2021_Kent_State_Golden_Flashes_football_team Knowpia

2021 Kent State Golden Flashes football
2021 Kent State Golden Flashes football
MAC East Division champion
MAC Championship Game, L 23–41 vs. Northern Illinois
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, L 38–52 vs. Wyoming
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East Division
Record	7–7 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	Sean Lewis (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Andrew Sowder (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Veer and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Tom Kaufman (4th season)
Home stadium	Dix Stadium
	Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-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.

2021 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Kent State xy	6	–	2	7	–	7
Miami (OH)	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ohio	3	–	5	3	–	9
Bowling Green	2	–	6	4	–	8
Buffalo	2	–	6	4	–	8
Akron	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois xy$	6	–	2	9	–	5
Central Michigan x	6	–	2	9	–	4
Toledo	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ball State	4	–	4	6	–	7
Eastern Michigan	4	–	4	7	–	6
Western Michigan	4	–	4	8	–	5
Championship: Northern Illinois 41, Kent State 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

Schedule edit

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	8:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Texas A&M*	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPNU	L 10–41	97,339
September 11	11:30 a.m.	No. 18 (FCS) VMI*	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN3	W 60–10	16,785
September 18	3:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Iowa*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 7–30	61,932
September 25	3:30 p.m.	at Maryland*	Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	BTN	L 16–37	30,117
October 2	3:30 p.m.	Bowling Green	Dix Stadium Kent, OH (Anniversary Award)	ESPN+	W 27–20	20,537
October 9	7:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPNU	W 48–38	12,105
October 16	3:30 p.m.	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 31–64	18,716
October 23	1:00 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN+	W 34–27	15,854
November 3	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN2	W 52–47	6,076
November 10	8:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPNU	L 30–54	9,213
November 20	12:00 p.m.	at Akron	InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field Akron, OH (Wagon Wheel)	ESPN+	W 38–0	8,879
November 27	12:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN+	W 48–47 ^OT	8,387
December 4	12:00 p.m.	vs. Northern Illinois	Ford Field Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN	L 23–41	10,317
December 21	3:30 p.m.	vs. Wyoming*	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)	ESPN	L 38–52	10,217
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[1]

Game summaries edit

At No. 6 Texas A&M edit

Kent State at Texas A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	3	0	0	7	10
• No. 6 Texas A&M	10	0	17	14	41

Date: September 4, 2021
Location: Kyle Field
College Station, TX
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 97,339
Game weather: Temperature: 95 °F (35 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: S 3 MPH
Referee: Marc Curles
TV announcers (ESPNU): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Tom Ramsey (analyst) and Andraya Carter (sideline)

Pregame line	Over/under
TA&M –29.5	66.0

Statistics	Kent State	Texas A&M
First downs	19	29
Total yards	336	595
Rushing yards	226	303
Passing yards	110	292
Turnovers	2	5
Time of possession	24:50	35:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	12/26, 89 yards, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	8 carries, 73 yards
	Receiving	Keshunn Abram	3 receptions, 24 yards
Texas A&M	Passing	Haynes King	21/33, 292 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
	Rushing	De’Von Achane	12 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Ainias Smith	8 receptions, 100 yards, 2 TDs

VMI edit

VMI at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
VMI	0	0	3	7	10
• Kent State	22	17	14	7	60

Date: September 11, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 11:30 a.m. EST
Game attendance: 25,319
Television network: ESPN3

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –20.0	72.5

Statistics	VMI	Kent State
First downs	19	31
Total yards	288	698
Rushing yards	142	494
Passing yards	146	204
Turnovers	4	0
Time of possession	28:13	31:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
VMI	Passing	Collin Ironside	7/12, 91 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Rashad Raymond	12 carries, 57 yards
	Receiving	Julio DaSilva	2 receptions, 37 yards
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	12/17, 180 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	12 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Nykeim Johnson	5 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD

At No. 5 Iowa edit

Kent State at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	7	0	0	0	7
• No. 5 Iowa	9	7	7	7	30

