College Football Predictions – Kent St Golden Flashes 2017 NCAA Football Preview
2016 Recap
2016 Record – 3-9
2016 ATS – 6-6
It had a chance to be better, but sadly, the Golden Flashes struggled to 3-9 record. That makes it four straight losing campaigns under the watch of HC Paul Haynes. They lost a close one to Akron and almost beat a couple of good MAC teams (Miami, Ohio) but could not find a way to close the deal. Do they have a shot to pull off a .500 record ? Let’s dig in.
2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
MAC – TBD
East Division – TBD
OFFENSE
Kent St has to find a way to be something better than horrible on offense. The defense usually shows up. Last season the Golden Flashes were dead last in the MAC (by a large margin) in total offense. 2015 ? Last. 2014 ? 2nd last. Now to be fair we should note that they suffered an insanely cruel injury curse last season using in the neighborhood of 17 different QBs. This year the top options are back and healthy as we go to press. Nick Holley had trouble making things happen through the air but did a lot of nice work on the ground (920, 10 TD). Mylik Mitchell showed promise in limited action.
The RB unit returns intact and #1 option Justin Rankin has the potential to have a nice year. He is just a sophomore and led the RB unit in rushing yards and led the TEAM in receptions in 2016. The offensive line returns three starters and need to do a better job in pass protection (34 sacks allowed in 2016 – #10 MAC).
DEFENSE
The Golden Flashes can almost always be counted on to play respectable defense. That is especially true when they play fellow MACTION members. They return 6 starters on defense this season but lose their star Nate Holley who led the team with 111 tackles in 2016. In fact they will be without 6/7 leading tacklers from last year’s defense. The front seven should be decent and they boast star CB Jerrell Foster but it feels like an average unit. We worry most about their ability to get PENETRATION. No returning player had more than ONE sack in 2016.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Everyone is back and the unit appears to be above average. PK Shane Hynes hit 15/22 FGs last season and P Derek Adams did a nice job. The return units can use a bit more spice.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot
September 23 – at Louisville. Yes they will be 50 point underdogs (approx) but it will be their 3rd road game in four weeks with MACTION on deck. No thanks.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Kent St has not scored 21+ points per game since 2012.
The Golden Flashes have never won a bowl game (0-2). You KNOW we will be cheering for them if they ever sneak into another one.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 3.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the GOLDEN FLASHES a 3.0 ATS Value Rating (Poor) this season.
It’s hard to think of any outcome other than another losing season. We know they will be scrappy but worry a lot about the ability to actually throw the football. We are also worried about a reloading defense. Does not seem like a recipe for success.
From a betting perspective you always have to avoid blindly fading teams like this because the point spreads are almost always giving you value with Kent St. We recommend staying clear unless they show much improved QB play.
Want more Kent St football ?
Website
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News
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http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/kent-st-golden-flashes
http://kentstate.247sports.com/Institution/Kent-State-Golden-Flashes-24071/Feeds
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Accounts
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