Tag: Kent State Golden Flashes

Vikings 2024 NFL draft scouting report: North Carolina WR Devontez Walker

After a tulmultuous season at North Carolina, Devontez Walker decided to enter the NFL Draft. What do his NFL prospects look like?

Welcome to SKOL Search!

This series will be your guide to the 2024 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.

The focus of the draft class in this space will be on the Vikings’ major needs at quarterback, running back, defensive line and edge rusher. We will also focus on wide receiver since it’s a loaded class and an increased chance to get a Stefon Diggs-type steal in the later rounds.

The Vikings are slated to have 9 picks going into the NFL draft and they need to make the most out of them.

Penn State wide receiver Dante Cephas expected to enter transfer portal

Penn State wide receiver Dante Cephas, a transfer from Kent State, reenters portal after just one season in Happy Valley.

The transfer portal for most teams closed yesterday, but for teams in NY6 and the College Football Playoff, the portal is open for an additional amount of time. With Penn State’s Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss last Saturday, Penn State players, if any, will be entering the portal in the next week or so.

Nittany Lion’s defensive end, Jake Wilson, announced his intentions to enter the portal early this week, and as of this morning, another Wilson will be reportedly joined in the portal by wide receiver [autotag]Dante Cephus[/autotag], according to On3.

The Pittsburgh native transferred to Penn State from Kent State last December and was only at Penn State for 353 days before reentering the portal. Cephus produced 22 receptions for 246 yards and two touchdowns during his one season in Happy Valley. Cephus did not play in the Peach Bowl due to “practice competition,” according to James Franklin.

Cephus will be a graduate transfer and will be looking for his third and final home. It never really clicked with the Nittany Lions, and his only two touchdowns happened late in the season at Maryland. He and fellow wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith were supposed to be the top two receivers on this year’s team, and although that was technically true on the stat sheet, it never really materialized.

The wide receiver position remains an issue for Penn State, and the hope is that some external improvement within the group would improve the offense production. We’ll keep an eye on his next steps and update our transfer portal tracker accordingly when more information becomes available.

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Mikaylah Williams shines as LSU women’s basketball’s winning streak continues against Kent State

Mikaylah Williams led the team with 42 points as LSU blew out a solid mid-major squad.

The No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team is still licking its wounds from a season-opening loss to Colorado, but it has responded nicely with three wins in a row, the latest coming against Kent State in 109-79 fashion at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday morning.

It was a breakout performance for true freshman [autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag], who led the team with a stunning 42 points on 15 of 20 shooting. She was also 5 of 8 from three-point range as LSU shot north of 50% as a team.

Despite trailing at the end of the first, Williams contributions in addition to double-figure scoring from [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] (17 points), [autotag]Hailey Van Lit[/autotag]h (15 points), [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] (11 points) and [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag] (10 points) allowed the Tigers to pull away.

It was a cleaner performance defensively than LSU has turned in for prior games, winning the turnover battle 28-13 while outrebounding the Golden Flashes 40-30. The Tigers did struggle to contain Katie Shumate, who led Kent State with 22 points.

It was a nice win over a solid mid-major team as LSU prepares for its first true road contest of the season when it heads to Hammond to take on Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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How to watch No. 7 LSU women’s basketball take on Kent State at home Tuesday morning

The Tigers will look to add to their winning streak on Tuesday morning.

LSU’s women’s basketball team has responded nicely to its opening loss to Colorado, notching dominating victories over Queens and Mississippi Valley State.

Still, that wasn’t enough to avoid falling to No. 7 in the polls this week after beginning the season in the top spot, and the defending national champions will look to add to their win streak when they host Kent State at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday morning.

The Golden Flashes took down Louisiana in their opener on Sunday, and they’ll look to pull the upset against a top-10 team after finishing last season 21-11 with a loss to Syracuse in the WNIT.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch Tuesday’s game.

5 takeaways from Penn State’s 2024 Big Ten football schedule

Five main takeaways on Penn State’s new-look Big Ten 2024 schedule where three new opponents enter the fray.

