2021 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

2021 Kent State Golden Flashes football

MAC East Division champion
MAC Championship Game, L 23–41 vs. Northern Illinois
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, L 38–52 vs. Wyoming
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East Division
Record	7–7 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	Sean Lewis (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Andrew Sowder (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Veer and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Tom Kaufman (4th season)
Home stadium	Dix Stadium
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Kent State xy	6	–	2	7	–	7
Miami (OH)	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ohio	3	–	5	3	–	9
Bowling Green	2	–	6	4	–	8
Buffalo	2	–	6	4	–	8
Akron	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois xy$	6	–	2	9	–	5
Central Michigan x	6	–	2	9	–	4
Toledo	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ball State	4	–	4	6	–	7
Eastern Michigan	4	–	4	7	–	6
Western Michigan	4	–	4	8	–	5
Championship: Northern Illinois 41, Kent State 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

The 2021 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Sean Lewis and played their home games at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio, as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	8:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Texas A&M*	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPNU	L 10–41	97,339
September 11	11:30 a.m.	No. 18 (FCS) VMI*	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN3	W 60–10	16,785
September 18	3:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Iowa*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 7–30	61,932
September 25	3:30 p.m.	at Maryland*	Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	BTN	L 16–37	30,117
October 2	3:30 p.m.	Bowling Green	Dix Stadium Kent, OH (Anniversary Award)	ESPN+	W 27–20	20,537
October 9	7:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPNU	W 48–38	12,105
October 16	3:30 p.m.	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 31–64	18,716
October 23	1:00 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN+	W 34–27	15,854
November 3	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN2	W 52–47	6,076
November 10	8:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPNU	L 30–54	9,213
November 20	12:00 p.m.	at Akron	InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field Akron, OH (Wagon Wheel)	ESPN+	W 38–0	8,879
November 27	12:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN+	W 48–47 ^OT	8,387
December 4	12:00 p.m.	vs. Northern Illinois	Ford Field Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN	L 23–41	10,317
December 21	3:30 p.m.	vs. Wyoming*	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)	ESPN	L 38–52	10,217
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[1]

Game summaries

At No. 6 Texas A&M

Kent State at Texas A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	3	0	0	7	10
• No. 6 Texas A&M	10	0	17	14	41

Date: September 4, 2021
Location: Kyle Field
College Station, TX
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 97,339
Game weather: Temperature: 95 °F (35 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: S 3 MPH
Referee: Marc Curles
TV announcers (ESPNU): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Tom Ramsey (analyst) and Andraya Carter (sideline)

Pregame line	Over/under
TA&M –29.5	66.0

Statistics	Kent State	Texas A&M
First downs	19	29
Total yards	336	595
Rushing yards	226	303
Passing yards	110	292
Turnovers	2	5
Time of possession	24:50	35:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	12/26, 89 yards, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	8 carries, 73 yards
	Receiving	Keshunn Abram	3 receptions, 24 yards
Texas A&M	Passing	Haynes King	21/33, 292 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
	Rushing	De’Von Achane	12 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Ainias Smith	8 receptions, 100 yards, 2 TDs

VMI

VMI at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
VMI	0	0	3	7	10
• Kent State	22	17	14	7	60

Date: September 11, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 11:30 a.m. EST
Game attendance: 25,319
Television network: ESPN3

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –20.0	72.5

Statistics	VMI	Kent State
First downs	19	31
Total yards	288	698
Rushing yards	142	494
Passing yards	146	204
Turnovers	4	0
Time of possession	28:13	31:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
VMI	Passing	Collin Ironside	7/12, 91 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Rashad Raymond	12 carries, 57 yards
	Receiving	Julio DaSilva	2 receptions, 37 yards
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	12/17, 180 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	12 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Nykeim Johnson	5 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD

At No. 5 Iowa

Kent State at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	7	0	0	0	7
• No. 5 Iowa	9	7	7	7	30

Date: September 18, 2021
Location: Kinnick Stadium
Iowa City, IA
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 3:04
Game attendance: 61,932
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Sunny, Wind SE 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
Referee: Larry Smith
TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst) & Coley Harvey (sideline)

Scoring summary

1	8:03	Iowa	Safety, Dustin Crum sacked by Lukas Van Ness in end zone	Iowa 2–0
	6:34	Iowa	Tyler Goodson 46-yard run (Caleb Shudak kick)	Iowa 9–0
	5:00	Kent	Keshunn Abram 23-yard pass from Dustin Crum (A. Glass kick)	Iowa 9–7

