TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Arkansas State University Coach Blake Anderson met Alabama Coach Nick Saban at midfield inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, exchanged pleasantries and requested Saban expose any flaws the Crimson Tide may have.
Saban, unsurprisingly, didn't budge. No clues were given.
Proven by the Crimson Tide's 57-7 beatdown of the Red Wolves on Saturday -- Arkansas State's largest loss since a 63-7 defeat against West Virginia in 2002 -- Alabama does not have many blemishes.
"He didn't share any with me," Anderson said. "The big goal was to come play perfect football and have a chance to be competitive. Obviously, we just didn't. That's the frustrating part. Way too many mistakes. The list is way too long to obviously count."
Arkansas State (1-1) has established a mounting problem with penalties.
The Red Wolves committed 10 fouls Saturday, giving Alabama 84 free yards. Week Two marked the Red Wolves' second consecutive game with double-digit penalties after a 12-flag, 119-yard outing in their 48-21 victory against Southeast Missouri State.
It's a stain ASU hasn't cleaned up through the opening two weeks of the regular season.
"Right now, we have a tendency to be self-destructive with the penalties and the mistakes," Anderson said. "If we can fix the issues and the problems, I think we still have a chance at having a really good football team.
"Disappointed, but also encouraged in the fact that they know there's a lot of things that can get fixed that are our fault that we can continue to work on. They're eager to do that."
Short passes
Arkansas State quarterbacks Justice Hansen and Logan Bonner combined for 193 yards passing, but the longest pass the Red Wolves managed was 26 yards.
ASU Coach Blake Anderson said he had no regrets in not attempting many downfield passes.
"That's exactly what they want you to do," Anderson said. "They play the safeties about 18 yards deep, and they get deeper. If you watch them, they want you to throw it back there.
"I just think we didn't execute the plan. I think our plan was the right plan, and at times it worked really, really well."
The Red Wolves' second-longest pass was a 25-yard trick play from junior wide receiver Darveon Brown back to Hansen. That completion set ASU on the Alabama 23. Two plays later, Hansen hit senior wideout Kendrick Edwards for ASU's lone score.
Positives
Arkansas State ran for 173 yards against Alabama, which Anderson was proud of considering the Crimson Tide allowed 16 rushing yards on 26 carries in last week's season-opening 51-14 victory over Louisville.
Hansen had an interception returned for a touchdown, but the offensive line gave up only two sacks.
"The line did some good and bad things," Anderson said. "At times we handled ourselves really well. We moved the chains, ran the ball for [173] yards against a team that gave up only 16 a week ago.
"[Hansen] wasn't getting sacked every series. We had a couple, but we were able to protect him for the most part. I thought the game plan was good, but we needed to be within 10 to 14 points, and the game plan we had was not going to bring us back."
Benson attends
Wearing a bright white cap with the Red Wolves' logo, Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson arrived in Alabama on Friday to soak in the Red Wolves and Tide on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa.
Benson, who turns 67 in December, will complete his multiyear contract with the conference in the summer of 2019 and is expected to return home to Denver once his contractual commitment as the Sun Belt commissioner is fulfilled.
Sports on 09/09/2018