KENT STATE FOOTBALL Nov. 4,4 2020 2020 | | Game Game One One | | Eastern Eastern Michigan Michigan at at Kent Kent State State Contacts(Dan Griffin| [email protected]|330-814-5921) | Taylor Czajkowski Game 1 DATE: Nov 4, 2020 TIME: 6 p.m. LOCATION: Kent, Ohio STADIUM: Dix Stadium Eastern Michigan Eagles TV: ESPN+ Kent State Golden Flashes (Dave Wilson & John Gregory) 2019 Record: 6-7 (Lost Quick Lane Bowl) RADIO: Kent State Radio 2019 Record: 7-6 (Won Frisco Bowl) Head Coach: Chris Creighton(7th Season) Tune-In and Kent State App Head Coach: Sean Lewis (Third Year) Record at EMU: 28-48 TWITTER:@KentStFootball Record at Kent State: 9-16 Overall Record: 167-94 STATS:KentStateSports.com Overall Record: 9-16 2020 Schedule The Opening Kick vs EMU* • The MAC takes center stage on Wednesday night with all 12 Nov. 4, 2020 |Dix Stadium Kent, Ohio teams in action in week one of a MAC-only, six-game regular at BG* season. Nov. 10, 2020 | Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, Ohio • The Flashes bring back rising senior quarterback Dustin vs TSDTR* Crum. Crum completed nearly 70 percent of his passes last Nov. 17, 2020 | Dix Stadium Kent, Ohio. year and had a 20:2 touchdown to interception ratio. at Buffalo* • Crum was named the MVP of the Frisco Bowl after piling up Nov. 28, 2020| UB Stadium Buffalo, N.Y. over 400 yards of offense and three touchdowns, including at Miami (OH)* a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that sealed Dec. 5, 2020 | Yager Stadium Oxford, Ohio the victory. vs Ohio* • Place kicker Matthew Trickett tied for the FBS lead with Dec. 12, 2020 | Dix Stadium Kent, Ohio. 29 field goals in 2019. As a result, he was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year. Trickett also racked up a pre-season All-America nod from the Walter Camp Football Foundation. • Kent State brings back its top-two tacklers from 2019, led by the linebacker Manny Lawrence-Burke. Joining Manny is senior defensive back KJ Sherald , who also tied for the team lead with three interceptions. • The Golden Flashes return their top receiving threat from 2019 in Isaiah McKoy. The speedy junior took the top off the defense to the tune of over 15 yards per catch and a team-best eight touchdowns. • Xavier Williams is back after a record-setting 2019. Wil- liams had the fastest two touchdowns in the FBS last season against Buffalo. Williams scored on an eight-yard rush and 42-yard screen pass just 28 seconds apart from one another, sparking the comeback win over the Bulls. KENT STATE FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK:/KentStFootball INSTAGRAM:@KentStFootball TWITTER:@KentStFootball WEB:KentStateSports.com/Sports/Football KENT STATE FOOTBALL Nov. 4, 2020 | Game One | Eastern Michigan at Kent State Contacts(Dan Griffin| [email protected]|330-814-5921) | Taylor Czajkowski Week One Team/Media Schedule Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Practice: A.M. Virtual Zoom Press Practice: A.M. Practice: A.M. Practice: A.M. Practice: A.M. EMU at Kent State- KATANA Conference: TBA media availability- media availability- Kickoff: media availability media availability None None TV: ESPN + Media Availability: Practice: Off-day post-practice at 11 post-practice at 11 Radio: Kent State None a.m. (Zoom/Phone) a.m. (Zoom/Phone) App, Tune-IN Media Contacts Kent State Media Services Dan Griffin-Director of Athletics Communication Notes and Releases Contact for: Football, Wrestling Baseball Updated Kent State football game notes are available in PDF format at Email: [email protected] | Phone: 330-814-5921 www.kentstatesports.com. To receive the notes via email, contact Director of Athletics Communications Dan Griffin at 330.672.8468 or [email protected]. Meghan Donovan-Asst. Director of Athletics Communication Contact for: Men’s and Women’s Golf, Men’s B-Ball Email: [email protected] | Phone: 330-672-8467 Media Credentials All members of the media wishing to cover games in a working capacity must submit a Jay Fiorello-Asst. Director of Athletics request to cover the game through KentStateSports.com or by emailing Dan Griffin at Communication [email protected]. NO season credentials will be given due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact for: Volleyball, Women’s B-Ball, Softball Media members will have their name on a check-in list outside of the stadium on the day of Email: [email protected] | Phone: 330-672-8420 the game. ALL media must be screened, cleared and be wearing a wrist band before entering the stadium. Space in the press box is EXTREMELY limited this season and will be handled on Taylor Czajkowski-Graduate Assistant Contact for: Football (secondary), XC, Gym, WLax a first-come, first-serve basis. Email:[email protected] | Phone: 