Jonesboro hosts a pair of 3-4 teams for Homecoming
In 2016, the Red Wolves had completed its most miserable out-of-conference slate in recent memory, beginning with a bone crushing 31-10 home loss to Toledo and ending with a soul crushing home loss to Central Arkansas. The fan base was aghast, having been promised a magic season after the Sun Belt predicted a conference dogfight between the Red Wolves and Mountaineers. By the time conference play opened in Week 5, thoughts of a special season had all be evaporated. (Thoughts of head coach Blake Anderson are unprintable.)
Georgia Southern arrived to Jonesboro 3-1 and already 2-0 in conference thanks to quirky scheduling, having bested ULM and South Alabama behind its signature no-mercy defense. The Eagles run game was powered by running backs Matt Brieda (who’d spend a few years in the NFL) and Kevin Ellison (who’s stay in the NFL was briefer). The Eagles still ran a confounding triple option that made their quarterback Favian Upshaw an unpredictable weapon. The mood within the Arkansas Delta was dark.
The Red Wolves opened the game by fumbling on the fourth play of the opening drive. Arkansas State would fumble the ball away on its next drive as well. In fact, the Red Wolves would commit five turnovers that evening, each one eliciting a collective groan from the A-State faithful. By the start of the fourth quarter, Georgia Southern led 23-17.
Things didn’t look much better with 2:36 left to play and the Eagles up 26-20. Quarterback Justice Hansen had already thrown two picks and didn’t seem the guy to lead a downfield charge. The final series began with a incompletion, Warren Wand being dumped for a six yard loss, and then another incompletion on third down. The Red Wolves were dead.
Except, the Red Wolves were NOT dead at all! A lumbering, fourth down 18-yard run from Hansen – assisted by a tremendous block by Cam Echols-Luper – infused A-State with renewed life! A 29-yard completion to the immortal Kendal Sanders a few plays later put Arkansas State on the Georgia Southern 37! An end zone corner pass to the legendary Omar Bayless sealed the one-point victory with just 9 seconds left on the clock!
Does this feel familiar at all?
Red Wolves Can’t Win By One Point Every Game, Right?
Arkansas State has emerged victorious from consecutive one-point games over Texas State and South Alabama. As amusing as these outcomes might seem, winning by such narrow margins isn’t sustainable. Even the victories’ architect, coach Butch Jones, isn’t impressed.
“We have to be a much better football,” stressed Coach Jones in Tuesday’s presser. “We didn’t play winning football last Tuesday (against South Alabama). We found a way to win the game, but that was not winning football.”
Sometime soon, Arkansas State needs to tap quicker into whatever offensive magic saves itself for the fourth quarter. As it stands, the Red Wolves allow too many first quarter scores, waste too many first downs on sidelines shots down the field and rely far too heavily on its defense to keep the team in games.
Georgia Southern May Finally Be Recovered from Its West Coast Jet Lag
“They may be the most talented team, or one of the top two or three most talented teams, in the Sun Belt,” said coach Butch Jones. “There as good as a football team we’ll play all year.”
That didn’t seem to be the case at the beginning of this season when the Eagles absorbed unimpressive beat-downs to Fresno State and USC. It hasn’t helped that Georgia Southern opened conference plays with the conference’s best teams (so far): JMU and Southern Miss. Now that the schedule’s toughest foes are behind them, Georgia Southern may finally be finding a comfort zone, evident by the team’s 21-point, fourth-quarter close-out of Georgia State.
The Eagles’ fourth quarter comeback was largely driven by quarterback JC French, who Butch Jones calls “elite.” French ranks 5th in the Sun Belt for passing this year, but he’s thrown six picks this season. With a run game that is surprisingly ho-hum. the Eagle’s strongest weapon on the offense is wide receiver Camden Brown,
“You have to account for him,” said Coach Jones regarding Brown. the 6’2″ 200-lb former Auburn Tiger who has already hauled in 8 touchdowns on nearly 600 yards receiving. Wide receivers tend to find themselves wide open at time against the Red Wolves secondary, which means Brown is likely to get his stats.
Red Wolves Defense is…Good?
At the season’s start, the defensive side of the team bore the most question marks, Its veteran presence was largely gone. Nearly every position was staffed by a newcomer or a player elevated to starter. Coach Jones and new defensive coordinator Griff McCarley scoured the transfer portal and junior college rosters for plug-n-play guys. The result was a squad with notable experience, but alarmingly few snaps as Red Wolves.
The inexperience was evident the first four games of the season, when the Red Wolves surrendered a cumulative 65 points in the first quarter. Quarterback keepers and runs long the edge obliterated McCarley’s defensive schemes, and the secondary lost opposing wide receivers on a regular basis. It wasn’t until the first conference game, against ULM, that Arkansas State recorded a first quarter shut out.
A-State would ultimately lose the game to ULM due in no small part to the team’s offensive struggles. But it was clear that the Red Wolves were finding their defensive mojo, despite losing linebackers Terry Kirksey Jr. to injury and Javante Mackey to, er, something. A pair of linebackers stepped up: freshman Nigel Nelson (32 total tackles) and senior Kyle Taylor, who has recorded 28 total tackles in the last two games.
“Seniors either play their best football or their worst, never in between,” philosophized Coach Jones. “Kyle Taylor is playing the best football of his career.”
“My eye discipline and honing in on my keys,” offered Taylor regarding his success in recent games.
The defense has been crucial to keeping A-State in games. Against Texas State, the Red Wolves held the Bobcats to just 10 points for the first three quarters. Against South Alabama, it limited the Jaguars to just two scores. Nobody is confusing Arkansas State for having a shutdown defense (still ranked 125th for total defense), but it has certainly played well enough to make up for a low-testosterone Red Wolves offense.
On Paper, Georgia Southern Has Some Defense, Too
The Eagles feature four defenders on the preseason All-Sun Belt First and Second Teams, but Georgia Southern ranks nearly dead last nationally (131st) in total defense. Only Eastern Michigan is worse at stopping the run, and the secondary surrenders about 230 yards per game. In the SBC, Georgia Southern has recorded the fewest sacks, and only South Alabama’s defense performs worse in the red zone.
Still, Arkansas State is exercising caution with the Eagles defenders. “They like to mix it up and give you a ton of different looks,” observed A-State quarterback Jaylen Raynor. “A lot of them have been playing together for a long time, and it shows up on tape.”
Raynor is being generous, but he speaks truth. Defensive lineman Latrell Bullard, linebacker Brendan Harrington, and defensive back Chance Gamble (recently declared out for the season) are seniors and SBC First-Team selections. Eagles defense is loaded with experienced players, but it may be the most disappointing position group in the Sun Belt this season.
The Threads
Going with the Evil Spiderman look!
The Final Analysis
This season, every Red Wolves game has me throwing chairs through my neighbors’ windows. The offense, discarding the season opener with its FCS opponent, is averaging just 19 points per game. Yes, it has been a pleasant surprise to see the defense have its moment, but the litany of third-down failures is depleting my supply of anti-depressants.
Yet, there is some hope. Despite the low score, the Red Wolves moved the ball well enough against South Alabama (third down and red zone notwithstanding), and the fourth quarter offensive explosion versus Texas State generated memories of Justice Hansen-led squads. Can the offense experience the same epiphany received by the Red Wolves defense? Perhaps.
Georgia Southern allowed Georgia State the most points the Panthers have scored in a game all season. If there was ever a defense designed to trigger an offensive reversal for the Red Wolves, the Eagles are brining it to Jonesboro on Saturday. Let us hope Arkansas State takes advantage of the opportunity.
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Howlraiser 