FOURTH QUARTER
14:24 ... Ross Metheny takes the bootleg and rolls untouched for a 16-yard touchdown.
A disappointing day even with impact players missing on offense in starting quarterback Colin Reardon, defense in nose tackle Roosvelt Nix, and special teams in punter-kicker Anthony Melchiori.
South Alabama 31, Kent State 7
14:01 ... Dri Archer continues to be a one-man show on offense. Catching a pass from David Fisher near the 30-yard line, spinning and racing 74 yards for a touchdown. Both Kent State scores have been long ones by Archer – one on the ground. One through the air.
Officials checked on replay to see if Archer stepped out as he spun out of a tackle near the sideline.
South Alabama 31, Kent State 14
13:07 ... After doing a nice job in kick coverage in the first half of the season, Kent State's coverage team has seen some cracks form in the last two weeks. T.J. Glover of South Alabama just returned a kickoff 67 yards to the Kent State 30.
11:28 ... As you would expect after a kick return like that, South Alabama takes advantage of the short field. Kndall Houston scores untouched on a 14-yard touchdown run. The defense looks like it is worn out.
Kent State is going to need the fans to rally next week when Buffalo comes to town. The Flashes will need a win over the Bulls on Oct. 26, then wins at Akron on Nov. 2, at home against Miami on Nov. 13 and then to close the season at Ohio Nov. 19 to be bowl eligible for a second consecutive season.
11:28 ... As you would expect after a kick return like that, South Alabama takes advantage of the short field. Kndall Houston scores untouched on a 14-yard touchdown run. The defense looks like it is worn out.
Kent State is going to need the fans to rally next week when Buffalo comes to town. The Flashes will need a win over the Bulls on Oct. 26, then wins at Akron on Nov. 2, at home against Miami on Nov. 13 and then to close the season at Ohio Nov. 19 to be bowl eligible for a second consecutive season.
THIRD QUARTER
(South Alabama leads 17-7 to start second half)
11:03 ... The tackling hasn't been great for Kent State today, but the pass rush has been excellent.
A third-down sack by Fairchild is No. 4 on the day for the Golden Flashes' defense, and it forces a punt.
Unfortunately, false start No. 3 called against left tackle Terrell Johnson will force the Golden Flashes' offense to start its drive in a hole, 1st-and-15 at its own 15.
7:19 ... South Alabama adds to its lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Kendall Houston. The scoring drive aided by a questionable personal foul call against DeVante Strickland for allegedly hitting a South Alabama ball-carrier out of bounds. It looked like he was still on the field of play on contact.
Kent State needs to answer now on offense.
Some numbers – David Fisher is 2-of-7 for 19 yards. He does have 41 yards on 8 carries, however.
Dri Archer has 109 rushing yards on nine attempts, including a touchdown.
South Alabama 24, Kent State 7
7:09 ... A good first play as Fisher flips to Durham for a 15-yard pickup on first down. Third completion and a good gain to start this drive.
Flashes going no-huddle.
5:17 ... A break this time for Kent State as Tyshon Goode appeared to fumble, but officials ruled him down by contact.
Add a nice run by Fisher for 11 and a throw to Archer for 12, and the Flashes are in the red zone at the South Alabama 18.
4:13 ... Extremely dangerous throw by Fisher, throwing it up for grabs to Archer into triple coverage.
4:08 ... Brad Miller misses a 31-yard field goal wide right
Best drive of the day comes up empty.
Kent State is going to need a near-perfect final 19 minutes to avoid falling to 2-6. It's doable, but the Flashes can't afford any more missed assignments/unforced errors.
SECOND QUARTER
12:03 ... South Alabama is in position to add to its lead with a first down inside the Kent State 30 after a pass interference penalty against Malcom Pannell on a deep throw by Metheny.
10:45 ... Keenan Stalls with a very nice play cutting in front of Saxon forces a long field-goal attempt.
10:39 ... Sunanon of South Alabama connects on the 45-yard field goal to put South Alabama ahead 10-0.
9:41 ... Dri Archer shows what he can do with just a little room, slicing his way through the right side of the line and into space. South Alabama's defenders had no chance as he weaved his way down the right sideline for a 74-yard touchdown. Downshifting, then speeding up to create more space. By far his best run of the season.
6:23 ... Kent State's defense pays for not getting off of the field on 3rd-and-13. Metheny hits Danny Woodson for an easy touchdown after another breakdown in the secondary.
You just have to find a way on third-and-long.
A shame, too, after a big sack earlier in the drive by Kent Roosevelt High School alum Marcus Wright.
3:18 ... Kent State defense comes up big with a sack and forced fumble of second-string quarterback Brandon Bridge.
Rulin gon the field is a fumble, but they may say Bridge was trying to throw. I think he was trying, but he may not have been making a throwing motion.
Marcus Wright with another big defensive play, tripping up Bridge.
Flashes need to take advantage of this assuming they get the ball. My guess is it will be ruled a fumble.
Questionable ruling on replay ... They call it an incomplete pass... but also grounding. So South Alabama will be forced to punt from the 18 instead of Kent State getting the football in the red zone.
Even after a nice effort on a punt return by Ernest Calhoun, the Flashes lose almost 30 yards on the ruling.
1:34 ... Another quick three-and-out, and Kent State can't get any points after starting the drive just inside the 50.
10:45 ... Keenan Stalls with a very nice play cutting in front of Saxon forces a long field-goal attempt.
10:39 ... Sunanon of South Alabama connects on the 45-yard field goal to put South Alabama ahead 10-0.
