All-MAC teams announced
By Don Knotts | @theotherdonknotts |December 20, 2024, 7:27am EDT
The McAlary Effect
The McAlary Effect
All-MAC teams announced
By Don Knotts | @theotherdonknotts |December 20, 2024, 7:27am EDT
The McAlary Effect
Kent State Game Preview
68 Ventures Bowl vs Louisiana
By Don Knotts | @theotherdonknotts | December 20, 2024, 11:13am EDT
6-6 | 8-4
Saturday December 21st 5:45
Location: Mobile, Alabama | Hancock Whitney Stadium
Series: 0-2
Head Coach: Michael Desormeaux
Team Leaders:
QB Chandler Fields 4,048Yds 45TD 6Int
RB Elijah Davis 562Yds 8TD
WR Robrt Williams 1,216Yds 15TD
MLB K.C. Ossai 75Tkl
DE Antoine Baylis 9.0Sck
CB Lorenzell Dubose 4Int
Injuries
Kent State: LB Luke Fulton
Louisiana: RT J'Marion Gooch, MLB K.C. Ossai, CB Jeremiah Moses
The McAlary Effect
Kent State OC McAlary declines interviews with Marshall, New Mexico State
McAlary "not done here"
By Martin Green | @mgreenmacsports | December 22, 2024, 11:53am
In the world of college football it's difficult to keep news of any sort a secret for long. That was the case when it was recently leaked that Kent State OC Jordan McAlary had interviewed with New Mexico State for their open OC position after they had fired Tyler Wright.
"Not true." McAlary rebutted. "I have been contacted by a couple of schools for interviews and I have declined them both. I'm not done here. We have more work to do."
Rumors were circulating that Marshall was interested in interviewing McAlary for their head coach position after they decided to part ways with Charles Huff.
McAlary oversaw quite the transformation of Kent State's offense, improving their PPG to 30.8 (best in the MAC) from 14.7 PPG last season. The team went from 1-11 with their only win against Central Connecticut State to a respectable 6-6. The team averaged 270 yards of offense per game in 2023. That number was up to 431 this season.
McAlary will face his alma mater Louisiana in the 68 Ventures bowl this weekend.
The McAlary Effect
Turnovers, sacks seal Flashes fate yet again
Kent State finishes season with trio of losses
By Don Knotts | @theotherdonknotts | December, 22 2024, 8:08am
21 | 38
Saturday December 21st 5:45
Location: Mobile, Alabama | Hancock Whitney Stadium
(6-7/5-3)|00|06|15|00|21
(9-4/4-2)|07|10|14|07|38
LOUISIANA CB CALEB ANDERSON RETURNS AN ULATOWSKI PICK FOR SIX
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Kent State trailed 17-6 heading into the third quarter and took a bite out of the lead when Tommy Ulatowski connected with Chrishon McCray for a nine yard touchdown and then found Hayden Junker for the two point conversion.
Following a punt by Louisiana Ulatowski was picked off by Louisiana's Kenyon Martin on the first play of the drive, setting up a seven yard Chandler Fields TD pass to Jacob Bernard.
Less than a minute later Caleb Anderson crossed the goal line for Louisiana with a 59 yard pick six.
Kent State kept fighting, adding a 34 yard Ulatowski to Isaiah Batton TD late in the third to keep things close at 31-21.
Louisiana would add a Fields to Robert Williams TD pass late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Once again Ulatowski was under pressure for most of the day and was sacked four times.
"It's definitely something that we're going to need to address." Kenni Burns said when asked about the offensive line's struggles down the stretch. "You can't do much if your QB is on the ground all game."
Kent State finishes the season 6-7 with their fourth bowl appearance since 2012. They have won six or more games for just the sixth time since 1987.
Additional Media
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Scoring
1Q ULL L. LeGendre 8 Yd pass from C. Fields (K. Almendares kick)
2Q KENT A. Glass 44 Yd FG
2Q ULL K. Almendares 47 Yd FG
2Q KENT A. Glass 27 Yd FG
2Q ULL J. Bernard 10 Yd pass from C. Fields (K. Almendares kick)
3Q KENT C. McCray 9 Yd pass from T. Ulatowski (two point)
3Q ULL J. Bernard 9 Yd pass from C. Fields (K. Almendares kick)
3Q ULL C. Anderson 59 Yd pick six (K. Almendares kick)
3Q KENT I. Batton 34 Yd pass from T. Ulatowski (A. Glass kick)
4Q ULL R. Williams 9 Yd pass from C. Fields (K. Almendares kick)
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Key Statistics
