JONESBORO -- The objective was to send a message.
Arkansas State University Coach Blake Anderson shook up the starting offensive line for the first time this season, inserting veteran redshirt junior Klint Harvey at left guard for his first career start in place of redshirt freshman Andre Harris Jr. for ASU's 51-35 victory over Georgia State on Thursday at Centennial Bank Stadium.
Until Thursday, ASU's offensive line carried the same starting five throughout the first six games of the season: senior left tackle Lanard Bonner, Harris, sophomore center Jacob Still, senior right guard Marvis Brown and junior right tackle Nour-Eddine Seidnaly.
The Red Wolves had allowed 17 sacks and 97 yards lost in the first six games, including seven total sacks in two losses to Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
Harvey's addition was not intended to fix an offensive line that has struggled with three full-time, first-year starters (Harris, Brown and Seidnaly). Harris rejoined the offensive line late in the first quarter.
"I wanted to reward a guy that works his tail off," Anderson said of Harvey. "And to make sure everybody understands it doesn't matter if you've started before or not, you've got to come to work. He had a great week of work, better than the guy he was playing behind -- so he gets to play.
"We're going to do that at every position. That's the way it goes. I want constant competition. I want consistent work, consistent attitude, consistent work ethic. He gave us that, so we put him out there and let him play."
Penalty pile up
Seven games into the season, ASU (4-3, 1-2 Sun Belt) is one of the most penalized teams in college football.
The Red Wolves entered Thursday's game giving away 82.5 yards per game via penalties. Eleven penalties for 109 yards against Georgia State beefed up that figure.
Before Saturday's slate of games, ASU ranked No. 123 in the nation by allowing 86.29 yards per game on 67 penalties this season, the third-most flags among all 129 FBS programs.
Four of ASU's 11 penalties Thursday were for unsportsmanlike conduct or personal fouls. The Red Wolves' offense was charged with five total flags for 39 yards. Their defense was tagged with six for 70 yards.
"We've got to correct those for sure," senior defensive end Ronheen Bingham said. "Guys have to learn to walk away, just self-discipline."
Personal bests
The first two Sun Belt pass rushers to reach five sacks this season reside on ASU's defensive line.
After seven games, Ronheen Bingham and redshirt sophomore defensive end William Bradley-King tied for first in the conference with 5.0 sacks. Troy defensive end Jarvis Hayes and Louisiana-Monroe's Donald Lewis Jr. each recorded four sacks in their first seven games.
Bingham recorded a career-high-tying 2 sacks Thursday, a career-high 2 pass breakups, 2 tackles for loss and 6 tackles.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Tajhea Chambers recovered a career-high two fumbles, including one returned for a 34-yard touchdown, his first at ASU.
Sports on 10/21/2018