330-672-3084 Press Conferences Richard Benge-Graduate Assistant Head Coach Sean Lewis will hold a virtual press conference after every game as well as a Contact for: Soccer, Track and Field weekly press conference. The day of the press conference will be two days after the previous Email:[email protected] | Phone: 330-672-3084 week’s game. All press conference links can be found at KentStateSports.com/Press. All press conferences will be password protected, if you would like to attend a press conference, Matt Quammen-Graduate Assistant please email [email protected] with your name and affiliation, and a password will be provid- Contact for: Field Hockey, Track and Field Email:[email protected] | Phone: 330-672-3084 ed. All press conferences will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel, GoldenFlash- esTV. Nick Kane-Director of Video/Creative Services Email: [email protected]| Phone: 330-672-2500 Weekday Interview Schedule Ivan Korsakov-Graduate Assistant: Video All interviews with Kent State players and coaches must be coordinated through the Athletic Email: [email protected]| Phone: 330-672-2500 Communications office. Due to COVID-19 protocol, practices will be closed to the media for the season. All interviews will be done via Zoom or by phone. Professional Scout Policy Professional scouts may receive credentials by sending a request via email to Director of Ath- letic Communications Dan Griffin at ([email protected]). With social distancing policies in effect for the 2020 season, seats inside the press box will be extemely limited. If no seating in the press box is available, scouts will be given seats in the west side stands. Stats In an effort to stay physically distant, eliminate touch points and in accordance with MAC pro- tocols, all stats will be uploaded as a PDF immediately to KentStateSports.com/Stats. Website Up-to-date Kent State football information is available via the official athletics department web site at www.kentstatesports.com. Updated results and statistics are available as well as releases, team roster, player bios, coaching staff bios and game recaps. The website also features real-time statistics for home games plus links to broadcasts of all games on the Kent State App. GO FLASHES App Your one-stop digital shop for all things Kent State is available with the GoFlashes app for IOS and Android. With the app, you can access the latest in Kent State Athletics news, stats and more. The “GameDay Hub” feature will have streamng information, game programs and social media updates. Simply search Kent State in the App Store or Google Play store and download for free. KENT STATE FOOTBALL Nov. 4, 2020 | Game One | Eastern Michigan at Kent State Contacts(Dan Griffin| [email protected]|330-814-5921) | Taylor Czajkowski MATCHUP INFORMATION TEAM COMPARISON (2019) The Coaches At 34 years of age, Sean Lewis remains the youngest head coach in the FBS Team Statistics KENT EMU and is in his third season with the Golden Flashes. Lewis engineered a five-win Record (Overall) 7-6 6-7 improvment from year one to year two, closing the 2019 season on a four-game Record (Conference) 5-3 5-3 win streak. Capping the streak was a 51-41 victory over Utah State in the Tropical Points/game 29.2 29.2 Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. It was the first bowl win in school history and the Total offense/game 405.6 405.5 second time the team topped 50 points. Under Lewis, the team has gone from Rushing yards/game 186.7 122.3 12.7 points per game in the year before Lewis took over to over 29 points per game Passing yards/game 218.9 283.2 last season. Prior to Kent State, Lewis spent six years under Dino Babers at three Points allowed/game 31.8 30.6 different schools, most recently spending two seasons as co-offensive coordinator Total offense allowed/game 473.5 430.5 and quarterbacks coach at Syracuse. The Orange proved to be a program on the rise Rushing yards allowed/game 244.5 194.2 with a victory over then defending national champion Clemson. Lewis served in Passing yards allowed/game 288.8 236.2 the same position for two seasons at Bowling Green, helping the Falcons to a MAC Kickoff return average 22.56 16.93 title and two bowl appearances. Lewis also coached at Eastern Illinois, Akron and Punt return average 8.50 12.00 Nebraksa Omaha. Fumbles-lost 21-10 16-5 Penalties-yards 80-772 59-531 Chris Creighton returns as the Eagles’ head coach in 2020. Creighton has done a Net yards/punt 40.90 39.86 terrific job at EMU, leading them to bowl games in three of the last four seasons. Time of possession/game 26:09 28:32 Creighton and the Eagles made program history last year, earning a bowl bid in 3rd-down conversion 43.9% 39.9% consecutive years for the first time.