Finally, My Golden Flashes Crack the Top 25

This may be the first time I've shared my thoughts and opinions in a post. But let's be real; this is a monumental occasion.

For the first time in school history (OK, since 1973, but it really feels like it) the Kent State Golden Flashes football team was ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll.

I graduated from Kent State in 2010, so I have a valid opinion. Even before my years at KSU I followed the Flashes. In all those years, they were dreadful.

During my time as a journalism major at Kent, I covered the team as a play-by-play announcer. I can honestly say the most exciting part of doing that was the fact I got to see Ohio State play. (Yeah, the Bucks crushed Kent State).

The first-ever game I went to was my freshman year when Minnesota, a Big Ten school, came to Dix Stadium. I left at halftime. It was 44-0, and not the good kind.

I chose homework over football. 

The biggest news for Kent State football used to be when a player was drafted before the fifth round in the NFL Draft. (Or if a basketball player decided to become a huge football star AFTER he graduated, never doing a thing for the football team).

But no matter what, I never gave up on my team. Neither did they, apparently.

Enter Darrell Hazell. In his second year as head coach, he turned former coach Doug Martin's mess into a MAC Championship contender and the team is heading for its first bowl game in 40 years.

People are actually coming to the stadium to see the Flashes. Why? Because we can finally watch good football. They are legitimatly playing the game the way it's supposed to be played. And it's fun to watch!

But I am still hesitant to start buying my ticket for Detroit (that's where the MAC Championship is played; no one in Kent knows where that's at).

For starters, this isn't the first MAC team to be ranked this season. Ohio was ranked. Then they were upset by Miami. Two games later, Bowling Green smacked 'em around.

Oh, great. Guess who the Flashes play this Saturday? Hint: It's Bowling Green.

Then Toledo hit it big. This past Saturday they lost to Ball State, then they lost their ranking. 

Are we sensing a trend here?

The crazy thing about college football is that no matter who you beat, you can still get beat, no matter the team.

It makes no difference that we took Rutgers, ranked No. 15 at the time, to task. We can still lose a game to a worse team.

Hey, just ask the Browns! They know about losing to worse teams.

So I will be quite blue over the next few weeks, because I will likely be holding my breath until the regular season is over. Maybe then Kent State will hopefully be 11-1, with a season-ending win over Ohio and headed to the championship. 

Want to hear something really funny? If they do, because I live in Northeast Ohio, I'll probably think they have a chance at a BCS Bowl game. 

I'm a funny guy, I know. Or just delusional.