 	0-4 	
13 	Thursday 8pm EST 	Buffalo 	- 	Kent, OH 	28-24 	1-8 	1-4 	
14 	Saturday 330pm EST	at Ohio 	- 	Athens, OH 	38-21 	2-8 	2-4 	
15 	Friday 8pm EST 	at New Mexico 	- 	Albuquerque, NM 	7-31 	2-9 	2-4 	
16 	Friday 8pm EST 	Akron 	- 	Kent, OH 	17-7 	3-9 	3-4 	
paperllamasunited subsequently resigned from Kent State as head coach following the season to take the same job at Central Michigan.
===2019 Season===
The Golden Flashes were without a coach until Coach Danr took the helm after Week 6 of the season. Unfortunately, Danr quickly resigned due to personal issues and was replaced by Coach Stretch72hornet after Week 9.
Week	Gametime 	Opponent 	Rank 	Location 	Result 	Record 	Conference Record	Notes
1 	Saturday 12pm EST 	at #10 Michigan 	- 	Ann Arbor, MI 	14-41 	0-1 	0-0 	
2 	Friday 8pm EST 	Middle Tennessee 	- 	Kent, OH 	28-21 	1-1 	0-0 	
3 	Saturday 330pm EST	#10 Purdue 	- 	Kent, OH 	0-56 	1-2 	0-0 	
4 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
5 	Thursday 8pm EST 	at San Diego State 	- 	San Diego, CA 	7-28 	1-3 	0-0 	
6 	Friday 8pm EST 	at Arkansas 	- 	Fayetteville, AR 	24-66 	1-4 	0-0 	
7 	Friday 8pm EST 	Miami (OH) 	- 	Kent, OH 	35-17 	1-5 	0-1 	Head Coach Danr's first game.
8 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
9 	Friday 8pm EST 	at Northern Illinois	- 	DeKalb, IL 	28-13 	2-5 	1-1 	
10 	Friday 8pm EST 	at Bowling Green 	- 	Bowling Green, OH	27-17 	3-5 	2-1 	Head Coach Stretch72hornet's first game.
11 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
12 	Saturday 12pm EST 	Eastern Michigan 	- 	Kent, OH 	20-14 	4-5 	3-1 	
13 	Thursday 8pm EST 	at Buffalo 	- 	Buffalo, NY 	7-17 	4-6 	3-2 	
14 	Saturday 12pm EST 	Ohio 	- 	Kent, OH 	10-20 	4-7 	3-3 	
15 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
16 	- 	at Akron 	- 	Akron, OH 	31-20 	5-7 	4-3 	
===2020 Season===
The 2020 season was the first season under new Head Coach TazerMan. With upset victories over Bowling Green, Akron and Miami (OH), Kent State became bowl eligible for the first time in program history. John Garland had his best season, setting single game records for yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt and passer rating, and single season records for touchdowns, yards and passer rating.
Week	Gametime 	Opponent 	Rank 	Location 	Result 	Record 	Conference Record	Notes
1 	Saturday Afternoon	at San Diego State 	- 	Kent, OH 	14-30 	0-1 	0-0 	TazerMan's first game as head coach
2 	Saturday Evening 	at Purdue 	- 	West Lafayette, IN	49-20 	0-2 	0-0 	
3 	Friday Night 	at Middle Tennessee 	- 	Murfreesboro, TN 	13-21 	1-2 	0-0 	
4 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
5 	Friday Night 	vs Bowling Green 	- 	Kent, OH 	41-28 	2-2 	1-0 	
6 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
7 	Saturday Morning 	vs Buffalo 	- 	Kent, OH 	21-31 	2-3 	1-1 	
8 	Friday Night 	at Western Michigan 	- 	Kalamazoo, MI 	41-23 	2-4 	1-2 	
9 	Saturday Morning 	vs Akron 	- 	Akron, OH 	23-28 	3-4 	2-2 	
10 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
11 	Thursday Night 	at Ohio 	- 	Athens, OH 	23-13 	3-5 	2-3 	
12 	Thursday Night 	at Northern Illinois	- 	Kent, OH 	24-38 	4-5 	3-3 	
13 	Thursday Night 	vs Ole Miss 	- 	Kent, OH 	3-35 	4-6 	3-3 	
14 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE	OPEN DATE 	OPEN DATE
15 	Friday Night 	vs Miami (OH) 	- 	Kent, OH 	41-28 	5-6 	4-3 	
16 	Thursday Night 	vs Central Michigan 	- 	Kent, OH 	28-20 	6-6 	5-3 	
Bowl	Saturday 	vs Utah State 	- 	St. Petersburg, Fl	23-27 	6-6 	5-3 	
== Bowl History == 
Kent State became bowl eligible for the first time in 2020, and played in the St. Petersburg Bowl the Utah State Aggies, who were also appearing in there first bowl.