The new-look Big Ten released its 2024 football schedule Thursday afternoon, and with 18 teams now in the fold, the slate of marquee matchups is even more extensive. It is never too early to look ahead to next year and which opponents are lined up to face Penn State. There is an endless amount of intrigue with the additions of four West Coast powers: UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington. 

Here is a look at some of our top takeaways from the 2024 schedule.

Kent State onside kick backfires into Eastern Michigan touchdown

The onside kick by Kent State seemed like a good idea. Then again there is a reason the Golden Flashes came in 1-5

This could be a sign you are going to have a bad day.

Kent State decided to try and surprise Eastern Michigan as it opened its MAC game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

The onside kick attempt … went awry to say the least.

Instead of coming up with the ball, the Golden Flashes, who came in 1-5, were looking at a 7-0 deficit after 6 seconds.

Kendric Nowling of the Eagles was alert, grabbed the kick, and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

Oklahoma Sooners offense with an efficient Week 1

Oklahoma’s offense looked efficient in Week 1 after making it a focus all offseason.

The [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners'[/autotag] offense was firing on all cylinders versus the [autotag]Arkansas Red Wolves[/autotag] on Saturday. The Sooners scored on 10 out of 11 possessions, nine of which were touchdowns.

Dillon Gabriel and Jackson Arnold both put on a show combining to go 30 of 33 for 422 yards, three touchdowns through the air and a pair of rushing touchdowns. The running game was pretty good as well. Oklahoma ran for 220 yards on 4.5 yards per carry.

Overall you couldn’t ask for a much better performance from the offense who went for 642 yards and went 11-14 on third downs. Last year the Sooners went a combined 6-20 versus the [autotag]UTEP Miners[/autotag] and the [autotag]Kent State Golden Flashes[/autotag]. That ended up being a sign of what was to come in 2023.

Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby told reporters after the game it was nice to see so many receivers step up.

“That’s what we want,” Lebby said. “We talked about it on Monday about playing a bunch of guys and a bunch of guys getting an opportunity to make plays. All of those guys in that room did it. Again, there’s going to be a ton of stuff we have to clean up and we have to be better at without a doubt but proud of that entire group.”

Several wide receivers got involved in the passing game whether it was [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] who looks like he might be Gabriel’s favorite target, [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag], or [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] before his injury. The two catches of the day might have been made by [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag]. He made two acrobatic contested catches and looks like a guy who just needed to see one go in his hands to gain  confidence.

The biggest takeaway was how efficient the Sooners were in this game. That wasn’t the case a year ago. even early in the season. It’s what they preached all offseason and for Week 1 they checked that box.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Alabama pitcher Gavin Jones transferring to Kent State

Alabama pitcher Gavin Jones announced that he was transferring to Alabama on Tuesday. Jones spent one season with the Crimson Tide.

Alabama pitcher Gavin Jones announced that he was transferring to Kent State on Tuesday via his Twitter account.

Jones spent one season with the Crimson Tide. Before committing to Alabama, Jones was tabbed as the No. 2 overall right-handed pitcher in the state of Ohio as well as the No. 6 overall prospect in the state.

Jones was not a part of Alabama’s pitching rotation for the 2022-2023 season.

Following the conclusion of his freshman season, Jones entered the transfer portal. Now, he will transfer to his home state to play for the Golden Flashes.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama baseball program and its involvement in the transfer portal.

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Best photos of Dante Cephas, Penn State’s new transfer wide receiver

Best photos of new Penn State wide receiver Dante Cephas.

Penn State is welcoming former Kent State wide receiver [autotag]Dante Cephas[/autotag] to the program in 2023. Cephas committed to Penn State out of the transfer portal and should be able to make a quick move into a solid role in the Penn State passing game led by sophomore quarterback Drew Allar.

The senior receiver comes to Penn State with over 2,000 career receiving yards following his four seasons at Kent State, and he has reached the end zone 12 times. He was one of the top receivers in the MAC in 2021 but saw a dip in his production in 2022 after missing a few games after playing 14 games in 2021.

Here are some of the best photos of Cephas during his time at Kent State as he makes his way to Happy Valley for the 2023 season.

