Today's Newsstand and a look ahead at Kent State vs. South Alabama

Rain has stopped at Dix Stadium with just two hours to go before kickoff

The rain has stopped with about two hours to go before kickoff here at Dix Stadium.

Based on the last look at the weather forecast, most of the storms should pass by 2 p.m., so we hope to see you here for what is a big game for the Golden Flashes. It's important to secure a win before going on the road to play Ohio State next week and then Virginia in two weeks.

For those fans who tuned in to last year's 38-21 Kent State loss in Mobile, you know South Alabama is no pushover. The Jaguars are a team on the rise. They have high expectations, and there is even some talk of ESPN Gameday making a visit to South Alabama next week for its home game against Mississippi State.

This is South Alabama's first game of 2014, and for the Flashes to win they will have to put some pressure on some of the newcomers who are set to play key roles for the Jaguars. Quarterback Brandon Bridge is in his first year as a starter. He is supposed to be very gifted, and he has a prototype frame at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. The Flashes defensive front needs to get to Bridge and make him hurry his throws to what is a very talented group of wide receivers.

Redshirt freshman Demetrius Monday makes his first start at cornerback today for the Flashes. He and fellow corners Kerrick Rhone, Najee Murray and Jerrell Foster will be tested against a South Alabama receiving crops led by Shavarez Smith, Jereme Jones and Danny Woodson II.

If the Jaguars have a question mark, it may be along the defensive front where they replace several starters from last season. Kent State hopes that last week's tuneup will have left tackle Reno Reda, left guard Jim Katusha, center Alex Nielsen, right guard Wayne Scott and right tackle Terrell Johnson ready to open some holes for the running game. The Flashes need to run the football better than they did in last week's 17-14 loss to Ohio.

It'll be interesting to see what the rotation will be today at running back today. With little running room, KSU was forced to abandon the rushing game somewhat last week. Anthony Meray starts and Nick Holley figures to get most of the time as the backup, but Miles Hibbler also needs to get a series or two. After an impressive freshman camp, Hibbler carried only once last week and never had a chance, getting hit five yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Trayion Durham will be on the roster although Haynes has continued to call him questionable. Best guess is that he won't play as Meray, Holley and Hibbler are listed 1-2-3 on the depth chart at tailback.

• Elton Alexander of the PD writes that Kent State's "defense needs to bounce back against South Alabama"
• Marla Ridenour of the Beacon Journal writes that "the Flashes hope to make turnovers their trademark again."
• South Alabama's excellent beat writer Tommy Hicks breaks down Kent State on AL.com
• More from Hicks, who checks out the key matchups in today's game. 
• And still more from Hicks, who gives us "five things to watch" today at Dix Stadium.
• The Sun Herald in Biloxi previews South Alabama at Kent State.
• For subscribers to the Record-Courier, beat writer Allen Moff writes about Kent State "looking for a rebound today against South Alabama."
• If you can't access the R-C story, Hicks invited Moff on AL.com for a breakdown of the Flashes.

Here are the resources you'll need for today's game if you can't make it out to Dix Stadium:

The good and bad from Saturday's football opener vs. Ohio University

I spent some time today talking with head football coach Paul Haynes.

He talked quite a bit about the team’s offensive line, and while he knows the blocking has to improve after a tough opener with Ohio University, he saw enough on film to believe the current fivesome can become a solid unit. That improvement could come by players simply relaxing and focusing only on their given assignment on each play.

That o-line had to deal with more than any group should have prior to  and during game one. Center Alex Nielsen talked on Saturday night about players having the memory of Jason Bitsko on their collective minds. They wanted to play well and win for him. This was also an opening game against a MAC East rival, so that added pressure. 

Those thoughts and stressers would have been difficult enough to deal with for a unit that is used to playing together. But after settling on a group that was gelling and working well together during camp, the current line was put together in less than a week. The Flashes ended up with one new face and two other linemen playing at positions other than the ones they had settled into during camp.

