Wyoming started the season off as hot as they could have, starting off at 4-0, but a loss at Air Force derailed their season and sent them onto a 2-6 slide to finish the season. The Cowboys got wins over their chief rival Colorado State in the annual Border War, and also beat the MAC (Northern Illinois) and Mountain West (Utah State) champions during their season. However, puzzling losses to Hawaii and New Mexico kept the team from reaching higher dreams.

Kent State started with a brutal schedule, going to Texas A&M, Maryland, and Iowa for their first three of four games. Looking at a 1-3 start to the MAC championship game was a nice accomplishment for the Golden Flashes, led by MAC player of the year Dustin Crum the Golden Flashes beat Northern Illinois during the regular season but lost to them in the MAC championship a month later.

What does this mean? Kent State will bring their rush heavy offense to Boise Idaho to take on Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Kent State will be playing in their fifth all-time bowl game. Their previous bowl game was a 2019 victory in the Frisco Bowl against Utah State, 51-41. Prior to that they had appearances in 1954 in the Refrigerator Bowl, 1972 Tangerine Bowl, and the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl, all three losses. Wyoming will be playing in their 17th bowl game. Wyoming’s last appearance was in 2019, a 38-17 victory over Georgia State in the Arizona Bowl. Wyoming is 8-8 all-time in bowls.

Kent State Golden Flashes (7-6, 6-2)
Kent, OH
Mid-American Conference
Head Coach: Sean Lewis (19-23, 4th season)

Player Award Winners

QB Dustin Crum – MAC Player of the Year, MAC 1st Team
WR Dante Cephas – MAC 1st Team
CB Elvis Hines – MAC 1st Team
OL Bill Kuduk – MAC 2nd Team
OL Nathan Monnin – MAC 3rd Team
K Andrew Glass – MAC 3rd Team

Schedule

Date Opponent Result
9/4/2021 At Texas A&M 10-41
9/11/2021 Virginia Military Institute 60-10
9/18/2021 At Iowa 7-30
9/25/2021 At Maryland 16-37
10/2/2021 Bowling Green 27-20
10/9/2021 Buffalo 48-38
10/16/2021 At Western Michigan 31-64
10/23/2021 At Ohio 34-27
11/3/2021 Northern Illinois 52-47
11/10/2021 At Central Michigan 30-54
11/20/2021 At Akron 38-0
11/27/2021 Miami 48-47
12/4/2021 Northern Illinois 23-41

 

Kent State Key Players
Dustin Crum, QB – 228/355 for 2922 yards, 16 TD, 868 yards rushing, 11 TD
Marquez Cooper, RB – 1144 yards rushing, 11 TD
Xavier Williams, RB – 837 yards rushing, 3 TD
Dante Cephas, WR – 1124 yards receiving, 8 TD
Clark Dean, S – 71 tackles, 2 TFL
Montre Miller, CB – 4 INT, 37 tackles
Elvis Hines, CB – 43 tackles, 3 INT, 10 BU

 

Wyoming Cowboys (6-6, 2-6)
Laramie, WY
Mountain West Conference
Head Coach: Craig Bohl (44-50, 8th season)

Player Award Winners

LB Chad Muma – Walter Camp 2nd Team All-American, PFF MW Defensive Player of the Year, PFF MW 1st Team, MW 1st Team, Butkus Finalist
OL Keegan Cryder – PFF MW 1st Team, MW 2nd Team
DL Cole Godbout – PFF MW 2nd Team, MW Honorable Mention
CB Azizi Hearn – PFF MW 2nd Team
OL Logan Harris – PFF MW 2nd Team, MW Honorable Mention
RB Titus Swen – PFF MW 2nd Team
WR Isaiah Neyor – PFF MW 3rd Team, MW 2nd Team
RB Xazavian Valladay – PFF MW Honorable Mention, MW 2nd Team
OL Frank Crum – PFF MW Honorable Mention
LB Easton Gibbs – PFF MW Honorable Mention
KR Cameron Stone – PFF MW Honorable Mention
CB CJ Coldon – MW 2nd Team
DL Garrett Crall – MW Honorable Mention

Schedule

Date Opponent Result
9/4/2021 Montana State 19-16
9/11/2021 at Northern Illinois 50-43
9/18/2021 Ball State 45-12
9/25/2021 at Connecticut 24-22
10/9/2021 at Air Force 14-24
10/16/2021 Fresno State 0-17
10/23/2021 New Mexico 3-14
10/30/2021 at San Jose State 21-27
11/6/2021 Colorado State 31-17
11/12/2021 at Boise State 13-23
11/20/2021 at Utah State 44-17
11/27/2021 Hawaii 14-38


Wyoming Key Players

Titus Swen, RB – 761 yards rushing, 7 TD
Xazavian Valladay, RB – 1009 yards rushing, 5 TD
Chad Muma, LB – 80 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 1 sack, 3 INT
Cole Godbout, NT – 31 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks
Levi Williams, QB – 63/109 for 1988 yards, 8 TD, 317 yards rushing, 1 TD
Isaiah Neyor, WR – 39 receptions for 791 yards, 11 TD

Key Statistics

Category Kent State Wyoming
Sagarin Ranking 105 88
Massey Index 89 85
Total Offense 480/ypg 360/ypg
Total Defense 466/ypg 346/ypg
Passing Yards Per Game 237/ypg 165/ypg
Rushing Yards Per Game 243/ypg 195/ypg
Def. Passing Yards Per Game 276/ypg 177/ypg
Def. Rushing Yards Per Game 190/ypg 169/ypg
Turnover Margin +13 -3
Third Down Conversions 42% 42%
Red Zone Offense 82% 85%
Red Zone Defense 83% 87%
Penalty Yards Per Game 69/ypg 42/ypg

 

Final Thoughts

This is an interesting match-up for a lot of reasons. Wyoming brings a very good defense to the game, especially in pass defense, and Kent State brings a very good offense to this game, especially on the ground. On the reverse of that, Wyoming brings a very good rushing attack to the game, while Kent State brings a very poor defense overall. You could say that Wyoming will have no trouble running on the Golden Flashes, same could be said for Kent State rushing against Wyoming’s porous rush defense. Dustin Crum is a very talented quarterback who can sling it through the air and run the ball very effectively.

For Wyoming to win they have to contain Dustin Crum, the MAC player of the year. If you’re the best offensive player in #MACtion, there’s a good chance that you’re going to get whatever yards you want. For Kent State to win they need to shut down Wyoming’s rushing attack and learn how take Chad Muma out of the game. Muma will become very disruptive if he’s not dealt with appropriately.

For the gambling degenerates out there, you know who you are, Wyoming is a -3 spread, and a -154 on the moneyline with an over/under of 59.

The game will be played on Tuesday, December 21st at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, ID. The game will kickoff at 1:30pm MT and can be viewed on ESPN, or heard on the Cowboy Radio Network.