BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - If today’s regular-season finale is for a bowl invitation, Arkansas State has two things going for it.
One is that in the brief history of Arkansas State’s series with Western Kentucky, the home team has never won any of the seven meetings. The other thing is that ASU has not lost on the home field of a conference opponent in more than three years going into today’s 3 p.m. game against the Hilltoppers at L.T. Smith Stadium.
Sure, if given the choice, the Red Wolves (7-4, 5-1) would prefer that a game with such stakes be played at home. But they don’t feel uncomfortable heading out on the road, having won 10 consecutive conference road games.
That streak - which started with a 26-22 victory over Western Kentucky in 2011 - has spanned three different head coaches, and ASU has won games played at stadiums in six different states, including the one they’ll be playing in today. The Red Wolves haven’t lost on the road since Nov. 27, 2010, when a 31-24 loss at Florida International was followed two days later by Steve Roberts stepping down as coach.
Players had a hard time pinpointing the reason for their success, but safety Sterling Young may have had the best explanation.
“SWAT mentality. Go in, do your job, come out with a win,” said Young, a three-year starter who has been a part of every road victory in the streak. “Everything is going to be a little crazy, but if you go in there and complete your objective and get out of there, everything is going to be OK.”
An ASU victory could mean a third consecutive bowl game for the first time in school history.
Representatives from the New Orleans Bowl, which gets the first pick among Sun Belt teams, will be in Lafayette, La., to see if Louisiana-Lafayette can clinch at least a share of the conference title with a victory. Since that bowl is Dec. 21, the first day of the bowl season, it would like to make its decision as early as possible.
Representatives from the GoDaddy.com Bowl, which gets the second pick, will be in Bowling Green to watch ASU and Western Kentucky (7-4, 3-3) each try to earn its eighth victory.
The audience ups the stakes for today’s game. ASU Coach Bryan Harsin said Monday that his message to his team this week revolved around the fact that a victory could lead to a bowl invitation. ASU can still reach a bowl game with a loss today, but if it doesn’t get invited to either bowl with league ties it will have to enter into the at large pool, where there could be nine more bowl-eligible teams than spots available.
“The bottom line is: It’s in our hands to care of it,” Harsin said. “I think everybody wants the opportunity to put it in their hands and go out there and finish it.”
Western Kentucky could be the best team the Red Wolves have played since Louisiana-Lafayette. ASU hasn’t lost since that 23-7 setback to the Ragin’ Cajuns on Oct. 22. But today’s game will be against one of only 11 FBS teams ranked among the top 30 in total offense and defense, and one that features leading candidates for the league’s offensive and defensive player of the year awards.
Antonio Andrews’ 1,611 yards are third-most nationally and more than 700 more than any other Sun Belt runner. Linebacker Xavius Boyd leads the league with 8 1/2 sacks. Western Kentucky leads the conference in scoring defense (24.0 points per game), total defense (337.5 yards per game) and with 13 interceptions.
Against the run, where ASU has made most of its yards during its winning streak, Western Kentucky is third in the conference at 155.6 yards per game. It has allowed its past three Sun Belt opponents to just 91, 85 and 21 yards.
“It’ll definitely be a unique challenge,” quarterback Adam Kennedy said. “I think our offense has changed a lot since the ULL game. We’ve grown. We’ve realized what we can do. We certainly won’t have the same struggles we did against ULL, or at least that’s the hope.”
Today’s game ARKANSAS STATE AT WESTERN KENTUCKY
WHEN 3 p.m. Central WHERE L.T. Smith Stadium (capacity 22,113), Bowling Green, Ky.
RECORDS Arkansas State 7-4, 5-1 Sun Belt; Western Kentucky 7-4, 3-3 SERIES Tied 3-3-1 COACHES Arkansas State: Bryan Harsin (7-4 in first season); Western Kentucky: Bobby Petrino (81-30 in ninth season overall; 7-4 in first season at Western Kentucky) RADIO KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro;
KKSP-FM, 93.3, in Bryant/Little Rock INTERNET ESPN3.com
NOV. 23 GAMES Arkansas State 35, Georgia State 33 South Alabama 36, La.-Monroe 14 W. Kentucky 38, Texas St. 7
FRIDAY’S GAME Troy 42, Texas State 28
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central South Alabama at Georgia State 1 p.m.
Arkansas State at W. Kentucky, 3 p.m.
La.-Monroe at La. Lafayette, 6 p.m.
Sports, Pages 21 on 11/30/2013