The great news is nobody is looking for excuses for Saturday. Haynes and his coaches are just trying to slow down the game and encourage their linemen to focus on simple goals. Film proved each lineman is capable of following the assignments needed to break a few gainers – as they did on 8-and-6-yard runs by Anthony Meray and Nick Holley. We may see more of Miles Hibbler this week after teh freshman carried only one time for a negative-2-yard run that was actually a great individual effort to just lose 2 yards after getting well behind the line of scrimmage as soon as he was handed the ball.

Haynes was pleased with the overall attitude of the team. The sideline had energy. Players are buying in. Key changes like the move of Jordan Italiano to strong safety with Elcee Refuge taking over the “star” position were confirmed successes. Several stars in the making emerged with Nate Holley having a career day building on the progress from his starts in the final four games as a freshman last year at free safety while Jon Cunningham had an impact at nose tackle in his college debut. 

What did you like from Saturday’s game? What still has you concerned?

Live Blog: Kent State vs. Ohio University in the season opener

FOURTH QUARTER

0:00 ... Final from Dix Stadium ... Ohio 17, Kent State 14

A Josiah Yazdani 44-yard field goal as time expired ended this one.

The Flashes defense came up big forcing four consecutive fumbles on four Ohio possessions, but couldn't quite keep the Bobcats out of field goal range on the final drive.

A nice touch afterwards as both teams get together for a prayer at midfield following what has been a very tough week here at Kent State.

I hope the Flashes fans are proud of the effort even in a frustrating loss.

The KSU offense needs to find a way to run the football in the coming weeks. The final numbers have the Flashes at 31 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

Colin Reardon finished his night with 264 yards and two touchdowns on 30-for-41 passing. He spread the ball around, too, hitting Humphrey six times for 91 yards and a score. Ernest Calhoun caught 11 passes for 62 yards, and James Brooks averaged 22.5 yards per catch on his two grabs.

Anthony Meray was the only KSU player to average more than 1.3 yards per carry, running six times for 19 yards (3.2 avg.)

Nate Holley had a spectacular night defensively with 12 solo tackles and six assists for 18 total, he also forced two fumbles and recovered another as KSU's defense kept the Flashes in the game during the second half.


3:34 ... The fourth time was the charm. After the fourth consecutive Ohio fumble to end a drive, the Flashes have tied the score, 14-14.

Reardon-to-Humphrey reminiscent of Montana-to-Clark for a 23-yard touchdown – Reardon rolling to his right and finding Humphrey breaking open, sliding to the back corner and not across the middle the way Clark did back in the 1982 NFC Championship Game.

Reardon is now 30-for-41 for 264 yards and a pair of touchdowns.


5:18 ... Colin Reardon finally has the Flashes offense back on the move. The sophomore quarterback just hit Chris Humphrey for a 28-yard pickup and a first down at the Ohio 33 yard line.

Add a leap on a reverse to Calhoun for 5 yards and the Flashes are at the Bobcats 28 for a 2nd-and- play with exactly five minutes to go.

7:39 ... Four consecutive Ohio possessions now have ended with a fumble in Kent State territory.

This time Murray recovers another fumble forced by Holley at the KSU 22.

Time to finally take advantage of the Bobcats errors.

8:26 ... Same story for the last three quarters... Kent State offensive line continues to struggle, both opening holes in the running game and protecting the quarterback. It's been a tough situation

11:40 ... Kent State defense keeps coming up big.

With Ohio on the move again, the Flashes defense has forced another fumble. Cunningham forced it with another hit on Patterson, and Holley was on the spot for the recovery.

The officials talked about it for a while before giving the football to the Flashes. Now they are reviewing the call.

Replay confirms the call. It'll be 1st-and-10 Flashes at their own 25.

THIRD QUARTER

1:44 ... The running game is finally in positive numbers... 21 yards on 19 carries.

The Flashes defense needs to come up big again here with Ohio pinned a bit at their own 10 yard line following a pooch kick by Melchiori.

Reardon continues to play well, 23-of-30 for 213 yards so far. Vick is having an even bigger game, though, with 309 yards on 15-of-21 passing.

4:55 ... The Flashes offense is on the move again, thanks to another forced fumble, this time a hit by Nate Holley dislodged the football from Ohio's Daz' Patterson. Nate Terhune recovered.

A third-down throw from Reardon to Pierce moved the chains, and now a 7-yard run by Reardon has Kent State out near midfield.

