GoDaddy.com Bowl 2013: Grading Kent State and Arkansas State's Performances

The GoDaddy.com Bowl featured two surprise teams from the 2012 season as the Arkansas State Red Wolves took down the Kent State Golden Flashes 17-13 in Mobile, Ala.

This was the final tune-up for the BCS National Championship, and it turned out to be a very entertaining game.

In the end, the Sun Belt prevailed over the MAC, and even though Kent State gained 65 more yards of total offense, Arkansas State came out on top in this one.

As usual, some players performed better than others. Here are the game grades from the GoDaddy.com Bowl for each position on both rosters.

Spencer Keith, Kent State: Overall Game Grade: C-

Spencer Keith did not have a bad game, but he certainly could have done a lot more.  

He only completed 17 of 33 passes for 157 yards with an interception. Keith made some excellent passes, including a potential game-winning touchdown that was dropped by wide receiver Chris Humphrey.  

Ryan Aplin, Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: B+

Ryan Aplin was solid all game long and did just enough to allow his team to secure the victory.

He finished the game 21-of-30 for 213 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. That was the key to the game, as Aplin did not turn the ball over against a defense that had forced 38 on the season.

Great way for Aplin to end a successful career.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: A-

The injury to running back Dri Archer midway through the third quarter certainly did not help, but overall Kent State ran the ball pretty well.

Archer finished the game with 77 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while Trayion Durham carried the ball 20 times for 68 yards.

Overall, the Golden Flashes rushed for 193 yards on 36 carries with a touchdown.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: D+

The Red Wolves were not able to get a lot going when it came to the running game, finishing the day with 72 yards on 38 carries.

Starter David Oku carried the ball 18 times for only 37 yards with a touchdown.

Rocky Hayes was more effective, carrying the ball eight times for 57 yards.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: B-

The Kent State wide receivers were not bad, but a drop by Chris Humphrey in the end zone on the final drive of the game did not help.

Matthew Hurdle led the way with six catches for 72 yards. Dri Archer caught four balls out of the backfield and Humphrey did catch three balls for 22 yards.

The performance certainly could have been better for this group.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: B+

The Arkansas State wide receivers were slightly better in this one and came up with enough big catches to win the game.

J.D. McKissic had the biggest game of the day with 11 catches for 113 yards and a 31-yard touchdown. It was a big day for McKissic, and he was the difference in the game.

Josh Jarboe had three catches for 24 yards.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: C

Kent State tight end Tim Erjavec did not do much as he only caught one pass for 18 yards, but he was effective blocking.

Erjavec got rocked on his only catch and appeared to hurt his neck in the process.

He was not a big target for most of the year as he only caught 19 passes, so this came as no surprise.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: B

Darion Griswold was the second-leading receiver for Arkansas State as he caught three passes for 54 yards, including a long of 24.

He was not much of a factor but is talented enough that Kent State had to pay attention had to him, and that opened the door for many players.

This was without question the best game of the season for Griswold, as he only finished the year with 10 receptions.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: B+

The Kent State offensive line played an excellent game, opening up holes for the running backs and only allowing quarterback Spencer Keith to be sacked once.

The Kent State offense rushed for 193 yards while averaging 5.4 yards a carry.

Not a bad day at all for this group.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: C+

This group was also good, but not quite as effective as Kent State.

Quarterback Ryan Aplin was sacked twice, so they did not do a bad job of protecting him.

Where the group struggled a little bit was opening up holes in the running game. The Red Wolves were only able to muster 72 yards on the ground, while averaging less than two yards a carry.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: B+

Roosevelt Nix was an absolute monster for Kent State and the unit had a very good game, clogging up the running game and making Aplin beat them.

They were only able to get to the quarterback twice but helped hold Arkansas State to under 300 yards of total offense.

That is something that is hard to do.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: B-

The Arkansas State defensive line had a similar game to Kent State, but did struggle a little bit stopping the run.

There were times when the Kent State offensive line had its way with this group, and that helped keep the Golden Flashes in this one.

Not a bad job, but more could have been expected from this team.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: C

The Kent State linebackers were solid for the better part of the game but did miss a fair amount of tackles, particularly on the scoring drives for Arkansas State.

Still, the group did not perform bad considering the fact that it helped hold the Arkansas State offense to only 285 yards.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: B

The Arkansas State defense was on the field for a long time in this game, and while it allowed 350 yards of total offense, the linebackers did their job.

The linebackers helped hold Kent State to only three of 15 on third-down conversions.

Overall, a solid game for the Red Wolves linebackers.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: B

The Kent State secondary was very good, particularly Darius Polk. He had a huge sack on a blitz that nearly turned the game around in Kent State's favor.

The secondary was instrumental in holding Aplin to only 213 passing yards.

While those are not bad numbers for Aplin, it was one of his worst statistical games of the season.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: A-

The Arkansas State secondary was even better than Kent State. The Red Wolves held the Golden Flashes to only 157 yards passing. 

What was most interesting was holding Keith to 17-of-33 passing. He hardly completed 50 percent of his passes.

The group also forced one interception.

Kent State: Overall Game Grade: A

Punter Anthony Melchiori had some excellent punts, particularly in the second half, putting one inside the 5-yard line and another boot that went for 63 yards.

Kicker Freddy Cortez made both of his field-goal attempts from 26 and 42 yards.

Arkansas State was afraid to kick the ball to Dri Archer, and that meant good field position all day for the Golden Flashes.

Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: C-

The Red Wolves did not do anything particularly bad on special teams, but they gave up a ton of field position to Kent State by allowing them to fair catch most kickoffs at the 40-yard line.

The punting game was nothing special, averaging less than 36 yards a punt.

Kicker Brian Davis made his only field-goal attempt from 25 yards.

Darrell Hazell, Kent State: Overall Game Grade: C

Darrell Hazell was a lame duck coach, as he is likely already on his way to Purdue. He stayed around and coached to finish out the season. 

That was very admirable, and while he did not have his best game plan, the injury in the third quarter to  Archer certainly did not help.

He will be missed at Kent State, but he could have done more to help the Golden Flashes move the ball down the field.

John Thompson, Arkansas State: Overall Game Grade: A-

Thompson was another interim coach, as he is filling in between coaches. Thompson served as the defensive coordinator this past season and did an excellent job running the show.

The intensity he brought to the game was excellent, and he came up with the perfect plan to stop Kent State running back Trayion Durham.

Not a bad day for a fill-in.

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