Date: September 18, 2021
Location: Kinnick Stadium
Iowa City, IA
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 3:04
Game attendance: 61,932
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Sunny, Wind SE 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
Referee: Larry Smith
TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst) & Coley Harvey (sideline)

Pregame line	Over/under
IOWA –22.5	55.5

Statistics	Kent State	Iowa
First downs	17	21
Total yards	264	418
Rushing yards	79	206
Passing yards	185	212
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	23:52	36:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	16/23, 185 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	10 carries, 38 yards
	Receiving	Keshunn Abram	6 receptions, 138 yards, 1 TD
Iowa	Passing	Spencer Petras	25/36, 209 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Tyler Goodson	22 carries, 153 yards, 3 TDs
	Receiving	Sam LaPorta	7 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD

At Maryland edit

Kent State at Maryland

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	6	3	0	7	16
• Maryland	7	17	13	0	37

Date: September 25, 2021
Location: Maryland Stadium
College Park, MD
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 30,117
Television network: BTN

Pregame line	Over/under
MD –13.0	71.5

Statistics	Kent State	Maryland
First downs	27	23
Total yards	458	526
Rushing yards	150	142
Passing yards	308	384
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	30:04	29:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	19/33, 308 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	13 carries, 48 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	10 receptions, 151 yards, 1 TD
Maryland	Passing	Taulia Tagovailoa	31/41, 384 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Tayon Fleet-Davis	7 carries, 60 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dontay Demus Jr.	4 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD

Bowling Green edit

Anniversary Award

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bowling Green	3	3	14	0	20
• Kent State	10	3	7	7	27

Date: October 2, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 20,537
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –16.5	56.0

Statistics	Bowling Green	Kent State
First downs	18	25
Total yards	318	396
Rushing yards	55	262
Passing yards	263	134
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	32:15	27:45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Bowling Green	Passing	Matt McDonald	29/45, 263 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jaison Patterson	12 carries, 60 yards
	Receiving	Tyrone Broden	5 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	15/28, 134 yards
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	31 carries, 120 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	6 receptions, 64 yards

Buffalo edit

Buffalo at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffalo	0	10	28	0	38
• Kent State	14	17	3	14	48

Date: October 2, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 7:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 12,105
Television network: ESPNU

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –7.0	66.0

Statistics	Buffalo	Kent State
First downs	36	33
Total yards	549	633
Rushing yards	312	226
Passing yards	237	407
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	36:22	23:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Buffalo	Passing	Kyle Vantrease	24/45, 237 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Dylan McDuffie	10 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Quian Williams	8 receptions, 86 yards
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	22/36, 407 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	21 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	13 receptions, 186 yards, 3 TDs

At Western Michigan edit

Kent State at Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	7	10	6	8	31
• Western Michigan	17	6	27	14	64

Date: October 16, 2021
Location: Waldo Stadium
Kalamazoo, MI
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 18,716
Television network: ESPNU

Pregame line	Over/under
WMU –6.5	68.5

Statistics	Kent State	Western Michigan
First downs	20	32
Total yards	362	648
Rushing yards	124	341
Passing yards	238	307
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	22:19	37:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	15/26, 210 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	4 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	5 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD
Western Michigan	Passing	Kaleb Eleby	15/22, 307 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Sean Tyler	17 carries, 169 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaylen Hall	5 receptions, 144 yards, 1 TD

At Ohio edit

Kent State at Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Kent State	10	7	14	3	34
Ohio	0	7	10	10	27

Date: October 23, 2021
Location: Peden Stadium
Athens, OH
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 15,854
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –5.0	68.5

Statistics	Kent State	Ohio
First downs	28	27
Total yards	457	457
Rushing yards	200	135
Passing yards	257	322
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	26:37	33:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	26/31, 257 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Dustin Crum	17 carries, 93 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	9 receptions, 103 yards, 1 TD
Ohio	Passing	Kurtis Rourke	31/38, 308 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	De'Montre Tuggle	13 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Isiah Cox	7 receptions, 73 yards

Northern Illinois edit

Northern Illinois at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northern Illinois	7	14	6	20	47
• Kent State	0	31	14	7	52