11:46 ... The first turnover of the game is a fumble forced and recovered by Nate Vance on a hit of Ohio's Tim Edmond.

Unfortunately, even after Reardon passes of 16 yards to Brooks and 10 yards to Pierce for a first-and-goal, the Flashes came away with no points after Anthony Melchiori missed a 20-yard field goal.

Too many mistakes tonight, and yet the Flashes trail by just seven.

SECOND QUARTER

0:00 ... Kent State trails Ohio 14-7.

The Flashes have found some success in the passing game where Reardon is 14-of-17 for 118 yards and a touchdown.

The running game hasn't had any success with negative-4 yards so far on 14 rushing attempts. And that's even with Reardon picking up 9 yards on one carry. Anthony Meray leads the Flashes 10 yards on four attempts.

Ohio's Vick was 8-of-12 in the first half for 151 yards and two scores, both to Smith.

With 55 yards on 18 attempts, Ohio's running game has been just average, but it has at least provided some compliment to Vick.

The Flashes need Terrell Johnson to come back. He is a 5th-year senior with experience on an offensive line that is younger and already reworked after last week.


1:02 ... It is great to see former Kent State stars Dri Archer and Brian Winters on the Dix Stadium sidelines. The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and New York Jets offensive linemen were spotted by MAC Sports Twitter.

Right tackle Terrell Johnson was just helped off the field with an injury.

He has been replaced by freshman Brock Macaulay, who opened camp with the first unit at right tackle.

2:59 ... The war in the trenches is starting to take its toll on Kent State. While Ohio is winning on both sides of the football at the moment, the Bobcats defensive front is making life very tough for the Flashes offensive line. 

There hasn't been even a crack of room to run through so far as the Flashes have negative-8 yards on 11 attempts so far. That includes 4-yard sack of Reardon on Kent State's previous offensive play.

Miles Hibbler made his freshman debut at running back on the last Kent State possession.

Trayion Durham is in uniform, but is unlikely to play, and my guess that would include short-yardage situations.

6:53 ... It took Ohio three plays and 21 seconds to take advantage of Kent State's careless mistake.

Ohio takes the lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Vick to Smith – the second scoring connection by those two already tonight.

7:46 ... A major careless error by Kent State has extended an Ohio drive.

The Bobcats punting on fourth down, but Kent State had two players on the field wearing the same number.

Ohio takes advantage with a big 38-yard pass from Vick to Patterson to the KSU 8 yard line.

Frustrating moment for Flashes fans.

7:54 ... We have our first contender for tackle of the year.

Kent State freshman Jon Cunningham with a full body slam of Ohio wide receiver Papi White on a running play. 

As Kent State sports information director Aaron Chimenti said, the tackle would have been good for 5 points in freestyle wrestling.

11:37 ... Some quick numbers ... Colin Reardon is 10-of-12 for 98 yards. The running game has struggled a bit, though, with negative-1 yards on eight attempts.

The Kent State secondary is starting to find its form. Jordan Italiano just made a great play to bat down a Vick throw for wide receiver Jordan Reid that would have picked up a first down for the Bobcats in front of the KSU sideline.

FIRST QUARTER

5:58 ... A Colin Reardon-led 75-yard touchdown drive has tied the score at 7-7.

Great ball skills all drive long from the sophomore quarterback, who set up a key 19-yard throw to Casey Pierce with a beautiful play fake to Meray. 

Reardon also hit James Brooks on the drive for 29 yards before hitting Josh Boyle pickups of 9 and 8 yards – that last one a screen throw to a leaping Boyle, who sifted through Ohio defenders for the score.

10:01 ... Some errors in the Kent State secondary have helped Ohio to a 7-0 lead.

Two plays after Murray was beaten down the field for the big play, Ohio wide receiver Landon Smith found himself facing single coverage from Kent State linebacker Matt Dellinger. That's a tough matchup for the Flashes, and with safety Calvin Tiggle arriving late, Vick had little trouble finding Smith for an easy 23-yard touchdown pass.

11:00 ... Kent State's defense just gave up its first big play of the year – a 58-yard hookup from Vick to Brendan Cope, who had KSU corner Najee Murray turned around down the field in single coverage. Murray managed to haul down the Bobcats receiver at the Flashes 25.