Passing - T. Ulatowski 28/49 300Yds 2TD 2Int
Rushing - G. Garcia 12Car 51Yds, K. Thomas 2Car 15Yds, T. Ulatowski 7Car 14Yds
Receiving - I. Batton 6Rec 93Yds 1TD, G. Garcia 6Rec 53Yds, C. McCray 6Rec 52Yds 1TD
Tackles - K. Johns 8, N. Giacolone 8
Sacks - R. Nicholl 0.5, A. Campbell Jr 0.5
Takeaways - N/A
Kicking - A. Glass 2/2FG, 1/1XP
Passing - C. Fields 24/30 270Yds 4TD
Rushing - E. Davis 21Car 103Yds, C. Fields 7Car 13Yds
Receiving - J. Bernard 6Rec 83Yds 2TD, R. Williams 6Rec 77Yds 1TD, T. Carter 4Rec 49Yds, L. LeGendre 4Rec 21Yds 1TD
Tackles - C. Glass 14, K. Martin 9
Sacks - K. Edwards 1.0, J. Lawson 1.0, F. West Jr 1.0, A. Baylis 1.0
Takeaways - C. Anderson 1Int 1TD, K. Martin 1Int, F. West Jr 1FF
Kicking - K. Almendares 1/1FG, 5/5XP
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Up Next
Offseason
The McAlary Effect
MAC Football Results
Scores, Players of the Week and other news and notes from around the conference
By Don Knotts | @theotherdonknotts | December 27, 2024, 9:27am EDT
MAC Scores
68 Ventures Bowl | Louisiana 38, Kent State 21
Cure Bowl | Texas State 38, Akron 7
Myrtle Beach Bowl | Georgia Southern 23, Toledo 17
Detroit Bowl | Maryland 45, Miami-OH 34
MAC Players of the Week
Miami of Ohio DE Corey Suttle 6Tkl, 2.0Sck
Miami of Ohio WR Andre Johnson 7Rec 154Yds 3TD
MAC Standings
11-3|8-0
7-7|6-2
6-7|5-3
6-7|5-3
6-6|5-3
4-8|3-5
4-8|3-5
4-8|3-5
7-5|3-5
5-7|3-5
5-7|3-5
4-8|1-7MAC Leaders
Pass Yards: Toledo QB Tucker Gleason 3,902Yds 34TD
Rush Yards: Kent State HB Gavin Garcia 1,119Yds 9TD
Receiving Yards: Toledo WR Junior Vandeross III 1,238Yds 11TD
Tackles: Eastern Michigan LB Luke Murphy 96Tkl
Sacks: Western Michigan DE Tyson Lee 12.5Sck
Interceptions: Northern Illinois LB Jaden Dolphin, Central Michigan CB Da'raun McKinney and Western Michigan LB Damari Roberson 4Int
The McAlary Effect
MAC Football Results
Scores, Players of the Week and other news and notes from around the conference
By Don Knotts | @theotherdonknotts | January 4, 2025, 9:27am EDT
MAC Scores
Sun Bowl | Western Michigan 38, UMass 31
Arizona Bowl | San Diego State 35, Eastern Michigan 31
MAC Players of the Week
Eastern Michigan CB Daiquan White 6Tkl, 2Int
Western Michigan QB Hayden Wolff 284Yds 2TD, 24Rush Yds 1Rush TD
MAC Standings
11-3|8-0 7-7|6-2 6-7|5-3 6-7|5-3 7-6|5-3 4-8|3-5 4-8|3-5 4-8|3-5 7-6|3-5 5-7|3-5 5-7|3-5 4-8|1-7MAC Leaders
Pass Yards: Toledo QB Tucker Gleason 3,902Yds 34TD
Rush Yards: Kent State HB Gavin Garcia 1,119Yds 9TD
Receiving Yards: Toledo WR Junior Vandeross III 1,238Yds 11TD
Tackles: Eastern Michigan LB Luke Murphy 102Tkl
Sacks: Western Michigan DE Tyson Lee 12.5Sck
Interceptions: Western Michigan LB Damari Roberson 5Int
The McAlary Effect
Kent State 2024 final statistics
Player Stats
By Martin Green | @mgreenmacsports | January 11, 2025, 11:53am
Passing
Tommy Ulatowski 300/506 59% 3,810Yds 20TD 12Int
JD Sherrod 3/5 60% 19Yds
Rushing
Gavin Garcia 236/1,139 4.7YPC 9TD 2Fum
Ky Thomas 110/513 4.7YPC 7TD 1Fum
Tommy Ulatowski 82/72 .9YPC 9TD 5Fum
Curtis Douglas 8/25 3.1YPC
Conner Muldowney 2/4 2.0YPC
Receiving
Chrishon McCray 61/926 15.2 6TD
Isaiah Batton 59/1,047 17.7 11TD
Gavin Garcia 40/347 8.7
Hayden Junker 37/381 10.3
Ky Thomas 32/221 6.9
Sebastian Brown 30/419 14.0 2TD
Luke Floriea 26/377 14.5 1TD
Conner Muldowney 17/106 6.2
Stanley King 1/5 5.0
Blocking
David Doulong 1,059 Snaps, 3 Sacks
Jimto Obidegwu 1,026/6
Chris Farrell 1,026/2
Cameron Golden 954/9
Kevin Toth 836/4
Garrett Masterson 237/0
Dustyn Morell 128/0
Tristen Bittner 37/0
Tackle Leaders
Dallas Branch 88
Malcolm Folk 75
Nicholas Giacolone 70
Jaylen Dotson 65
Antoine Campbell Jr 64
Khalib Johns 62
Naim Muhammad 51
Sacks
Stephen Daley 7.5
Antoine Campbell Jr 5.5
Nicholas Giacolone 3.0
Oliver Billotte 3.0
Seth Nelson 1.0
Mattheus Carroll 1.0
Dallas Branch 0.5
Khalib Johns 0.5
John Jackson 0.5
Rocco Nicholl 0.5
Interceptions
Dallas Branch 2
Malcolm Folk 2
Jaylen Dotson 2
Nicholas Giocolone 1
Naim Muhammad 1
Fumbles
Stephen Daley 2FF, 2FR
Malcolm Folk 1FF
Jaylen Dotson 1FF
Oliver Billotte 1FF, 2FR
CJ Young 1FF
Jayden Studio 1FF, 2FR
Kicking
Andrew Glass 21/28FG, 42/42XP
Punting
Josh Smith 40.9YPP 4In20 4TB
Returns
Dash Dorsey 9KR 254Yds 28.2Avg
Isaiah Batton 13KR 311Yds 23.9Avg
Luke Floriea 30PR 299Yds 10.0Avg
Chrishon McCray 1PR 1Yds