Towson at Kent State--The Kent State matchup with Towson is a good way for the Golden Flashes to start the season. While Towson is an FCS program, they were one of the better ones last fall. Kent State should overmatch Towson physically and be able to score plenty of points, they will also struggle to stop the Towson offense. The FBS versus FCS games can turn into huge upsets, this looks like a game that Kent State should win.
Offense: The Golden Flashes struggled in 2011 on offense only averaging just over 250 yards per game of total offense. The running game and passing game were equally awful with both ranking in the bottom 13 in the nation. Scoring was also a problem with Kent State only pulling in 17.1 points per game. The Golden Flashes did finally figure out some things in the final 5 games of the season, winning 4 of 5 and averaging 26 points per game. The Towson Tigers were one of the best offenses in all of FCS football. The Tigers put up 431 yards of offense per game good for 16th in the nation in FCS football. EDGE: Towson
Defense: Kent State struggled on offense but used a very stout defense to make it to a 5-7 record at seasons end. The Golden Flashes gave up just over 24 points per game on the season but only 17.8 per game after the opening three games. The Towson Tigers gave up 26 points per game but completely fell apart defensively in the final 5 games of the season giving up 30 or more points in 4 of those 5 games. EDGE: Kent State
Coaching: Towson is led by Rob Ambrose, a former wide receiver that had his career at Towson cut short due to injury. Following his graduation, Ambrose took a job on the coaching staff and stayed with the Tigers as an assistant from 1993-2000. Ambrose then moved to Catholic University where he coached the team to a 3-7 record in his only year on the job. Ambrose then left to be an assistant at Connecticut where he eventually moved to the role of offensive coordinator. Ambrose then was offered a chance to come home and take over the Towson head coaching job in 2009. In his first two years on the job, things were horrible with the Tigers going 3-19 in that span. 2011 finally saw things turn around with Towson going 9-3 and losing in the second round of the playoffs and a #8 national ranking. Darrell Hazell is the head coach at Kent State. The Kent State job is Hazell’s 9th different college to coach but only his first head coaching job. In his only year with the Golden Flashes, Hazell led the team to a 5-7 record, good for their third straight 5-7 record. EDGE: Push
The two teams have never played each other before.
Kent State started to show some promise in 2011 after a dreadful 1-6 start to the season. The Golden Flashes reeled off 4 wins in 5 games to continue their streak of 5-7 seasons. This season starts with an easier game although Towson is not to be overlooked. Towson was one of the better teams in all of FCS football during the 2011 season but had a very leaky defense that was their downfall. The Tigers have an explosive offense that could give the Kent State defense fits. While Kent State should struggle in the first half distancing themselves from this solid FCS program, the Golden Flashes should win somewhere in the range of 35-25 with a real scare put into them by Towson.
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