11:45 ... Anthony Melchiori may be a little pumped up for the new season. His kickoff to open the game sailed 9-yards deep for a touchback. 

Then after a three-and-out on Kent State's first possession of the new season, Melchiori boomed his first punt 71 yards to the Ohio 13 yard line. And the punt had very little roll.

Ohio's offense also went three-and-out capped by the first of what should be many big hits on the season by Elcee Refuge from the star position. Refuge upended Ohio quarterback Derrius Vick after he tucked to run on a third down rollout.

PREGAME

6:06 p.m. ... The 2014 season is underway with Anthony Melchiori booming a kickoff 9 yards deep in the end zone. 

Kent State won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half.

 4:33 p.m. ... We are less than an hour and a half to kickoff of the 2014 college football season here at Dix Stadium and the parking lots are already starting to fill up.  They will be parking cars on the grass behind the south scoreboard pretty soon.

With so many fans arriving early, that has meant the tailgate areas are popping. I visited with Matt French of AMETEK at the tailgate zone in front of Dix Stadium's west gate just a little while ago. That area is starting to jump. He also shared a photo from behind the north stands where American Fireworks from Hudson is setting up what should be a wild fireworks display for after the game. to the right you can see a picture of those fireworks all lined up in rows near the field hockey and soccer stadiums.

5:41 p.m. ... Kickoff is almost here.  I just returned to the press box after a short walk around Dix Stadium to get a feel for what is going on. Tailgating in the student section is also jam packed. If the atmosphere from behind the east stands carries into the stadium, Paul Haynes should get exactly the atmosphere he wants from Kent State's student body. He's asked them to "act a fool" for this one.

Players are now off the field following the pre-game. The helmets with Jason Bitsko's "54" on one side look very sharp. I love the tribute. It's classy, and it also offers a throwback look that I think Bitsko would have loved. His hard work on and off the field made him very much a throwback type of college football player.

Fans entering the stadium are also being handed stickers with the number 54 inside the state of Ohio. Stars on the image are for Kent and Bitsko's hometown of Huber Heights.


While the stadium is still far from packed at the moment, the grass lots behind the south scoreboard are starting to fill up. Fans are having so much fun outside the stadium that they just haven't made their way in yet.  Here's a look at what the stadium looked like during pre game just a few minutes ago.

Kent State vs. Ohio around the web

Here's a look at stories on the Kent State-Ohio University opener from around the internet.

I'll be blogging live tonight from Dix Stadium, so if you have any questions or comments tonight, you can post them here.

• If you follow all of the other teams in the Mid-American Conference, you know that Jason Arkley of the Athens Messenger is one of the league's top beat writers. For a look from the Bobcats point of view, Arkley's preview "Test in toughness awaits Ohio in opener" can be found here.
• Elton Alexander of the Plain Dealer has this story in today's Plain Dealer: "Kent State, Ohio open season with interesting conference matchup."
• George Thomas writes about how the "Golden Flashes face twofold challenge in opener against Bobcats" in today's Beacon Journa.
• The Columbus Dispatch previews the game with a focus on Ohio safety Thad Ingol, who is a Barberton native who hopes to "zip Kent State fans' lips."
• Sports-Illustrated has this brief preview. 
• The Hustle Belt's preview can be found here. They pick the Bobcats with a 24-10 victory.
• If you subscribe to the Record-Courier, here is the link to Allen Moff's preview of the Kent State-Ohio game.

Here are some of the links you'll need to watch or listen to tonight's game:

What are your expectations for tomorrow's Kent State-Ohio University season opener?

The “54” stickers are being applied to every Kent State football helmet as I write this.

I also just read the Kent State Football Blog by head coach Paul Haynes where he talks about his team’s attitude and working hard to move on through the heartache that was delivered last week. These players need a big, supportive crowd on Saturday more than ever. 

The game with Ohio University is an interesting matchup. It will be fun simply for the fact that it is a rare opener with a MAC East rival that doesn’t come around very often. I’ll never forget the atmosphere on opening night in Akron on Aug. 28, 2003 when the Joshua Cribbs-led Flashes escaped with a 41-38 win after a great punt return by Jon Drager led to a Travis Mayle field goal in the closing seconds.

