It was an ominous start for the Miami University football team.

Kent State defensive end Mark Fackler tipped a Zac Dysert pass to himself for an interception on the RedHawks’ fourth play from scrimmage Saturday, giving the Golden Flashes an early boost en route to a 48-32 victory at Yager Stadium.

“I thought that interception was huge,” KSU coach Darrell Hazell said. “It really kickstarted the whole offense as well as the defense.”

Kent scored its first touchdown less than two minutes after that pick and took a 21-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes.

Dysert got intercepted again (by Zack Hitchens) later in the first period, but went on to throw for 455 yards, the second-highest single-game total of his career.

“They cause a lot of turnovers. We knew that coming into the game,” Dysert said. “You can’t give a team like that great field position two times in a row. It kind of killed us.”

The Flashes entered the contest with the second-worst pass defense in the Mid-American Conference. They obviously had some early success against Dysert, who gained the upper hand as the game progressed.

“We thought we could throw on them,” said Dysert, who converted 37-of-50 throws. “They’ve got a pretty good D-line and some good linebackers too, so we thought it would be smart to attack their secondary a little bit. I thought we executed pretty well except for the turnovers.”

“We wanted to give him some different looks,” Hazell said. “Anytime you can get around his feet, it makes him a little bit uncomfortable. He’s such a good player, he’s going to make his plays.”

Dynamic duo: The running tandem of Trayion Durham and Dri Archer sparked Kent to 546 total yards, 399 on the ground.

Durham (20 carries, 172 yards, two TDs) is the bull. Archer (11 carries, 151 yards, two TDs) is the all-purpose speedster.

“It’s a great offensive line — they were moving the pile forward,” Archer said. “We had big seams, and me and Trayion were just hitting the hole.”

Durham is a Cincinnati kid, a Colerain High School graduate. The 6-foot, 250-pound sophomore left the game with a quad injury with 9:19 remaining, but said afterward that he was fine.

“To be honest, I felt like a train just going. Nothing could stop me,” Durham said. “When I bounced (my first run) out to the outside, that’s when I knew I was going to have a field day.”

“These are two spectacular players,” Hazell said. “The thing I like about them is they get better each week. They come to work with a purpose, and they both give you a little bit something different. You can’t say enough about our guys up front. Those guys have been phenomenal.”

Linebackers Wes Williams and Chris Wade paced Miami with eight total tackles apiece. Wade said the Flashes have the most dynamic backfield the RedHawks have faced this year, but he felt MU’s defensive fundamentals were lacking.

“We’re there, but it’s one thing that we’re missing,” Wade said. “A missed tackle here, one little step there … that makes the difference between them getting a 2-yard gain and a 20-yard gain.”

Notebook: Dysert moved into 26th place on the Football Bowl Subdivision’s all-time passing list with 11,452 yards, eclipsing such names as Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer. Dysert ranks third in MAC history behind Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour (12,905) and Marshall’s Byron Leftwich (11,903).

Dayonne Nunley’s first-quarter interception was the 12th of his career, moving him into a tie for sixth place in the MU record book.

Nick Harwell’s 122 receiving yards marked his 15th 100-yard game. He’s tied for first with Martin Nance in Miami history.