ARKANSAS STATE 30, TEXAS STATE 12
JONESBORO -- Arkansas State University (6-3, 5-1 Sun Belt Conference) became eligible for its seventh consecutive bowl game Saturday afternoon in its 30-12 victory over Texas State (2-9, 1-6) as a 23-mph west wind blew away punts, passes and gameplans.
"I've never been in a game where it was that violent of a wind for four quarters," ASU Coach Blake Anderson said. "I thought we did the things we had to do to win that kind of game."
Those things included using the nation's 12th-ranked pass offense (320.3 yards per game) to run the ball 61 times for 164 yards and outgain Texas State in time of possession by 23 minutes at Centennial Bank Stadium.
It was the program's most rush attempts in a game since ASU ran 62 times in a 52-21 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in 2007. Junior running back Warren Wand rushed for a career-high 145 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown before an announced crowd of 19,846.
ASU led 16-6 when Wand rushed eight times for 50 yards on a second-quarter drive that drained 7:31 off the clock, minimizing the time that Texas State had the wind at its back.
"We don't want to go into pure stall mode," Anderson said. "We're not real good at that. But we were able to run the clock and still milk it down."
ASU turned the ball over on downs at the Texas State 9 -- the first of four failed ASU fourth-down attempts -- and Texas State punted three plays later.
The game would have been more in question were it not for two special teams plays that led to Red Wolves touchdowns.
ASU trailed 6-3 when junior safety Justin Clifton ripped the football away from Texas State freshman returner Jeremiah Haydel at the Texas State 22, which set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Wand.
"I was just going in for the tackle," said Clifton, who was tackled at the 22. "But when I hit him, I saw the ball right there, and I took advantage of the opportunity."
ASU led 16-12 in the third quarter, when Texas State attempted a fake punt on its 24. It was 4th and 4, and Bobcat punter Marcus Ripley tried to run for the first down but was tackled for a loss.
Five plays later, ASU redshirt junior quarterback Justice Hansen rushed one yard for a touchdown that set the Red Wolves ahead 23-12.
"It was a bad call on my part," Texas State Coach Everett Withers said. "It was an option call. It was punt it or run it if it's there. Obviously, I didn't make it clear enough. So that's on me."
"I didn't mind it," said Hansen, who rushed 11 times for 10 yards and 2 touchdowns. "I gotta say I was confused, but I didn't mind it."
Texas State switched quarterbacks on the following drive, subbing freshman Willie Jones III in for graduate senior and Mississippi State transfer Damian Williams.
Texas State punted, and then Hansen threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Kendrick Edwards to set the final score, 30-12, with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.
ASU outgained Texas State 469-200 in total offensive yards, which was the fewest yards the Red Wolves defense has given up this season.
Senior defensive end Ja'Von Rolland-Jones had two sacks, which set his career total at 41½ -- just behind the NCAA career leader, Arizona State's Terrell Suggs (44.0).
Nearly half of Texas State's yardage came on its first drive, when the Bobcats drove 75 yards in 12 plays to take a 6-0 lead on a five-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Anthony D. Taylor.
It was the first time an ASU opponent scored a touchdown on its opening drive this season. Nebraska and SMU each had field goals on the opening drives of their victories over ASU.
"I think a lot of guys actually did realize it," said senior linebacker Kyle Wilson, who had seven tackles, three for loss. "Normally we know that we come out hot and get off the field pretty quick. So, that definitely left a little taste in our mouth, like, 'Dang, we never really do that.' "
Texas State's missed extra point following Taylor's touchdown was the game's first casualty to the wind, which dictated ASU's game plan from then on.
When ASU had the wind at its back in the first quarter, it attacked on offense through the air; when ASU faced the wind in the second quarter, its offense turned to the run game.
On ASU's first drive, Hansen floated a deep pass to junior receiver Justin McInnis, who leaped on the sideline to catch the football and fell backward for a 33-yard gain to the Texas State 24. The catch set up a 39-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Sawyer Williams, which brought ASU within 6-3 with 9:35 left in the first quarter.
Hansen finished the game 20 of 33 for 229 yards and a touchdown, which was his fewest passing yards of the season.
ASU will play at Louisiana-Monroe next week, and the Red Wolves remain tied with Appalachian State, Troy and Georgia State atop the Sun Belt standings.
Sports on 11/19/2017