Barnhouse's Bottom 25: Kent State

Legendary sportswriter Wendell Barnhouse recently left the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and is now a correspondent for Big 12 Sports.com. With 30 years experience of observing the college scene, his expertise is unmatched. In the spirit of Steve Harvey's Bottom Ten, Wendell will provide us a capsule look at college football's less fortunate, counting down the Bottom 25 teams in Division I-A football.

No. 17 Kent State
Location: Kent, Ohio.
Nickname: Golden Flashes.
Conference: Mid-American, East Division.
Coach: Doug Martin, 15-31 in four seasons.
Division I-A history: 297-476-28 in 85 seasons, .388 winning percentage.
Last bowl season: 1972
Best record last five years: 6-6 in 2006.
Rank(ed) because: There are few programs that have been in existence for such a long time with so little hardware in the trophy case. Kent State has won a single MAC title. That came in 1972. The Golden Flashes had a 6-5-1 overall record that season.
Negative number: In 85 seasons of football, Kent State has had 25 winning seasons and only two in the last 30 seasons.
Possible victory: Delaware State, Sept. 13. This is a buy-a-victory game against a I-AA foe. Kent State might even enter this game with momentum; it plays a winnable game at Iowa State on Sept. 6.
Biggest blowout: At Ball State, Sept. 27. Picking a MAC game as a possible lopsided loss is a reach. But the Cardinals have a potent offense and if the Golden Flashes are hobbled after playing four games, this conference opener could be ugly.
Is there hope?: Yes, and even for this year. Dual-threat quarterback Julian Edelman is back after being knocked out in Week Eight by an arm injury. Tailback Eugene Jarvis is the nation's leading returning rusher; he gained 1,669 yards last season. Kent State was 5-2 midway through the 2006 season but has gone 4-13 since.

Thanks to the Helmet Project.