By David Carducci
Record-Courier staff writer
No Eugene Jarvis.
No Giorgio Morgan.
No excuse.
Kent State already refused the chance to trade those injures for a pardon on Monday when head coach Doug Martin guaranteed a winning season and a bowl bid.
That bold pledge looked more like a pipe dream after the Golden Flashes humiliated themselves in a 34-14 loss to Iowa State Saturday night at Dix Stadium.
When a team holds a revolver to its feet and pulls the trigger as often as KSU, it is destined to stay home during the holiday season with a sub-.500 record.
“It was like we hadn’t practiced all week,” said KSU safety and co-captain Brian Lainhart. “It’s on us as players. The coaches put us in great situations on defense, offense and special teams. For us to have penalties, missed assignments and fumbles, that’s just unacceptable. That’s all on us.”
For the record, the Flashes fumbled five times on everything from muffed punts to botched snaps when their center forgot the snap count. There were also plenty of dumb penalties, whiffed blocks, missed tackles and blown coverages.
And that, as any of the Flashes’ long-suffering football fans will tell you, is the same old Kent State.
Against a better team, the difference on the scoreboard would have been closer to 70 points. Iowa State was only marginally more competent in its play, suffering four turnovers of its own.
“They did everything they could do to keep us in the game, and we didn’t take advantage of it,” said KSU coach Doug Martin. “Our third-downs on offense (converting one of 12 all night) were absolutely deplorable. The penalties and the turnovers. We are just totally disjoined on offense right now. We have to find out who we are and get an identity.
“Defensively, the first half we didn’t play like we were capable of and in the second half we played much better. But that’s kind of the Kent State deal. Once it is decided, our kids loosen up and decide they want to play. They better start playing the first half. That’s something that’s got to come from within ... They either are going to bow up and start playing like they are capable or it is going to be a long year.”
The effort was particularly sad for a night several Golden Flashes dedicated to Jarvis, the team’s star running back who was lost for the season with a lacerated kidney. Jarvis cared enough to leave the Robinson Memorial Hospital for the chance to cheer his teammates on from a wheelchair seat in the pressbox. Those teammates, meanwhile, couldn’t be bothered to pay even the slightest attention to detail.
“It was hard to see (Jarvis) after the game with the way we played,” said Lainhart. “It was a game we should have won. We have to start winning games we are supposed to win. It was hard to see his face after we lost.”
Unfortunately, when Lainhart raced offsides on the game’s opening kickoff, most of the 15,808 fans in attendance had to have a pretty good idea of what was coming.
Lainhart was otherwise brilliant, forcing two fumbles and intercepting a pass for his 11th and 12th forced turnovers in the last 10 games. But his penalty before the first second had even ticked off the clock set the tone for the entire evening.
Teammate Leon Green compounded the early mistake with a late-hit personal foul at the end of a long Iowa State kick return. The two penalties tacked on to the end of the play handed the Cyclones a short field at the Kent State 38 for their first drive of the night.
The hits kept coming.
Iowa State started two more drives deep in KSU territory in the second quarter — one at the 20 and one at the 17, and both on giveaways when the Flashes couldn’t field a simple punt.
Chris Gilbert gave the Cyclones their first gift by being completely unaware of his surroundings. When a rolling punt nipped his leg, an Iowa State player was waiting to fall on the free ball.
A few minutes later, Alan Vanderink muffed a punt inside his own 20.
Thanks to a diving interception by Lainhart, Vanderink’s fumble was one of the few KSU miscues Iowa State could not convert into points.
The two penalties to open the game led to a 20-yard Grant Mahoney field goal and a 3-0 Cyclones lead.
Iowa State transformed a fumble by true freshman Dri Archer into a 22-yard touchdown lob from Austen Arnaud to Jake Williams.
Gilbert’s brain cramp turned into an easy 9-yard touchdown run by Arnaud for a commanding 27-7 halftime lead.
“We were very fortunate,” said Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads. “They made a number of mistakes that were not forced, and our team did a good job of taking advantage of them.”
One of Kent State’s only bright spots was the play of true freshman quarterback Spencer Keith, who completed 21-of-32 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. His perfectly thrown 44-yard touchdown pass to Archer in the first quarter gave KSU a brief 7-0 lead.
Keith also tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Derek McBryde to close the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Martin said “the only player not to play like a freshman” was the true freshman.
“The way he played was remarkable,” he continued. “If those other guys would help him out a little bit, we would be a good offensive football team.”
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David Carducci can be reached at dcarducci@recordpub.com