2	0:19	Iowa	Sam LaPorta 5-yard pass from Spencer Petras (Caleb Shudak kick)	Iowa 16–7

3	0:32	Iowa	Tyler Goodson 35-yard run (Caleb Shudak kick) (Caleb Shudak kick)	Iowa 23–7

4	4:07	Iowa	Tyler Goodson 2-yard run (Caleb Shudak kick) (Caleb Shudak kick)	Iowa 30–7

Pregame line	Over/under
IOWA –22.5	55.5

Statistics	Kent State	Iowa
First downs	17	21
Total yards	264	418
Rushing yards	79	206
Passing yards	185	212
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	23:52	36:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	16/23, 185 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	10 carries, 38 yards
	Receiving	Keshunn Abram	6 receptions, 138 yards, 1 TD
Iowa	Passing	Spencer Petras	25/36, 209 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Tyler Goodson	22 carries, 153 yards, 3 TDs
	Receiving	Sam LaPorta	7 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD

At Maryland

Kent State at Maryland

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	6	3	0	7	16
• Maryland	7	17	13	0	37

Date: September 25, 2021
Location: Maryland Stadium
College Park, MD
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 30,117
Television network: BTN

Pregame line	Over/under
MD –13.0	71.5

Statistics	Kent State	Maryland
First downs	27	23
Total yards	458	526
Rushing yards	150	142
Passing yards	308	384
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	30:04	29:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	19/33, 308 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	13 carries, 48 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	10 receptions, 151 yards, 1 TD
Maryland	Passing	Taulia Tagovailoa	31/41, 384 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Tayon Fleet-Davis	7 carries, 60 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dontay Demus Jr.	4 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD

Bowling Green

Anniversary Award

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bowling Green	3	3	14	0	20
• Kent State	10	3	7	7	27

Date: October 2, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 20,537
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –16.5	56.0

Statistics	Bowling Green	Kent State
First downs	18	25
Total yards	318	396
Rushing yards	55	262
Passing yards	263	134
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	32:15	27:45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Bowling Green	Passing	Matt McDonald	29/45, 263 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jaison Patterson	12 carries, 60 yards
	Receiving	Tyrone Broden	5 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	15/28, 134 yards
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	31 carries, 120 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	6 receptions, 64 yards

Buffalo

Buffalo at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffalo	0	10	28	0	38
• Kent State	14	17	3	14	48

Date: October 2, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 7:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 12,105
Television network: ESPNU

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –7.0	66.0

Statistics	Buffalo	Kent State
First downs	36	33
Total yards	549	633
Rushing yards	312	226
Passing yards	237	407
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	36:22	23:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Buffalo	Passing	Kyle Vantrease	24/45, 237 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Dylan McDuffie	10 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Quian Williams	8 receptions, 86 yards
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	22/36, 407 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	21 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	13 receptions, 186 yards, 3 TDs

At Western Michigan

Kent State at Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	7	10	6	8	31
• Western Michigan	17	6	27	14	64

Date: October 16, 2021
Location: Waldo Stadium
Kalamazoo, MI
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 18,716
Television network: ESPNU

Pregame line	Over/under
WMU –6.5	68.5

Statistics	Kent State	Western Michigan
First downs	20	32
Total yards	362	648
Rushing yards	124	341
Passing yards	238	307
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	22:19	37:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	15/26, 210 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	4 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	5 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD
Western Michigan	Passing	Kaleb Eleby	15/22, 307 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Sean Tyler	17 carries, 169 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaylen Hall	5 receptions, 144 yards, 1 TD

At Ohio

Kent State at Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Kent State	10	7	14	3	34
Ohio	0	7	10	10	27

Date: October 23, 2021
Location: Peden Stadium
Athens, OH
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 15,854
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –5.0	68.5

Statistics	Kent State	Ohio
First downs	28	27
Total yards	457	457
Rushing yards	200	135
Passing yards	257	322
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	26:37	33:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	26/31, 257 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Dustin Crum	17 carries, 93 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	9 receptions, 103 yards, 1 TD
Ohio	Passing	Kurtis Rourke	31/38, 308 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	De'Montre Tuggle	13 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Isiah Cox	7 receptions, 73 yards

Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northern Illinois	7	14	6	20	47
• Kent State	0	31	14	7	52

Date: November 3, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 7:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 6,076
Television network: ESPN2

