newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SAM HITCHCOCK

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

45, 41, 31, 41. These four numbers are the point totals that the Kent State Golden Flashes garnered in their last four games, all wins. Kent State is 6-1, and will not lay down for Rutgers in the Scarlet Knights’ Homecoming game at High Point Stadium tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

The MAC teams have established impressive legitimacy by beating three Big East and three Big Ten teams this year. The MAC is a very good conference, boasting high-end playmakers.

Kent State’s Dri Archer, the MAC’s version of Percy Harvin, is the nation’s leader in all-purpose yards (687 rushing, 278 receiving, 47.7 kick return average with three scores, and a touchdown pass). He is blessed with NFL-Sunday talent, allowing him to play a range of positions, and is a human highlight reel.

Archer uses his world-class speed and elusiveness to make himself a threat to hit paydirt every time he touches the ball (he has a startling 10.1 yards per carry when lined up in the backfield). But the Knights will meet him head on with their accomplished special teams coverage. They will kick to Archer because they are a brash, confident group.

Rutgers’ program and players never say anything inconsistent with their short-lens view: “We’re trying to go 1-0 this week”; “We are confident in our players and our team leaders”; “We will stick to our game plan and play Rutgers football.”

At 7-0, Rutgers is faced with a scheduling anachronism in their midseason stretch, as they are facing two non-conference teams with a bye-week sandwiched in-between over the next three weeks. This mid-season hiatus will proceed while their Big East adversaries play each other and try to climb in the standings.

Kent State’s only loss came at the behest of Kentucky, who waxed them 47-14. This Rutgers team beat an Arkansas squad who later annihilated that same Kentucky team 49-7. The transitive property is far from full proof, but it is safe to say the Knights will be the best team that the Golden Flashes will face all season.

If Kent State is going to see any success out of their spread offense, they will need signal-caller Spencer Keith playing poised, running an up-tempo attack that gets the ball in Archer’s hands as much as possible. The Golden Flashes are going to need to avoid a front seven that has been smothering offenses all season, so testing the Knights’ secondary is likely what they will try to do.

Knights’ linebackers Khaseem Greene and Steve Beauharnais have been excellent against the run, but also have great instincts when dropped into coverage. Rutgers will need to utilize an aggressive pass rush to place a lot of heat on Archer and Keith, and that will disrupt any offensive flow.

Offensively, using a healthy dose of Jawan Jamison and Savon Huggins to follow their strong offensive line as they move into the second level will be impactful. And after the fireworks display quarterback Gary Nova put on last Saturday (four touchdowns and one interception), letting him loose to target his plethora of receiving targets should allow him to gain lots of confidence when Big East play resumes.

A sturdy run defense, an opportunistic special teams, letting the run evolve into the pass -- this is now the Rutgers football code. Alumni should expect no different on Saturday.