===By year===
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:80%;"	 	 	 	
Season 	Bowl 	Coach 	Opponent 	Result
2020 	St. Petersburg Bowl	TazerMan 	Utah State	R 23-27
Games: 1	Wins: 0 	Losses: 1	Ties: 0 	
==Kent State Ring of Honor==
Jersey #	Player 	Position	Seasons Played	Accolades 	Inducted
1 	Emmett Spears	RB 	2016-2017 	Kent State All Time Leading Rusher (Yards, TDs)2016 1st-Team All-MAC2016 MAC Offensive Player of the Year	Week 10, 2018 - Friday Night, vs Bowling Green
== Notable Achievements ==
=== Player Awards ===
===Weekly===
*MAC Offensive Player of the Week
:Emmett Spears (1) - (Week 6, 2017)
:Emmett Spears (2) - (Week 14, 2017)
:John Garland (1) - (Week 14, 2018)]
:John Garland (2) - (Week 2, 2019)
:John Garland (3) - (Week 9, 2020)
:John Garland (4) - (Week 15, 2020)
*MAC Deffensive Player of the Week
:Ryan White (1) - (Week 7, 2017)
:David Garcia (1) - (Week 10, 2017)
:Julius Cooke (1) - (Week 9, 2019)
:Quinn Benson (1) - (Week 2, 2020)
:Quinn Benson (2) - (Week 5, 2020)
:Quinn Benson (3) - (Week 15, 2020)
*MAC Special Teams Player of the Week
:Leonardo Blunt (1) - (Week 12, 2017)
===Seasonal===
Year	Award 	Player
2016	MAC Offensive Player of the Year	RB Emmett Spears
2016	1st-Team All-MAC 	RB Emmett Spears
2017	1st-Team All-MAC 	OT Williard Cooks
2017	2nd-Team All-MAC 	OG John Allen
2017	2nd-Team All-MAC 	ILB David Garcia
2017	2nd-Team All-MAC 	SS Ryan White
2020	1st-Team All-MAC 	FB Harrison Mullin
2020	1st-Team All-MAC (Return) 	WR Cayden Sampson
2020	2nd-Team All-MAC 	CB Richard Roberts
2020	2nd-Team All-MAC 	SS Quinn Benson
=== Coach Awards === 
N/A
== Kent State Alumni in the NFL==
=== Drafted Players ===
Year	Round	Pick	Position	Player 	Team
2018	2 	60 	RB 	Emmett Spears	Oakland Raiders
=== Undrafted Free Agents ===
Year	Position	Player 	Team
2018	TE 	Jeffrey Jackson	Seattle Seahawks
==Record Book==
Records before 2020 were mostly not noted, and if they were, many season totals were only from part of the season. Unless the records were in the record book below, the 2020 season will be the starting point for record collection.
===Individual===
====Single-Game====
Record 	Holder 	Position 	Date 	Opponent 	Stat
Passing yards 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 15, 2020 	Miami(OH) 	305
Passing touchdowns 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 9, 2020Week 15, 2020 	AkronMiami(OH) 	3
Passes intercepted 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 6, 2018 	Minnesota 	5
Completions 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 7, 2018 	Miami (Ohio) 	30
Passes attempted 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 6, 2018 	Minnesota 	69
Completion percentage (10 att. min)	John Garland 	QB 	Week 13, 2018 	Buffalo 	68.18
Yards per attempt (10 att. min.) 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 15, 2020 	Miami(OH) 	10.52
Passer rating 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 15, 2020 	Miami(OH) 	184.55
Rushing yards 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	Week 6, 2017 	Ohio 	206
Longest Rush 	John Garland 	QB 	Bowl week, 2020 	Utah State 	66
Rushing touchdowns 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	Week 6, 2017Week 14, 2017 	OhioBall State 	4
Carries 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	Week 6, 2017 	Ohio 	38
Yards per carry (10 carry min.) 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	Week 2, 2016 	Central Michigan 	9.65
Receiving yards 	Jaeden Salazar 	TE 	Week 15, 2020 	Miami(OH) 	95
Receiving touchdowns 	Jaeden Salazar 	TE 	Week 15, 2020 	Miami (OH) 	2
Receptions 	Justin Maurer 	WR 	Week 6, 2018 	Minnesota 	9
Yards per reception (3 catch min.) 	Richard Hunter 	WR 	Week 2, 2018 	Duke 	20.00
All-purpose yards 	John Garland 	QB 	Week 15, 2020 	Miami(OH) 	359
Tackles 	Quinn Benson 	SS 	Week 2, 2020 	Purdue 	11
Sacks 	Michael GarciaNehemiah Reaves 	DEDE 	Week 16, 2018Week 15, 2020 	AkronMiami(OH) 	1.5
Interceptions 	Brian PageEdward MillsRyan WhiteDavid GarciaRyan WhiteRyan WhiteJeffrey LutzRyan WhiteRyan WhiteRyan WhiteWilbert Brown	CBOLBSSILBSSSSCBSSFSFSSS	Week 3, 2016Week 4, 2016Week 6, 2016Week 10, 2016Week 7, 2017Week 14, 2017Week 15, 2017Week 15, 2017Week 14, 2018Week 16, 2018Week 16, 2018	Eastern MichiganBuffaloMiami (Ohio)Bowling GreenBall StateAkronAkronOhioAkronAkron	1