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –3.5	72.0

Statistics	Northern Illinois	Kent State
First downs	32	31
Total yards	663	682
Rushing yards	131	360
Passing yards	532	322
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	35:04	24:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Illinois	Passing	Rocky Lombardi	33/57, 532 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Jay Ducker	19 carries, 101 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Trayvon Rudolph	14 receptions, 309 yards, 3 TDs
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	20/30, 322 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	23 carries, 173 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	5 receptions, 124 yards

At Central Michigan

Kent State at Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	14	3	13	0	30
• Central Michigan	0	26	14	14	54

Date: November 10, 2021
Location: Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Mount Pleasant, MI
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 9,213
Television network: ESPNU

Pregame line	Over/under
CMU –2.5	76.5

Statistics	Kent State	Central Michigan
First downs	23	33
Total yards	456	505
Rushing yards	134	221
Passing yards	322	284
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	23:03	36:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	28/38, 322 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	21 carries, 83 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	5 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD
Central Michigan	Passing	Daniel Richardson	21/27, 268 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Lew Nichols III	43 carries, 215 yards, 4 TDs
	Receiving	JaCorey Sullivan	5 receptions, 61 yards

At Akron

Wagon Wheel Trophy

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Kent State	7	22	3	6	38
Akron	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 20, 2021
Location: InfoCision Stadium
Akron, OH
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 8,879
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –13.5	72.5

Statistics	Kent State	Akron
First downs	23	11
Total yards	476	188
Rushing yards	410	77
Passing yards	66	111
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	31:59	28:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	8/13, 55 yards
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	25 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	2 receptions, 36 yards
Akron	Passing	Zach Gibson	14/21, 111 yards
	Rushing	Jonzell Norrils	16 carries, 50 yards
	Receiving	Konata Mumpfield	4 receptions, 39 yards

Miami (OH)

Miami (OH) at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Miami (OH)	6	10	7	18	6	47
• Kent State	7	10	14	10	7	48

Date: November 27, 2021
Location: Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 8,387
Television network: ESPN+

Pregame line	Over/under
EVEN	67.0

Statistics	Miami	Kent State
First downs	31	32
Total yards	549	642
Rushing yards	144	303
Passing yards	405	339
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	28:58	31:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Miami	Passing	Brett Gabbert	26/51, 405 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Kevin Davis	10 carries, 56 yards
	Receiving	Kenny Tracy	5 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	24/33, 325 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	13 carries, 168 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Keshunn Abram	7 receptions, 138 yards, 1 TD

Vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Championship game)

MAC Championship Game

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	0	0	10	13	23
• Northern Illinois	10	7	7	17	41

Date: December 4, 2021
Location: Ford Field
Detroit, MI
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 10,317
Television network: ESPN

Pregame line	Over/under
KENT –3.5	75.5

Statistics	Kent State	Northern Illinois
First downs	24	28
Total yards	391	368
Rushing yards	195	266
Passing yards	196	102
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	19:59	40:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	11/21, 128 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Xavier Williams	8 carries, 93 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	7 receptions, 102 yards
Northern Illinois	Passing	Rocky Lombardi	7/15, 102 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jay Ducker	29 carries, 146 yards
	Receiving	Trayvon Rudolph	3 receptions, 50 yards

Vs. Wyoming (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent State	14	10	0	14	38
• Wyoming	7	14	14	17	52

Date: December 21, 2021
Location: Albertsons Stadium
Boise, ID
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 10,217
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 39 °F (4 °C) • Wind: 2 mph (3.2 km/h) SE
TV announcers (ESPN): Bill Roth (play-by-play), Kelly Stouffer (analyst), and Lauren Sisler (sideline)

Pregame line	Over/under
WYO –3.0	59.0

Statistics	Kent State	Wyoming
First downs	29	22
Total yards	656	531
Rushing yards	319	404
Passing yards	337	127
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	28:50	31:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kent State	Passing	Dustin Crum	17/27, 316 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	24 carries, 125 yards
	Receiving	Dante Cephas	4 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD
Wyoming	Passing	Levi Williams	9/11, 127 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Levi Williams	16 carries, 200 yards, 4 TDs
	Receiving	Isaiah Neyor	5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD

References

^ "2021 Kent State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

v t e Kent State Golden Flashes
Venues	Rockwell Field (1920–1940) Memorial Stadium (1941–1968) Dix Stadium (1969–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Akron: Wagon Wheel Bowling Green: Anniversary Award
Culture & lore	The Marching Golden Flashes
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

This page was last edited on 28 February 2024, at 22:04

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