The Illinois football defense takes on a Kent State offense this weekend that struggled in 2017.
Here is a preview of the Kent State offense.
Quarterback (D-)
Kent State has five quarterbacks on the roster with the most experienced player being sophomore Dustin Crum. He is the only returning quarterback who threw a pass for the Golden Flashes in 2017. He threw for 232 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions with a 53.3-percent completion rate.
Crum was the second-leading rusher on the team as well. He rushed for 310 yards and a touchdown in 2017. This is another element he brings to the game.
Running Back (D+)
The leading rusher from 2017, Justin Rankin, returns for his junior year. He ran for 490 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. He only averaged 4 yards per carry, though, which isn’t very good at the college level.
Kent State utilized their quarterbacks a lot in the run game last season. Their No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 rushers in 2017 were all quarterbacks. You have to go down to Will Matthews at No. 5 to find the next returning running back. He rushed for 188 yards and a touchdown last season.
Wide Receiver/Tight End (C-)
The Golden Flashes used running back Justin Rankin as a receiver coming out of the backfield a lot in 2017. He had 42 receptions with the next closest player hitting the 17-reception mark. That player was wide receiver Trey Harrell. He had 17 receptions for 324 yards and a touchdown. He is back for his junior campaign.
Kent State also has wide receiver Mike Carrigan returning as well. He had 14 receptions for 281 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is another weapon for the Golden Flashes to use against the Illini.
Conor Brumfield is the only returning tight end that recorded stats last year for Kent State. He finished the 2017 campaign with 6 receptions for 53 yards.
Offensive Line (C-)
The Kent State offensive line was one of the worst groups in college football in 2017. They averaged giving up 4 sacks per game, which ranked No. 129 out 130 teams in the nation. But, they are returning some experience and bringing in a solid junior college recruit as well.
I am assuming Bryce Gibbs and Jamil Viaud are the starters at offensive tackle. Gibbs started eight games in 2017 and Viaud is a JUCO recruit from Allan Hancock Community College. They are also returning players like Nate Warnock who had 12 starts last season, Mike Marinelli who had four starts and Adam Gregoire who had six starts.
Overall (D+)
I am giving a grade of D+ to the Kent State offense. They aren’t good. The Golden Flashes averaged scoring 10.5 points per game in 2017 and that was No. 130 out of 130 programs. They were dead last.
The quarterback situation is a mess for this Kent State program. It isn’t going to be better this year. Their running backs aren’t very good. They finished averaging 139.6 yards per game, which ranked No. 94 in the nation. They will struggle against a young Illinois defensive line.
Kent State has some okay pass catchers, but they will struggle because of the quarterback situation. There is no tight end presence for the Golden Flashes either. At least they could have a red zone target, but that isn’t the case.
The one slight bright spot might be the offensive line because of experience, but they were one of the worst groupings in the nation last season as well. Despite some new additions, I still see them struggling in 2018. A D+ might be a generous grade for this offense.