Kent State has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Sometimes, you can’t win but for losing, and Saturday night was just that sort of scenario for the Kent State Golden Flashes (0-3), as they walked into Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers (3-0) and left the butt of online jokes in a 71-0 loss to the seventh-ranked team in the country.
The Volunteers, looking to make a statement to the pollsters and the rest of their SEC peers, made the Golden Flashes their whipping boys, showing no signs of mercy on the field in the first half, establishing new highs for the program’s best-ever scoring quarter, (37) second-best scoring quarter (28) and best-ever scoring half (65) on the hapless KSU squad.
In fact, Tennessee was so eager to state their case, they executed an onsides kick with 3:30 to go in the first quarter (which they recovered) and also went for it on fourth-down on their last possession of the fourth-quarter up 71-0 (which they did not convert.)
Kent State’s offense finished with -31 yards in the first quarter and 112 yards overall. KSU had nothing for the Vols defensively either, giving up 9-of-15 third-down attempts and 3-of-4 fourth-down attempts and were only able to force two field goals— both in the second half.
But you have to admire the chutzpah of the Flashes in the circumstances; the KSU coaching staff were approached by Tennessee to shorten the quarters or keep a running clock in the second half, but were rebuffed.
They took their beating and hope to learn from it, at the very least.
For Kent State, Devin Kargman finished 9-of-15 for 58 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Chrishon McCray was the leading receiver with three catches for 27 yards, and JD Sherrod led the rushing attack with seven attempts for 56 yards.
Rocco Nicholl had 10 tackles to pace the Flashes defense, while Matt Harmon highlighted with five tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a QB hurry. Dallas Branch and Jayden Studio each had a pass break-up.
Tennessee had a field day, with freshman sensation Nico Iamaleava finishing 10-of-16 for 173 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Gaston Moore (4-of-4, 94 yards, two TDs) and Jake Merklinger (2-of-5, 17 yards) also saw snaps under center for the Vols.
The majority of the damage was done on the ground, with two Volunteers eclipsing the 100-yard mark and another falling just short of it. Dylan Sampson was the primary mauler, with 13 attempts for 101 yards and a staggering four touchdowns, while Desean Bishop (seven carries, 120 yards) and Peyton Lewis (10 carries, 99 yards) also brought the hammer.
No Volunteer receiver had more than two receptions or 64 yards on a night where it wasn’t particularly necessary, though three Tennessee receivers did haul in touchdown tosses: Chirs Brazzell II, Mike Matthews and Miles Kitselman.
Defensive back Edrees Farooq led the Vols defense with six total tackles, while fellow DB Will Brooks and linebacker Ryan Scott had the team’s two tackles-for-loss. James Pearce Jr. had three QB hurries, and five Vols recorded one pass break-up.
Kent State now has one last hurdle to clear in what has been a gauntlet of a non-conference season, traveling to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions next Saturday for a contest scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
Tennessee will travel to face SEC newcomer Oklahoma in a primetime matchup next Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.