By David Carducci
Record-Courier staff writer
Doug Martin is finally getting the season opener he has wanted ever since he took over as Kent State’s head football coach in 2004.
When the Golden Flashes kick off the 2009 campaign tonight at 7 p.m., they’ll do so in the comfort of their Dix Stadium home, where they will be an overwhelming favorite against Coastal Carolina from the Football Championship Subdivision.
For those fans who are still confused by the title, FCS was known as Division I-AA prior to 2006.
Playing at home against a team like the Chanticleers fits right into what Martin would consider the perfect recipe for a season opener.
“In my time here, we’ve opened with Iowa, Michigan State, Boston College, Minnesota,” said Martin, who begins his sixth season at KSU in search of his first winning season. “Those are tough openers for anybody. And they’ve all been on the road, except Minnesota (in 2006). So this is a much better way to go ... This is a good way for us to get some momentum going early.”
Kent State is 18-9-4 when opening a new year at home. Tonight’s game will mark just the fourth season opener at KSU in the last 20 years.
The Golden Flashes are also 4-0 against FCS opponents during Martin’s tenure as head coach, and they have dominated those games by an average score of 34-8.
While those numbers may point in Kent State’s favor, Martin and his players insist they will not take Coastal Carolina lightly.
And why should they?
Kent State fielded its first football team in 1920. Since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1951, the Flashes have won just one league title.
Coastal Carolina’s football program has only been in existence for six seasons, “and they’ve won three (Big South) conference championships in that amount of time,” said Martin. “I know in just their second year, they won 10 games.”
No KSU team has ever won 10 games in any one season.
And still, facing a team a level above than their own, the Chanticleers know just about everything will have to go right for them to fly home to Conway, S.C. with a victory tonight.
Coastal coach David Bennett pointed to the now-infamous 2007 game when Division I-AA Appalachian State stunned traditional Division I-A power Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“Michigan was down that year, (Appalachian State) was the best in our division, and they still had to block a field goal at the end to win it,” Bennett remembered.
On that same day in September of 2007, Division I-A teams won 20 of their 21 other games against I-AA opponents, and by an average margin of 32.8 points.
Coastal Carolina has only faced one Football Bowl Subdivision or Division I-A team in its history, losing 66-10 at Penn State to open the 2008 campaign.
“It’s not Penn State, but I promise you this, Kent State has some players who could play at Penn State,” said Bennett. “Quite of a few of them.”
Bennett listed the advantages FBS teams have over FCS schools, including the ability to offer 85 scholarships to the FCS’ limit of 63.
“But there are going to be some FCS schools that can compete,” he said. “I remember the Citadel went into Wisconsin (in 2007) and going into the fourth quarter they were only down about six points.
“This is a great opportunity. It’s a great opportunity to play in that environment and get that money.”
Coastal’s payday for playing at Kent State is $350,000.