Coach Darrell Hazell said in spring practice that he thought there was something special about his football team.
Nine months later, his words seem prophetic. The Golden Flashes, picked to finish in the middle of the pack, clinched the East Division of the Mid-American Conference with a 31-24 win over Bowling Green. Kent State will meet Northern Illinois in the conference championship game on Nov. 30 in Detroit at Ford Field.
The victory extended Kent State’s school record winning streak to nine games. The Flashes take a 10-1 record into the regular-season finale at home against Ohio on Friday. Their only loss came in week two of the season, a 47-14 defeat at Kentucky. Kent State is 7-0 in the MAC and has won 11 league games in a row.
A win in the title game would give the Flashes their first league championship since 1972, the last time they went to a bowl game. Going into the season, Kent State hadn’t finished above .500 since 2001 and had two winning seasons since 1987. Kent State’s 10 wins are the most in its 90-year history.
Hazell, a former Ohio State assistant, has orchestrated a stunning turnaround in his second year on the job. Kent State started 1-6 last season before winning four in a row. The Flashes lost the season finale to Temple, which is now in the Big East, but haven’t dropped a conference game since.
“To think what our team has accomplished this season and at the end of last season is mind boggling,” Hazell said to KentStateSports.com. “It tells you when guys put their minds to something and they work the plan, so much can be accomplished.”
It’s easy to see why Kent State’s players now think they will never lose, no matter the situation.
“We definitely had some doubt before this year, and that’s just because of our history,” said quarterback Spencer Keith, who threw for one score and ran seven yards for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter against Bowling Green. “Now every game there is never any doubt in our minds. We go into every week believing we will win.”
Dri Archer ran for two touchdowns in the back-and-forth game. Kent State took a 10-0 lead only to see Bowling Green score 17 straight points. The game was tied at 17 and again at 24 before Keith’s run with 8:14 remaining. The Falcons drove to Kent State 17-yard line in the last minute, but safety Luke Wollet intercepted a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 21 seconds left to secure the game and the division title.
“This is definitely the biggest game of my life, especially with the way it ended,” said Archer. “It was just wild.”
WHAT’S AHEAD: The Flashes can cap off a perfect conference season with a win over a reeling Ohio team on Friday. It looked a few weeks ago that this game would be for the East Division title, but Kent State kept winning while the Bobcats have lost three of four. The Flashes have the division wrapped up, but still have a lot to play for.