Back 4 MAC teams in Week 10: Mid-American Conference’s best bets

Analyzing Mid-American Conference betting odds and lines for Week 10, with picks and predictions for the best MAC bets to make.

We flip the calendar from October to November on Tuesday, and that means we’re in the stretch run toward the holidays, we’re rounding the corner of the college football regular season, and, in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), we get the now traditional Tuesday and Wednesday slate of games.

Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the MAC’s Week 10 slate, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.

Check out: AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports

Stream select live college football games and full replays: Get ESPN+

MAC best bets for Week 10

– All games listed are ET unless noted

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 7:52 a.m. ET.

Ball State at Kent State OVER 61.5 (-112) – Tuesday, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

The Cardinals invade Dix Stadium for this Tuesday night affair, looking to bounce back after a disappointing 20-16 loss in Muncie against Eastern Michigan.

The Golden Flashes are looking to build on the momentum of a Wagon Wheel rivalry game win over Akron 33-27 last week, while trying to keep alive their flickering bowl hopes.

These teams haven’t met since Nov. 23, 2019, a 41-38 win by the Golden Flashes in Kent. Ball State has won 2 of the last 3 meetings, and it leads the all-time series 21-8.

Both teams have struggled on defense, as Ball State yields 28.1 PPG and has been gouged for 185.4 rushing yards per game, while Kent State has coughed up 32.1 PPG and has been pounded for 454.8 total yards per game. We should see quite a mid-week shootout in Northeast Ohio.

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Buffalo at Ohio (+125) – Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

The Bulls head to Peden Stadium in Athens with an unblemished record and 1st place in the standings of the East Division at 4-0. The Bobcats can take over the top spot by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win. This will be a fun one in Southeast Ohio.

Buffalo edged Toledo last time out 34-27, winning and covering for the 5th consecutive outing. The Bulls have improved greatly after an 0-3 start, including a stunning setback against FCS Holy Cross back in mid-September.

Ohio has been doing a little winning and covering of its own lately, though, picking up 3 straight wins, and 4 consecutive covers. That includes a solid 24-17 win as a 3-point underdog against Northern Illinois last time out.

Buffalo won last season’s meeting 27-26, but Ohio grabbed the cover. The Bobcats have won 5 straight home meetings against the Bulls dating back to  2008, and on Tuesday it will keep the win streak alive in this high-stakes game in the East Division.

Central Michigan at Northern Illinois -3.5 (-120) – Wednesday, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

Central Michigan was dumped 34-18 by Bowling Green at Kelly/Shorts Stadium last time out, and the Chippewas have dropped 4 of the last 5 games overall, while failing to cover in each of the previous 4 outings.

Northern Illinois showed some fight at Ohio last Saturday, falling 24-17 in Athens. After a slow start to the season, the NIU defense has shown some improvement and allowed just 34 total points in the last 2 games

Neither of these teams are very good, and the loser of this game will no longer have the chance to win out and become bowl eligible.

The edge here goes to NIU, since it is at home, and the Huskies can run the ball with authority, while also stop the run when on defense. The Chips are decent against the rush, so the Huskies won’t be able to run away with the game. But NIU is playing a little more consistently lately, and it will grab a late score and cover to keep its fleeting bowl hopes alive.

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Western Michigan at Bowling Green -3.5 (-105) – Wednesday, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

The Falcons are flying high with back-to-back wins over Miami-Ohio and Central Michigan, and Bowling Green is very much still in contention for the East Division title.

The Broncos stopped a 2-game slide with a 16-10 win at Miami-Ohio, keeping its flickering bowl hopes alive. It enters this game just 2-4 SU/ATS in the last 6 games.

Western Michigan’s offense has been terrible, averaging just 305.5 yards per game to rank 119th out of 131 FBS teams.

Bowling Green also struggles on offense, but scored 34 in its win at Central Michigan last time out, its high in any conference game this season. BGSU has also covered in consecutive games after opening 1-4-1 ATS in the 1st 6 outings.

This is a lot of points to lay for the Falcons, especially since they haven’t topped the Broncos at Doyt Perry Stadium since 2004. But this is a new day and age of Falcons football, and they get it done in front of the home faithful to keep their division and bowl hopes alive.

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