ASU 'D' lingering at bottom

JONESBORO -- It's best to get the ugly numbers out of the way first.

Through two games, Arkansas State's defense is among the worst units in college football.

After losses to Toledo and at Auburn, the Red Wolves are giving up 631.0 total yards to rank last among the 128 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. They're 127th in yards allowed per play (7.84), rushing yards allowed (394.5), yards per pass attempt (11.4) and opponent passer rating (206.4).

Toledo's Logan Woodside and Auburn's Sean White combined to complete 74.1 percent of the passes against the Red Wolves, which ranks 126th, and the two teams gained 6.06 yards per rush, which puts ASU at 125th.

No team has fewer than ASU's one sack, and it's still looking for an interception after picking off an FBS-best 26 passes last season.

Coach Blake Anderson earlier this week lauded how good Toledo and Auburn are, but the defensive performance has those on a unit that returns nine full-time starters and 13 players with starting experience scratching their heads.

"I didn't see it coming," senior defensive end Chris Odom said. "But, it is what it is, and we're going to get it taken care of real soon."

Defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen said conversations this week have revolved around unity and a response to big plays. That's a surprise to Cauthen, considering ASU returned seven of its top eight tacklers, the Sun Belt Conference's sack leader and two players who tied for the team lead in interceptions.

That group made up a large portion of a defense that ranked third in the Sun Belt against the run and had the third-best pass defense efficiency rating, thanks in large part to the 26 interceptions.

Linebacker Xavier Woodson-Luster said the team doesn't have a leadership problem, but there might be too many players reacting negatively when things go bad.

"We all know each other and love each other and have the right to check each other," said Woodson-Luster, who has a team-best 24 tackles. "But, coach talks about having a negative stimulus and responding with a negative stimulus. We always want to be positive."

The biggest issue might come down to a simple skill -- tackling, which was Anderson's biggest complaint after the Toledo loss. The third-year coach said the tackling improved against Auburn, but not enough to keep the Tigers from rushing for 462 yards.

The struggles were illustrated best on a play that broke the game wide open. In the first quarter, Auburn's Kerryon Johnson took a pitch from White, broke away from the grasp of Woodson-Luster and Ja'Von Rolland-Jones to reverse his field, then Justin Clifton and Cody Brown each had chances to stop him along the sideline before Johnson dove into the end zone.

Anderson called it one of two "superhuman plays" Auburn made Saturday, but basic tackling could have prevented it.

Cauthen said the only change to the defense was a slight adjustment to the technique of the cornerbacks, and he said he likes the results.

Cauthen believes the issues are between his team's ears. The technical corrections needed are what Odom called, "Day One stuff," like formation recognition and knowing responsibilities.

"Some of the things that we corrected the other night are things we corrected last year," Cauthen said. "So, I asked the coaches, 'Are we coaching it the same way? Are we teaching it the same way? What's the difference?' "

ASU plays at 8 p.m. Friday night at Utah State, when it hopes an experienced defense finds an identity that helps the team rebound from an 0-2 start, which is where it started last year.

"It is frustrating," Odom said. "Stuff like that happens, but how you respond to it is you have to go back, review and get them fixed. It is frustrating. But it is fixable."

Sports on 09/15/2016