Ole Miss Plays Host to Kent State Inside the Vaught

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.

Coach Matt Luke and his team “Locking the Vaught.” Photo by Paul Keelaghan

The Ole Miss Rebels return to the gridiron Saturday morning as they play host to the Kent State Golden Flashes. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. on the SEC Network.

Ole Miss (2-1) is looking to get back on track after dropping the first SEC game of the season 62-7 to Alabama. Two true freshmen led the Landshark defense. Linebacker Jacquez Jones had a game-high nine tackles while fellow freshman Keidron Smith was second with seven tackles.

Rebels quarterback Jordan Ta’amu is second in the SEC in multiple categories including passing yards (917), passing yards per game (305.7) and passing yards per completion (17.63). Ta’amu faced adversity as he took a hit on a QB draw against Alabama.

“He didn’t see the guy coming and it caused the turnover, but again that’s a credit to them,” Ole Miss Head Coach Matt Luke said. “When you play against a really good team those little things really show up.”

Kent State started the 2018 campaign 1-2, with both losses against Power Five opponents Illinois and Penn State. Kent State’s 54-14 win over Howard was the largest margin of victory for the Golden Flashes since 2004. Kent State averages 395 yards of offense per game, including 193 yards on the ground and 202 in the air. Their 355 yards rushing against Howard were the most for the Golden Flashes since 2012.

Kent State is led by sophomore quarterback Woody Barrett. Barrett is averaging 200.7 yards passing and 39.0 yards on the ground, with six total TDs. Running backs Justin Rankin and Joel Shaw have been sharing the workload in the Kent State backfield averaging over 60 yards per game and more than 5.8 yards per carry. In his first FBS game, Shaw rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns against Howard, including a 15-yard TD on his first carry. Fifth-year linebacker Matt Bahr leads Kent State with 27 total tackles, including two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Next to Bahr is first-team All-MAC selection Jim Jones. Jones finished the 2017 season with 98 tackles and eight tackles-for-loss.

This is the first time that Ole Miss and Kent State will face off. The Rebels are 2-0 against current members of the MAC.

Fans can watch the action on the SEC Network or listen to the call on the Ole Miss Radio Network.