Recordpub.com - Senior class says goodbye to Dix Stadium

By David Carducci
Record-Courier staff writer
Kent State fans who had higher hopes for the 2008 college football season back in August probably don't feel like they have much to pay tribute to tonight when the Golden Flashes play their final home game of the year against Northern Illinois.
At 3-7 heading into the season's last two weeks, the Flashes have long been out of the Mid-American Conference East Division race, and the thought of chasing a second-place finish may seem as small consolation for program more than three decades removed from its last championship.
But on a smaller level, tonight offers a chance to say thank you to one of the most exciting players ever to put on a Kent State uniform in senior quarterback Julian Edelman, who headlines a group of 13 seniors being honored tonight at Dix Stadium.
"I've said all along that there may be better pure quarterbacks in this league, but there is no better football player in the MAC than Julian Edelman," said KSU head coach Doug Martin.
Edelman has thrown for 1,580 yards and run for another 1,095 so far in 2008, becoming just the second player in school history to reach the twin-1,000-yard plateau. With 420 passing yards in the season's final two games, he would become just the fourth player in NCAA history to post 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same year, joining former Texas star Vince Young (2005), former Missouri star Brad Smith (2002 and 2005), former Clemson star Woodrow Dantzler (2001), and current MAC rival Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan, who did it last year.
It would be nice to add to all of his gaudy numbers and join such impressive company, but according to Martin, Edelman's legacy at Kent State will be more than just statistics in a record book.
"Julian will be remembered here for the way he changed the mentality of of the players in our program," said Martin. "The things our players are still learning from him are No. 1 to be consistent, and No. 2 how to compete. Those are things you have learn from watching somebody go out and do things the right way the way he did.
"It's a shame Julian couldn't carry us to a bowl game, but he still has the chance to carry us to two second-place finishes in three years if he can lead us to wins in these last two games."
Two wins would also help Kent State finish at .500 in MAC play for the fourth time in six years.
After beating Temple 41-38 last week, a win tonight would put the Flashes on their first winning streak since they won five in a row midway through the 2006 season.
Just like last week, if KSU does find a way to win, it probably won't come easy. Northern Illinois is similar to Temple in its reputation for shutting down opposing offenses.
"It's another great defensive football team," said Martin. "Temple, I think, was No. 2 in most (MAC) defensive categories. Northern Illinois is No. 1 in just about every defensive category. They play great team defense and they really play hard. They play a very similar style to what Temple brought here, so it is going to be another major test for our offense."
The Flashes handled Temple's highly-regarded defense by putting the ball in the hands of two of the league's top rushers. Edelman (third in the MAC at 109.5 yards per game) ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while star running back Eugene Jarvis authored his best game of the season with 185 yards and one score. It probably didn't hurt, however, that Temple left arguably the league's top defensive end, Junior Galette, back in Philadelphia.
Expect the dynamic duo of Edelman and Jarvis to be the focal point again tonight, leading a Kent State offense that leads the MAC in rushing at 232.8 yards per game against a Northern Illinois defense that ranks No. 1 against the run at just 130.5 yards per game.
Something will have to give.
KSU's defense and special teams, meanwhile, need to rebound from a disappointing performance that saw the Flashes surrender 38 points last week to the MAC's least productive offense.
"(Northern Illinois) gives you a lot of different looks on offense with a lot of unbalanced-line sets," said Martin. "They have a really good running back (freshman Me'co Brown) and their quarterback (redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish) is really playing well. So this is a team with a lot of confidence."
After winning 5-of-6 games in an impressive September and October run, the Huskies have lost two straight, falling to West Division powers Ball State (45-14 on Nov. 5) and Central Michigan (33-30 in overtime last week).