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Flashes picked third in preseason MAC East football poll

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By David Carducci | Staff writer

The expectations are returning to Kent State football.

“Reporters from all over the conference were coming up to me and being really positive about our team all day,” Golden Flashes coach Doug Martin said after Friday’s Mid-American Conference Media Day in Detroit. “They kept saying they had us slated as a sleeper team, a team to watch, and a team that could easily win this thing.”

Those casual comments to Martin were reflected when the 2010 Mid-American Conference Football Preseason Poll of the media was released early Friday morning.

The Golden Flashes have been tabbed to finish a not-too-distant third behind preseason favorite Temple and Ohio University in the MAC’s seven-team East Division. 

Third place may not qualify as a great expectation, but it’s a promising show of faith in a team with just two winning seasons since 1972. A third-place finish this year would most likely mean finishing above .500 for the first time since 2001 and a realistic shot at the program welcoming its third ever bowl bid.

Those accomplishments would be more than enough for long-suffering Kent State fans. And while they’d like to think title, the Flashes themselves admit living up to third-place expectations would be a positive next step in their quest to build a contender.

“I think everyone is starting to understand that it’s not a talent issue at Kent State right now,” said Martin. “We have reached the point where we are playing in meaningful football games that are close. Now we just have to win those games.”

The Flashes lost conference games to Bowling Green, Buffalo and Akron by one, three and eight points, respectively in 2009,  when they finished 5-7 overall and fourth in the East with a 4-4 conference record. KSU was picked to finish sixth in last year’s preseason poll.

“Those three games are the difference between us finishing 8-4 and 5-7 last season,” said Martin. 

With 49 letterwinners and 20 starters (nine offense, seven defense, four specialists) set to return, including senior stars like running back Eugene Jarvis, safety Brian Lainhart and linebacker Cobrani Mixon, the Flashes have a mix of experience and talent that inspired 94 points in the preseason voting. 

Temple received 17 first-place votes in earning 137 points in the poll, while Ohio was picked to finish first by three voters in tallying 116 points. The rest of the East poll had Bowling Green picked to finish in fourth (74 points), Miami in fifth (53 points), Buffalo in sixth (48 points) and Akron in seventh (38 points).

The pollsters like Temple to meet Northern Illinois in the Marathon MAC Championship Game on Dec. 3 at Ford Field in Detroit. With 115 points and 15 first-place votes, Northern was picked to win the West Division by more than a 20-point margin over defending champion Central Michigan (83 points, 3 first-place votes). Western Michigan was picked third with two first-place votes and 77 points. Toledo (fourth, 75 points), Ball State (fifth, 50 points) and Eastern Michigan (sixth, 20 points) rounded out the West poll.

Of the 20 voters, 11 picked Temple to win the MAC title game. Northern Illinois and Ohio received five and one vote, respectively, to claim the overall MAC crown.

The MAC has contracts to provide teams to three bowl games in 2010 — the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit, the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. and the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise. It could also send teams to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham and the Dallas Football Classic.

Failing to secure a winning season and to reach one of those bowl games could put Martin, who is 24-46 in six seasons as head coach, on the hot seat. His best season is a 6-6 showing in 2006.