South Alabama 10, Kent State 0
9:41 ... Dri Archer shows what he can do with just a little room, slicing his way through the right side of the line and into space. South Alabama's defenders had no chance as he weaved his way down the right sideline for a 74-yard touchdown. Downshifting, then speeding up to create more space. By far his best run of the season.
South Alabama 10, Kent State 7
6:23 ... Kent State's defense pays for not getting off of the field on 3rd-and-13. Metheny hits Danny Woodson for an easy touchdown after another breakdown in the secondary.
You just have to find a way on third-and-long.
A shame, too, after a big sack earlier in the drive by Kent Roosevelt High School alum Marcus Wright.
South Alabama 17, Kent State 7
3:18 ... Kent State defense comes up big with a sack and forced fumble of second-string quarterback Brandon Bridge.
Rulin gon the field is a fumble, but they may say Bridge was trying to throw. I think he was trying, but he may not have been making a throwing motion.
Marcus Wright with another big defensive play, tripping up Bridge.
Flashes need to take advantage of this assuming they get the ball. My guess is it will be ruled a fumble.
Questionable ruling on replay ... They call it an incomplete pass... but also grounding. So South Alabama will be forced to punt from the 18 instead of Kent State getting the football in the red zone.
Even after a nice effort on a punt return by Ernest Calhoun, the Flashes lose almost 30 yards on the ruling.
1:34 ... Another quick three-and-out, and Kent State can't get any points after starting the drive just inside the 50.
FIRST QUARTER
10:42 ... Terrell Johnson jumped early on 1st and 10 from the South Alabama 31 ... Getting off of schedule on mental errors like this have come at poor times this season. Another false start on Johnson on 3rd-and-11. Johnson has played well this season, but Paul Haynes will not be happy with another missed assignment. The penalties force a long field-goal attempt by Miller that is blocked.
9:31 ... A rough start for a Kent State defense that made some major strides last week. South Alabama has marched down the field with little trouble.
8:39 ... A 5-yard touchdown run by Jay Jones has put South Alabama ahead 7-0. A very frustrating start for Kent State with the two false start penalties, the blocked field goal and then the easy drive by the Jaguars, who kept KSU defense on its heals with the fast-paced offense.
6:11... Awkward situation with the helmet coming off of David Fisher, forcing him to leave for a play. Maxie in at quarterback, but South Alabama was pretty certain of a running play. Keyed on Durham for a loss of a yard. Now Fisher back in.
3:01 ... Third and short continues to be a problem for Kent State. No push, and Durham can't get it on 3rd-and-2 or 4th-and-2. Turnover on downs ... And another promising drive stalls with no points.
0:25 ... Kent State defense gets a fourth-and-short stop of its own ... and a nice response to both the disappointment of the offense on the previous drive, and its own letdown on the first drive by South Alabama. A chance to shift momentum.
Good to see the Flashes making some plays in the front seven even without Roosevelt Nix, who is not playing due to injury.
That's a big loss. Need to get big games out of players like Chris Fairchild, Nate Terhune and Marcus Wright inside to make up for the loss of Nix.
PREGAME
12 p.m. ... I'll be blogging live starting just before today's kickoff. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the trip with the team this week, but I'll be in touch with the press box in Mobile to get any important information as we go along.
I talked with Brian Rock this week about what it is like to prepare a new quarterback to start in the wake of Colin Reardon injuring his ankle late in last week's loss at Ball State. This team has all of the confidence in the world in David Fisher, who battled for the starting job right to the end of the last two preseason camps.
Rock said the offense will not change with Fisher running the offense. He reconfirmed that this week in the Kent State Football blog.
The injury situation is starting to feel like old times at Kent State. Long-time fans will remember the years when we had the third and sometimes even the fourth quarterback starting late in the season. This year it hasn't just been the quarterback spot. Injuries at receiver, in the secondary, on the offensive and defensive lines and even to specialists have made it difficult on this team in 2013. The good news is that the Flashes have managed to stay competitive. It has helped to have more depth in past years. The change in culture has also been a key.
There is some good news, however, as we hope to see more of Nate Terhune at nose tackle today, one week after he played eight plays at Ball State and just five weeks after breaking a bone in his leg at LSU. Having his size and strength up front will only help the Flashes' run defense.
While we wait for kickoff, here's some reading material from around the internet:
- Here is a link to Elton Alexander's "Kent State Football Gameday: South Alabama" from the Plain Dealer.
- Earlier this week, Elton took a look at the mounting injuries at Kent State.
- Stephanie Storm's preview in the Akron Beacon Journal is "a return to site of bowl game offers new challenges for Golden Flashes."
- Stephanie also had this story earlier this week on David Fisher taking over as the starting quarterback for injured Colin Reardon.
- Allen Moff's scouting report and "Flash Facts" are in today's Record-Courier.
- Tommy Hicks has his "South Alabama Gameday Information: Jaguars vs. Golden Flashes" on AL.com.
- Moff and Hicks got together earlier this week for a beat writers' Q&A also on AL.com.
- More Kent State-South Alabama information on AL.com in "Jaguars Buzz"
- Earlier this week, Hicks wrote about how the "gamepan is in and confidence is up as South Alabama readies for Saturday's homecoming game."
- More from Hicks, who talked to South Alabama's defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer on video about a "solid, capable" Kent State offense.
- Hicks is a workhorse. His week of prep for Kent State also had this story about the miles logged by the Flashes his season.
- And South Alabama had its own kicking questions this week. Hicks had the story.
- Bryan Vance's preview of Kent State vs. South Alabama and the importance of the Flashes' running game is on the Hustle Belt.
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