JONESBORO - J.D. McKissic wasn’t able to offer much insight into how Arkansas State can revive a suddenly sluggish offense late Tuesday night.
“Practice more,” the soft-spoken sophomore wide receiver said after ASU’s 23-7 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.
McKissic and the Red Wolves have plenty of time for that.
ASU’s worst home loss since being shutout 27-0 by Troy in 2007 ended a four week quirk in the schedule that included two consecutive Saturdays without a game.
ASU (3-4, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) doesn’t play again until Nov. 2 at South Alabama, an 11-day break that followed a nine-day layoff it had before Tuesday night’s loss that put Louisiana-Lafayette in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt.
“We need the time,” ASU Coach Bryan Harsin said. “We need to sit down and we need to look at everybody and get ourselves prepared for our next five-game stretch.”
The offense, which produced seven points and 168 yards against Louisiana Lafayette, might need some tweaking.
The Red Wolves have averaged 592.0 yards in three victories and 320 yards in four losses, something that can be attributed to the quality of the competition. But Tuesday’s statistics suggest it was ASU’s worst all-around offensive showing since it moved to a Spread offense before the 2010 season and least productive overall since a 35-0 loss at Alabama in 2008.
Gaining consistency might be the main goal with five games left - all on Saturday - that will decide if ASU becomes bowl eligible for the third consecutive season.
Harsin alluded to the possibility of simplifying a playbook that blends pro-style and Spread sets.
“To me, it’s not about the plays itself, it’s about the execution of the plays,” Harsin said.
“If that means getting more basic because of comfort and having do to that, and just letting guys purely go out there and execute some simple things, and just get the ball in some guys’ hands, yeah - if it comes down to having them [players do] too much, we’ll look at that as well.”
Tuesday’s offensive showing dropped ASU to fifth in the Sun Belt in total offense at 435.1 yards per game, and a rushing output of 79 yards dropped it to third at 192.4 yards per game. If ASU’s 509 yards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the season opener is taken out, i’s averaging 139.4yards rushing against FBS teams.
When asked Tuesday, though, Harsin didn’t reveal specific concern for his running game (the Red Wolves are averaging 105 yards rushing in their four losses). He wouldn’t specifically put Tuesday’s loss on an offensive line that didn’t provide running room for backs or time for quarterback Adam Kennedy to pass downfield, either.
“There’s a concern on all phases on offense after [Tuesday],” Harsin said. “We’ve got to go back and do our DNA, our base stuff right. That’s what we need to do. We’ve got to go back and throw and catch and block the right guys.”
Kennedy recognized similar defensive tactics from Louisiana-Lafayette that Memphis used in a 31-7 loss on Sept. 14, in which the defenses showed blitzed with linebackers before the snap but usually only pressured with its defensive line. The senior was sacked only once Tuesday, but like Memphis, was was regularly flushed from the pocket.
It’s a strategy Kennedy is expecting from teams for the rest of the season, which will be played with ASU on the outside looking in at a conference race and needing to win three of its last five games to gain bowl eligibility.
“Win,” he said. “We’re not out of it by any means. We don’t control our own destiny, so we need a little bit of help, but most importantly, we’ve just got to win.”
Arkansas State (3-4) DATE OPPONENT (TV) TIME/RES. Aug. 31 Ark.-Pine Bluff W, 62-11 Sept. 7 at Auburn L, 38-9 Sept. 12 Troy W, 41-34 Sept. 21 at Memphis L, 31-7 Sept. 28 at Missouri L, 41-19 Oct. 12 Idaho W, 48-24 Oct. 22 La.-Laf. (ESPN2) L, 23-7 Nov. 2 at S. Alabama 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at La.-Monroe 6 p.m. Nov. 16 Texas State 6:30 p.m. Nov. 23 Georgia State TBA Nov. 30 at W. Kentucky 3 p.m. Sun Belt game OCT. 19 South Alabama 38, Kent State 21 Texas State 24, Georgia State 17 TUESDAY’S GAME La.-Lafayette 23, Arkansas State 7 SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central Troy at W. Kentucky, 3 p.m.
South Alabama at Texas State, 6 p.m.
Georgia State at La.-Monroe, 6 p.m.
Sports, Pages 23 on 10/25/2013