Date: November 3, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 7:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 6,076
Television network: ESPN2

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –3.5	72.0

Statistics	Northern Illinois	Kent State
First downs	32	31
Total yards	663	682
Rushing yards	131	360
Passing yards	532	322
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	35:04	24:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Illinois	Passing	Rocky Lombardi	33/57, 532 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Jay Ducker	19 carries, 101 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Trayvon Rudolph	14 receptions, 309 yards, 3 TDs
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	20/30, 322 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	23 carries, 173 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	5 receptions, 124 yards

At Central Michigan edit

Kent State at Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	14	3	13	0	30
• Central Michigan	0	26	14	14	54

Date: November 10, 2021
Location: Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Mount Pleasant, MI
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 9,213
Television network: ESPNU

Pregame line	Over/under
CMU –2.5	76.5

Statistics	Kent State	Central Michigan
First downs	23	33
Total yards	456	505
Rushing yards	134	221
Passing yards	322	284
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	23:03	36:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	28/38, 322 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	21 carries, 83 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	5 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD
Central Michigan	Passing	Daniel Richardson	21/27, 268 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Lew Nichols III	43 carries, 215 yards, 4 TDs
	Receiving	JaCorey Sullivan	5 receptions, 61 yards

At Akron edit

Wagon Wheel Trophy

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Kent State	7	22	3	6	38
Akron	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 20, 2021
Location: InfoCision Stadium
Akron, OH
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 8,879
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –13.5	72.5

Statistics	Kent State	Akron
First downs	23	11
Total yards	476	188
Rushing yards	410	77
Passing yards	66	111
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	31:59	28:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	8/13, 55 yards
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	25 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	2 receptions, 36 yards
Akron	Passing	Zach Gibson	14/21, 111 yards
	Rushing	Jonzell Norrils	16 carries, 50 yards
	Receiving	Konata Mumpfield	4 receptions, 39 yards

Miami (OH) edit

Miami (OH) at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Miami (OH)	6	10	7	18	6	47
• Kent State	7	10	14	10	7	48

Date: November 27, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 8,387
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
EVEN	67.0

Statistics	Miami	Kent State
First downs	31	32
Total yards	549	642
Rushing yards	144	303
Passing yards	405	339
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	28:58	31:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Miami	Passing	Brett Gabbert	26/51, 405 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Kevin Davis	10 carries, 56 yards
	Receiving	Kenny Tracy	5 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	24/33, 325 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	13 carries, 168 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Keshunn Abram	7 receptions, 138 yards, 1 TD

Vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Championship game) edit

MAC Championship Game

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	0	0	10	13	23
• Northern Illinois	10	7	7	17	41

Date: December 4, 2021
Location: Ford Field
Detroit, MI
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 10,317
Television network: ESPN

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –3.5	75.5

Statistics	Kent State	Northern Illinois
First downs	24	28
Total yards	391	368
Rushing yards	195	266
Passing yards	196	102
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	19:59	40:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	11/21, 128 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	8 carries, 93 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	7 receptions, 102 yards
Northern Illinois	Passing	Rocky Lombardi	7/15, 102 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jay Ducker	29 carries, 146 yards
	Receiving	Trayvon Rudolph	3 receptions, 50 yards

Vs. Wyoming (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) edit

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	14	10	0	14	38
• Wyoming	7	14	14	17	52

Date: December 21, 2021
Location: Albertsons Stadium
Boise, ID
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 10,217
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 39 °F (4 °C) • Wind: 2 mph (3.2 km/h) SE
TV announcers (ESPN): Bill Roth (play-by-play), Kelly Stouffer (analyst), and Lauren Sisler (sideline)

Pregame line	Over/under
WYO –3.0	59.0

Statistics	Kent State	Wyoming
First downs	29	22
Total yards	656	531
Rushing yards	319	404
Passing yards	337	127
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	28:50	31:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	17/27, 316 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	24 carries, 125 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	4 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD
Wyoming	Passing	Levi Williams	9/11, 127 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Levi Williams	16 carries, 200 yards, 4 TDs
	Receiving	Isaiah Neyor	5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD