MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Down 28-10 midway through the third quarter, Arkansas State University scored two touchdowns to get within 28-23 of Middle Tennessee State with 14:24 left in the game Saturday night in the Camellia Bowl.
It was the first time since the second quarter the Red Wolves were within a single score.
A defensive stop would have given ASU a chance at its first lead since it was 3-0. Instead, the Blue Raiders put together a 6-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended on a 30-yard pass from Brent Stockstill to Shane Tucker.
Stockstill was 2 of 3 for 64 yards on the drive, and his 2-yard draw converted a third and 1 at the ASU 32. The scoring drive gave Middle Tennessee State the distance it needed to hold onto the victory.
Batted interceptions
Arkansas State sophomore safety B.J. Edmonds had two batted interceptions in the Camellia Bowl, but the Red Wolves failed to score a touchdown off either one.
On the first drive of the game, Edmonds batted the football with one arm, caught it and returned it 19 yards to the Middle Tennessee State 38. ASU sophomore kicker Sawyer Williams eventually kicked a 20-yard field goal for a 3-0 ASU lead.
Edmonds batted and intercepted a slant pass at the Middle Tennessee State 36 with 5:56 left in the third quarter, but ASU redshirt sophomore receiver Omar Bayless lost a fumble at the Middle Tennessee State 5 on the next possession.
In all, ASU scored just three points off three Middle Tennessee State turnovers. The Blue Raiders scored seven points off three ASU turnovers.
Defensive TD
Arkansas State trailed 7-3 when it reached the Middle Tennessee State 23 with six minutes left in the first half, but ASU redshirt junior quarterback Justice Hansen was sacked, fumbled and Middle Tennessee State senior linebacker D.J. Sanders scooped up the football and ran 54 yards for a touchdown.
That score put the Blue Raiders ahead 14-3.
It was also the second consecutive game that ASU gave up a defensive touchdown. In the 32-25 loss to Troy two weeks earlier, ASU gave up a 100-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
Crazy play
On second and 3 at the Arkansas State 28 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter, Middle Tennessee State junior quarterback Brent Stockstill fit a pass in between two defensive backs to senior receiver Shane Tucker within the ASU 5.
Red Wolves junior safety Justin Clifton ripped the ball loose as Tucker was on his way down, got up and ran to the Middle Tennessee State 25, where he lost grip of the football and flung it into the air.
Darreon Jackson attempted to scoop up the ball but booted it into the end zone, where Kyle Wilson recovered it. The official signaled touchdown. A 5 minute, 30 second review followed, and it was ruled Clifton intercepted the ball and was down at the Middle Tennessee State 1. The Red Wolves eventually punted from their own 10.
No rush present
After Arkansas State recorded two tackles for loss on Middle Tennessee State's first two offensive drives, the Blue Raiders began to get the ball out quickly by throwing short passes to the flats, sidelines and on screen passes.
In the first half, quarterback Brent Stockstill was 4 of 7 for 27 yards on such passes, and the plays provided a rhythm Middle Tennessee State did not have previously.
The Red Wolves finished the game with eight tackles for loss, but sophomore linebacker Darreon Jackson, who started the season as a safety, had ASU's only sack of the game. Stockstill was hit just twice and routinely evaded the Red Wolves' pass rush.
Leading 21-10 with 12:23 left in the third quarter, Stockstill scrambled for 10 yards to pick up a first down at the ASU 42. The scramble was part of a 12-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that gave the Blue Raiders a 28-10 lead.
The evasion kept ASU senior defensive end Ja'Von Rolland-Jones from breaking the all-time Football Bowl Subdivision career sack record. Rolland-Jones finished his career with 43½ sacks, one full sack away from breaking the record that was set by Arizona State's Terrell Suggs from 2000-2002.
Sports on 12/17/2017