ANALYSIS

Midseason numbers against ASU

Arkansas State wide receiver Corey Rucker has provided consistency with seven touchdown receptions this season. He has caught 32 passes for 497 yards through six games.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Arkansas State wide receiver Corey Rucker has provided consistency with seven touchdown receptions this season. He has caught 32 passes for 497 yards through six games. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)

Arkansas State University long knew its open date would present an opportunity to refresh before the Red Wolves head into the second half of their season. Within the first six games, ASU had a run of three consecutive road games -- including a 2,200-plus-mile trip to Seattle -- and a Thursday night matchup against the best team in the Sun Belt Conference.

And while Coach Butch Jones repeatedly called his team "a work in progress" in the weeks before the Red Wolves' season began, he almost certainly didn't anticipate a 1-5 start in which his defense has been battered consistently, with an offense that is just trying to keep up.

Here are just a few of the numbers that paint the first half of ASU's 2021 picture:

584.0 yards, 46.7 points

Yes, those per-game numbers are correct. ASU has been the worst defense among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams -- and not by an insignificant margin, either. The next closest in terms of yards allowed per game is Missouri at 497.8, and Kansas is second-to-last in points at 43.8.

It's worth considering that Coastal Carolina and Memphis, both winners over ASU, are among the top 11 teams in total offense. But it's not as if there's any one solution considering that the Red Wolves are 127th out of 130 teams in passing yards allowed and 129th in rushing yards allowed. Given that starting defensive tackle Terry Hampton is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, ASU will have to try to get things right without one of the few effective defensive veterans it has.

Could defensive coordinator Rob Harley still be getting his feet underneath him? Perhaps. It took Harley's old boss, Pat Narduzzi, until his third season to make some real progress as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and then his fourth at Michigan State.

At the same time, if the Red Wolves can't make fixes during this two-week stretch, they could be headed toward a pair of FBS records -- Connecticut allowed 617.4 yards per game in 2018 and Massachusetts surrendered 52.7 points per game in 2019.

7 receiving touchdowns

As consistent as ASU's defense has been in terms of futility, Corey Rucker has been a steady presence on the offensive side. He's already hauled in seven touchdown grabs, living up to the "consistency in performance" award he picked up in spring camp, and after logging four touchdowns and 310 receiving yards in the final game of his true freshman season, Rucker is now up to 11 scores in the last seven games.

All the more impressive is the fact that he's done it with both James Blackman and Layne Hatcher under center. Hatcher and Rucker hooked up in the second half against Coastal Carolina, adding to the three times the Red Wolves scored thanks to the same connection against the University of Central Arkansas in the season opener.

Rucker and Hatcher have a clear connection -- they spoke about many nights working together after ASU's season-opening win -- and they'll get to further it as long as Blackman is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

That means a chance for Rucker to keep up with the likes of Ohio State wideouts Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, who are among the nation's premier pass-catchers with seven and six receiving touchdowns, respectively. Three players are currently tied for the lead with nine receiving touchdowns.

484 rushing yards

With the Red Wolves needing points, their run game has been basically non-existent. It doesn't help that sacks count against rushing totals and ASU's quarterbacks have been battered, but the Red Wolves are averaging a mere 80.7 rushing yards per game. The only two teams worse are 2-4 Bowling Green and Mississippi State, which has only 93 rushes thanks to Coach Mike Leach's Air Raid offense.

A healthy Marcel Murray might be able to better things down the stretch, yet there's no player with 150 or more yards on the ground and just one rotational running back averaging 3.5 yards per carry or better -- Lincoln Pare, who's only at 4.9 a year after he finished with 6.3 yards per attempt.

ASU's offensive line should be settled in the second half, with Jacob Still now back at center and Ivory Scott helping to shore up the right side as he returns to the spot where he played most of 2020. That could help find some of the offense balance that Jones has desired.

6-10 record

That's how the Red Wolves' final three opponents have fared so far. Neither Louisiana-Monroe, Georgia State and Texas State has more than two wins, with the Warhawks getting walloped in their most recent pair of conference games.

But ASU hosts a 5-1 Louisiana-Lafayette squad Thursday. The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a 41-13 blowout victory of 4-2 Appalachian State. The Red Wolves then visit South Alabama, which is a missed two-point conversion away from also starting 5-1.

There may be some wins for the Red Wolves to grab in the final weeks of Jones' inaugural campaign, yet they've got another tough three weeks ahead before a possible reprieve comes.

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