Although the Arkansas State Red Wolves defeated Georgia State 31-16, they still have a lot of work to do if they’re going to repeat as Sun Belt champions.
Make no mistake about it: ASU deserves a lot of credit for winning this contest. With the offense struggling, the Red Wolf special teams made sure that the team would have all of the points that it would need. Arkansas State scored its first touchdown on a blocked field goal to take a 10-3 lead at the half. The punt return team would be responsible for the next two Red Wolf touchdowns, as it tackled the punter for a 21-yard loss on a botched snap to set up a score and returned the next punt 68 yards for a 24-10 lead. While ASU did allow Georgia State to take the ensuing kickoff to the house, it blocked the extra point immediately after that, taking the wind out the Panthers’ sails.
Even though the Red Wolves won this contest, it’s still clear that they have a lot of work to do if they’re going to win their fifth league title in the last six seasons. The offense had one of its worst outings of the year against the Panthers, only mustering 305 yards of total offense. The passing game struggled mightily in the second half, and completed just 15 of 35 passes for 212 yards. The running game wasn’t much better, as the team ran for a paltry 93 yards on 41 carries.
As a result of these woes, Arkansas State went just 3 for 16 on third down opportunities.
Those numbers must improve in order for the Red Wolves to repeat as champions. Sure, the defense and special teams helped the team win on Thursday, but the offense will have to be more explosive over the final four games of the season if A-State is going to run the table. This will be especially true against Troy, which ranks 28th nationally in total offense and 24th in scoring. Considering that the Trojans put up 24 points against Clemson, its safe to say that the Red Wolves won’t be able to win that contest by relying solely on its defense.
It’ll be interesting to see if Arkansas State can turn things around over the final four games of the season.
