Kent State Golden Flashes 2009 College Football Predictions, Picks & Odds: The big question for Kent State heading into the 2009 campaign is at quarterback. Julian Edelman was not a great passer, but he did rush for 1,370 yards and 13 touchdowns. The battle to replace him is fierce between Anthony Magazu and Giorgio Morgan. Neither proved they could bring a consistent passing attack to one of the worst passing offenses in the nation in 2008 during the spring and the battle should last until the fall. Odds makers at Sportsbook.com have the Kent State Golden Flaches 50-1 odds to win the BSC 2010 National Championship.
However, the offense is full of potential, even if the quarterback situation remains unsettled. Running back Eugene Jarvis is a great back who averaged nearly five yards per carry and made ten total trips to the end zone. The offense will rely on Jarvis while the passing game adjusts to life without Edelman. And that should be fine with the return of four linemen who did a superb job paving the way for the ground game last year and should be even better this time around.
The team ranked seventh in the conference in total defense, but still gave up nearly 32 points per game. If the offense can hang onto the ball, the defense will be better, but how much better? Linebacker Derek Burrell was easily the best player on that side of the ball and now he is gone. Suddenly junior Cobrani Mixon is the most experienced linebacker on the roster and he will have to go from a roleplayer to a leader. The secondary returns some talent, most notably Brian Lainhart, but they gave up well over 200 yards in the air per game in 2008.
The Flashes continue to be haunted by dreadful special teams play. Kent State lost two games due to missed field goals and struggled in both phases of the return game, ranking 115th nationally in punt returns and 116th in kickoff returns. Martin hopes Jarvis can give the Flashes some big plays as a punt returner.
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