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Kent State rallies late, beats upset-minded Howard 38-31 (Sep 09, 2017)
KENT, Ohio (AP) Nick Holley passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, Keasean Gamble ran for two scores, and Kent State rallied late to beat Howard 38-31 on Saturday.
Howard, which beat UNLV 43-40 in last Saturday's opener for its first win against a FBS team, took a 24-23 lead in the third quarter after Caylin Newton scored on a 1-yard keeper following a Kent State fumble.
Gamble's plunge and a 2-point conversion capped Kent State's next drive for the go-ahead score in the fourth. Theo Eboigbe recovered Newton's fumble on Howard's next possession and Gamble capped the Golden Flashes (1-1) drive with a 3-yard TD run for a 38-24 lead.
Newton then scored on a 4-yard run to pull Howard within a TD. Howard got a stop with 39 seconds left, but Newton's pass on the final play was intercepted by Demetrius Monday.
Kent State rolled early. Holley scored on a 38-yard keeper on Kent State's first offensive play of the game for his 11th rushing score in nine games. He hit Justin Rankin with a 25-yard TD pass to cap their second drive, then threw a 25-yard scoring strike to Raekwon James in the second quarter for a 21-7 lead.
Holley gained 119 yards on 21 carries for his sixth 100-yard game in nine starts. Kent State's defense gave up 452 total yards, but scored on a safety in the third.
Anthony Philyaw gained 127 yards on 20 carries and Newton was 9-of-22 passing for 225 yards for the Bison (1-1).
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