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Phil Steele puts out the best college football preview magazine every year. It’s not even a contest. In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of his first publication we at Bucky’s 5th Quarter are going to find four interesting facts about each team on Wisconsin’s schedule, including the Badgers, and break them down for you.
Phil, we love your magazine and we also love your mustache.
NUMBER 1: 18
Kent State has lost 18 of 19 games to current Big Ten teams. I say “current” because the only win that the Golden Flashes have against a B1G team is against Rutgers in 2012, when they were still stinking up the Big East. They have never played Wisconsin, but it is pretty safe to assume this game shouldn’t be close.
NUMBER 2: 2
Did you know that the head coach for Kent State is former Badger Sean Lewis??? I did not and I’d imagine most people didn’t either. While at Wisconsin, Lewis played two different positions, both quarterback and tight end. Lewis, who was in Madison while Paul Chryst was OC, spent some time as the offensive coordinator at Bowling Green, which you can read about here, and implemented a high-octane, fast-paced offense that he has brought to Kent State as well.
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NUMBER 3: 503
This is the amount of net yards starting quarterback Woody Barrett rushed for last season. Barrett transferred from a junior college, after starting his career at Auburn, and won the starting job last year and quickly acclimated to Lewis’ FlashFAST offense. The dual-threat QB rushed for seven touchdowns while also throwing for 2,339 yards and 11 scores. While he did also toss nine picks, another year in the system should serve him well and he could give the Badgers fits with his ability to run the ball.
NUMBER 4: 4
Kent State was not a good team last year. They went 2-10 overall (1-7 in the MAC East) BUT they were adjusting to a new coach and system and also had four losses by eight points or fewer. They lost to Illinois by a touchdown (they were up 17-3 at halftime), Ohio and Akron by one and Eastern Michigan by eight. A couple of bounces go their way or they score a touchdown instead of settling for a field goal and they may have tacked on a few extra wins to their season total. They haven’t won more than three games in the last five years but they could change that this year with a strong showing in conference.