Anything close to that environment tomorrow night will mean an electric setting in Dix Stadium. 

I’ll be blogging live from the press box during the game, and I’ll be fielding your questions and comments right here on the blog. 

In the meantime, what do you expect tomorrow night? 

I want to hear your predictions. 

Who is going to win, and how will it all go down?

What we learned today during The Paul Haynes Show

We talked head football coach Paul Haynes for quite a bit about the Golden Flashes’ running game during today’s radio show at the Kent State Student Center. 

He said the status of running back Trayion Durham is still unclear, and it appears that the Flashes will go with a running back by committee starting with senior Anthony Meray first, then sophomore Nick Holley and freshman Miles Hibbler. Haynes is very pleased with what all three have shown in camp and does not appear to be overly concerned with the fact that Hibbler will be making his college debut while Holley is getting used to playing running back after making the move from wide receiver.

The one thing missing from the threesome is the change-of-pace factor that the 250-pound Durham offered with a speedster like Archer. According to Haynes, Meray, Holley and Hibbler bring similar skillsets, with Hibbler possibly having the most breakaway speed of the three. Haynes also likes the fact that all three also have the ability to make plays catching the ball out of the backfield.

While Durham may not be available, it will be nice to see the other Kent State player who wears the uniform No. 34 be back in action. Haynes has raved about fifth-year senior Richard Gray, both for his play on the field this spring and his attitude off of it. If Gray can put it all together in his final year after missing last season to ineligibility, he could set himself up for a very real chance to play on Sundays. This is a special talent with superior athleticism at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds. Ohio University will remember that from his superhuman punt block two years ago in Athens that saw him leap over a blocker to get to the kick. An NFL team playing a 3-4 and ready to convert Gray from defensive line to a standup position at linebacker could have a real find.

We’ll be back to record The Paul Haynes Show in the Kent State Student Center every Thursday at noon during the football season, and it is a great opportunity for fans to come down and meet Haynes, his coaches and players who will come on as guests. 

Today’s guest was tight end Casey Pierce, another player on the Kent State roster with NFL potential. He is an impressive guy, and he had quite a few positive things to say about the development of some of his younger teammates. Pierce specifically talked about the development of sophomore wide receivers James Brooks and Ernest Calhoun. Combine those two with senior Chris Humphrey and Pierce believes there is enough talent and playmaking on the perimeter to really open up opportunities for him in the middle of the football field.

Pierce caught 33 passes for 364 yards – the most by a tight end at Kent State since Jason Gavazda in 1999. He should up those numbers and as a prototype of what NFL teams are looking for at the tight end position, don’t be surprised to see him follow past Flashes tight ends like Gavazda and O.J. Santiago in a chance to play at the next level.

Ask us your questions for Thursday's Paul Haynes Show at the KSU Student Center

The first Paul Haynes Show of 2014 will be recorded Thursday at noon in its new home in the Kent State University Student Center.

Ty Linder will host the show with me as co-host. Our guests will include, of course, head football coach Paul Haynes and senior tight end Casey Pierce. 

We hope you will come out to join us for lunch in the student center.

I have several topics I want to touch on with coach Haynes, including how the Flashes will handle the running game if Trayion Durham is not available. With Durham’s absence from the depth chart, there’s a chance that we will see a running back by committee. There is also quite a bit of work still ahead to get a reworked offensive line ready to open holes for that running game and to protect quarterback Colin Reardon.

The depth chart released this week also has several young players listed as backups at key positions. I was impressed by what I saw by several newcomers in my time watching camp, but I’ll be interested in hearing who the coaching staff feels the most comfortable with providing depth this season. In the Kent State Football Blog, defensive coordinator Brian George already talked about some of those youngsters and how he plans to use them in the early part of 2014.

If any of you have questions you would like us to ask our guests, post them below and we’ll work in as many as we can during the show. 

If you can’t come out to the student center, the show will air live on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio Channel. It will be rebroadcast later in the day and again on WHLO 640 AM prior to Saturday’s Kent State vs. Ohio season opener.