ORLANDO, Fla. -- Xavier Woodson-Luster couldn't remember the statistic, but details didn't matter much Saturday night.
Results spoke for themselves.
Woodson-Luster said he remembers that before the season Arkansas State assistant Luke Paschall, who coaches wide receivers and coordinates special teams, put a number to the importance of blocking a punt.
"I forget the percentage," Woodson-Luster said.
The gist of it was that if a team blocks a punt, its chances of winning increases.
ASU proved that assertion correct.
Johnston White broke through Central Florida's line untouched in the first quarter to block a punt that rolled into the end zone. And when freshman safety B.J. Edmonds fell on it, ASU's well-prepped special teams unit had made its mark in a 31-13 victory in the Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium.
In a game that ended up being a slog for ASU's offense -- it gained a season-low 234 yards -- its special teams unit, coached meticulously by Paschall, ended up being the deciding factor.
ASU's special teams also set up two more Red Wolves touchdowns after recovering fumbles.
Avery Johnson forced a fumble on a first-quarter kickoff return that linebacker Kirk Louis recovered at the UCF 16. Three plays later, Justice Hansen's 12-yard pass to Kendall Sanders made it 17-0.
In the third quarter, long snapper Ryan Eustace raced down the field to force a fumble on a punt that was recovered by Logan Moragne. Three plays after that, Hansen found Sanders again, this time on a slant that made it 31-13.
There was also Sawyer Williams' 22-yard field goal, his first of the season, while filling in for the suspended JD Houston. Central Florida's Hayden Jones returned one kickoff 25 yards, but ASU held Central Florida to minus-1 yard on five punt returns.
It's not a surprise to Anderson, who turned over the special teams reins to Paschall when he brought him to ASU from North Carolina three years ago.
"Nobody takes more pride in it than he does," Anderson said. "Nobody spends more time on it than he does. He watches every ounce of tape. He hand picks guys to try to create matchups that are in our favor. I thought he did a great job of planning this week, and putting guys in position."
The biggest play was designed this week. Paschall said all of ASU's punt coverages and punt returns are designed with opponent in mind, and Anderson said film review gave them an idea a blocked punt was possible.
"We thought their operation at times had been a little slow," he said.
So Paschall put White, a running back, on the left side of ASU's front. White sprinted toward punter Caleb Houston untouched and got both hands on the ball to knock it into the end zone. Paschall said starters and major contributors don't mind playing extra snaps on those units.
"It's a philosophy that we've always had," he said. "If you're going to be a starter on offense or defense, than you've got to be a starter on one of the big four. And that's just from the top down."
Another special teams touchdown was thwarted by a penalty in the fourth quarter.
Safety Money Hunter, whose father is former baseball star Torii Hunter, took the ball on a fake punt and fired a dart to Chris Murray, who found the end zone that would have made it 37-13.
An illegal formation penalty negated the play, which Paschall said was due to a "lineman issue."
"The kid can actually really, really throw it," Paschall said of Hunter.
Saturday wasn't the first time ASU's special teams had helped its struggling offense.
ASU beat Georgia State 31-16 last month thanks to Blaise Taylor's punt return for a touchdown and a blocked field goal that Chris Humes returned for a score.
"It's a culture," Anderson said. "You've got to be opportunistic and you've got to expect those things to happen."
Sports on 12/18/2016