MONROE, La. -- Wade through the pool of points and yardage, scoop up the shattered offensive records, and eventually sense can be made of Arkansas State University's 67-50 victory at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday afternoon at Malone Stadium.
It was the most combined points in a Sun Belt Conference game.
It was the most points ASU (7-3, 6-1) had ever allowed in a victory.
It was the Sun Belt's top scoring offense prevailing over the conference's worst defense, and even that didn't provide certainty in the moment.
"I didn't think 60 [points] might've been enough," said ASU redshirt junior quarterback Justice Hansen, who set school records for passing yards (520) and total yards (550) in a game. "But our defense ended up making some stops."
More importantly, ASU's victory over Louisiana-Monroe (4-7, 4-4) kept the Red Wolves tied atop the Sun Belt standings. The Red Wolves host conference co-leader Troy at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
"With this loss, there's no telling what would have happened," said junior receiver Justin McInnis, whose 211 yards on 9 catches is ASU's third-most receiving yards in a game.
Louisiana-Monroe scored four touchdowns in four drives to pull within 57-50 with 9:53 left in the game, but ASU kept the Warhawks from scoring over their final three drives.
Hansen threw his only interception of the game at the ASU 47 to give Louisiana-Monroe its final shot at tying the game with 5:25 left, but the Warhawks punted after three plays and fell behind 60-50 after ASU sophomore Sawyer Williams' 46-yard field goal.
It was defense that sealed ASU's victory, when senior cornerback Blaise Taylor returned an interception 85-yards for a touchdown to set the final score on the following possession -- a play that also set a Sun Belt Conference record for passes defended in a career (34).
The play was redemptive for a defense that allowed its most yards in a game (590) since a 51-14 loss to Auburn last season (706).
"We didn't play defense like we wanted to," said senior defensive end Ja'Von Rolland-Jones, whose sack brought him within 1½ of the Football Bowl Subdivision career record. "Offense had our back today."
ASU's 781 total offensive yards were both a Sun Belt and school record, as both teams scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives.
Neither down and distance, nor starting field position deterred either team from scoring.
The first time ASU punted, Ray Guy Award semifinalist Cody Grace pinned Louisiana-Monroe at its own 1 with 7:30 left in the first quarter. The Warhawks followed by driving 99 yards to take a 14-7 lead on a 2-yard run by sophomore quarterback Caleb Evans.
An offensive pass interference set ASU with a second and 24 at its own 18 at the start of the second quarter, then junior running back Warren Wand bounced a run to the sideline and tip-toed for an 82-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21.
The rush was the fifth-longest in school history and aided Wand to a career-high 173 yards on 21 carries.
Louisiana-Monroe junior receiver Marcus Green had 4 catches, 107 yards and a touchdown by the end of the first quarter, and his 95-yard kickoff return touchdown in the third started the Warhawks comeback t0 make the score 42-28.
Green finished the game with 418 all-purpose yards, falling 11 yards short of the FBS season-high set by San Diego State's Rashaad Penny.
"Coach [Blake Anderson] said all week that he's got it in him," ASU senior cornerback Kyle Martin said, who said there were no adjustments made for him other than stating "do whatever you need to stop him."
Part of the reason ASU couldn't stop ULM's offense was because the Red Wolves could not establish a steady pass rush in the first half.
ASU entered the game with the fourth-ranked sack rate in the nation (3.44 per game), but by halftime, the Red Wolves had no sacks and no tackles for loss.
The Warhawks protected Evans, who showcased his mobility when he outran Rolland-Jones in the first quarter to complete a 12-yard pass on third down.
Evans led Louisiana-Monroe to a 21-14 lead in the second quarter by both passing and rushing in the Warhawks' Run-Pass Option offense. He finished the game with 515 total yards (454 passing), 6 touchdowns (4 passing) and 3 interceptions.
"They RPO'd us to death," ASU's Anderson said.
ASU's Martin intercepted Evans twice in the first quarter, but the Red Wolves did not score off a turnover until junior defensive end Ronheen Bingham stripped the ball and recovered a fumble with 6:13 left in the second quarter.
Four plays later, Hansen threw a 4-yard touchdown pass on a bubble screen to senior receiver Christian Booker for the go-ahead 28-21 lead.
By halftime, Hansen had 260 yards and 3 touchdowns passing and McInnis had a career-high 138 yards on 5 catches.
"We definitely wanted to attack their secondary," McInnis said. "Watching film, we knew that their secondary wasn't very good."
ASU went up 42-21 with 9:47 left in the third quarter, when Hansen ran a delayed draw up the middle 38 yards -- his career long -- for a touchdown.
Green's kickoff return score followed -- ASU's first allowed since Nebraska's JD Spielman returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown in the season opener.
"I really expected a high scoring game, but not quite to that level," Anderson said. "I thought we were capable of scoring those kind of points offensively, based off of what we saw. Did not expect for [the Warhawks] to have the type of night they did."
Both ASU starting linebackers, senior Kyle Wilson and sophomore Trent Ellis-Brewer, left the game with injuries.
Anderson said Wilson left with a minor rib injury, and that Ellis-Brewer suffered what may be a season-ending injury to an ACL or MCL.
Sports on 11/26/2017