Fumbles forced 	David GarciaMichael Garcia 	ILBDE 	Week 9, 2016Week 13, 2018 	Western MichiganBuffalo 	1
Fumbles recovered 	David GarciaMichael Garcia 	ILBDE 	Week 9, 2016Week 13, 2018 	Western MichiganBuffalo 	1
Defensive TD 	David GarciaRyan WhiteJeffrey LutzQuinn Benson 	ILBSSCBSS 	Week 10, 2016Week 7, 2017Week 15, 2017Week 5, 2020 	Miami (Ohio)Bowling GreenAkronBowling Green 	1
Extra Points Made 	Tywin Clayton 	K 	Week 12, 2018 	Western Michigan 	7
Field Goals Made 	Jacob McArthur 	K 	Week 8, 2020 	Western Michigan 	3
Long FG 	Jacob McArthur 	K 	Week 5, 2020 	Bowling Green 	43
Kick Return TD 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	0
Punt Return TD 	Cayden Sampson 	WR 	Week 16, 2020 	Central Michigan 	1
Punting Average 	Micah Kirkland 	P 	Week 13, 2018 	Buffalo 	40.6
====Single-Season====
TO EDIT (Records up to date with 2018 stats, find 2019 and check with 2020)
Kent State Record 	Holder 	Position 	Year 	Stat
Passing yards 	John Garland 	QB 	2020 	2749
Passing touchdowns 	John Garland 	QB 	2020 	19
Passes intercepted 	John Garland 	QB 	2018 	19
Completions 	John Garland 	QB 	2019 	238
Passes attempted 	John Garland 	QB 	2018 	418
Completion percentage (min. 100 attempts)	John Garland 	QB 	2020 	60.87
Yards per attempt (min. 100 attempts) 	John Garland 	QB 	2019 	7.16
Passer rating (min. 100 attempts) 	John Garland 	QB 	2020 	128.29
Rushing yards 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	2017 	1631
Rushing touchdowns 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	20162017 	18
Carries 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	2017 	376
Yards per carry (min. 50 attempts) 	John Garland 	QB 	2020 	7.47
Rushing yards per game (min. 4 games) 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	2017 	135.92
Receiving yards 	Iye Parris 	WR 	2020 	628
Receiving touchdowns 	Thaddeus Torrez 	WR 	2020 	7
Receptions 	Thaddeus Torrez 	WR 	2018 	48
Yards per reception (10+ rec.) 	Richard Fleming 	WR 	2016 	17.80
Tackles 	David Garcia 	ILB 	2018 	58
Sacks 	Michael Garcia 	DE 	2018 	4.5
Interceptions 	Richard Roberts 	CB 	2020 	6
Fumbles forced 	David GarciaAaron Faust 	ILBILB 	20162017 2020 	1
Fumbles recovered 	David Garcia 	ILB 	20162017 	1
Defensive TD 	David GarciaRyan WhiteJeffrey LutzQuinn Benson	ILBSSCBSS	2016201720172020	1
Field Goals Made 	Tywin Clayton 	K 	2019 	10
All-purpose yards 	John Garland 	QB 	2020 	3190
Extra Points Made 	Jacob McArthur 	K 	2020 	21
Long FG 	Jacob McArthur 	K 	2020 	43
Kick Return TD 	Not Calculated 	NA 	N/A 	0
Punt Return TD 	Cayden Sampson 	WR 	2020 	1
====Career====
TO EDIT
Player marked with a * are still active. All defensive stats are currently unofficial.
Kent State Record 	Holder 	Position	Stat
Passing yards 	John Garland* 	QB 	7,203
Passing touchdowns 	John Garland* 	QB 	42
Passes intercepted 	John Garland* 	QB 	42
Completions 	John Garland* 	QB 	611
Passes attempted 	John Garland* 	QB 	1096
Completion percentage (100 att. min.) 	John Garland* 	QB 	55.75%
Yards per attempt (100 att. min.) 	John Garland* 	QB 	6.57
Passer rating (100 att. min.) 	John Garland* 	QB 	115.94
Rushing yards 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	2955
Rushing touchdowns 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	36
Carries 	Emmett Spears 	RB 	594
Yards per carry (100 att. min.) 	John Garland* 	QB 	6.39
Rushing yards per game (min. 10 games)	Emmett Spears 	RB 	134.32
Receiving yards 	Thaddeus Torrez	WR 	1747
Receiving touchdowns 	Thaddeus Torrez	WR 	12
Receptions 	Thaddeus Torrez	WR 	142
Yards per reception (20+ receptions) 	Marcel Weeks 	WR 	14.33
All-purpose yards 	John Garland* 	QB 	8,359
Tackles 	David Garcia 	ILB 	127
Sacks 	Michael Garcia 	DE 	6.5
Field Goals Made 	James Crist 	K 	7
Interceptions 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Fumbles forced 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Fumbles recovered 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Defensive TD 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Extra Points Made 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Long FG 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Kick Return TD 	Not Calculated 	NA 	0
Punt Return TD 	Cayden Sampson 	WR 	1
Category:MAC