Last night the Arkansas State Red Wolves rolled up Alcorn State 56-0 and are now 2-2. So after the first four games of the season, I am trying to put things into perspective. The first thing I am sure about is I can not use Dennis Green's line of "They are WHO we thought they were" about the Red Wolves. Not because they aren't good but because at this point I think we just don't know who they are. The phrase that is more appropriate is "They are WHERE we thought they'd be. Most anyone that took a look at the Arkansas State 2012 football schedule prior to the season, should have predicted a 2-2 record after 4 games. And that is right where they are.
It isn't the fact that A-State is 2-2 that brings about questions it is how the Red Wolves got to 2-2 that makes you take a second look.
Oregon was a loss the day it was scheduled. But the way the Ducks overwhelmed the Red Wolves is where the true issues lay. Oregon has amazing talent and is very efficient in their offense. But that aside we seemed awestruck by the situation and we just didn't look ready to play in the first half. The Red Wolves showed signs not only of life but of major potential in the second half, but by then Oregon had all but shut it down.
We returned home to an outstanding atmosphere and took on a Memphis Tiger team that in all honesty is not very good. It allowed RedWolfNation to see that ASU has some serious skill, but also that there are a lot of issues. Offensively A-State moved the ball up and down the field amassing 619 yards, the issues came inside the redzone when the Pack had to settle for field goals rather than touchdowns. Against the Red Wolf defense, the Tigers drove for a touchdown on the first drive but A-State did a nice job of tightening up afterwards minus the one big pass play. The major concern came on special teams where the Tigers scored 14 points off major flubs. The Red Wolves prevailed but it was a scary situation instead of what could have been a blow out win for A-State.
The Nebraska game revealed several things about the Red Wolves. ASU was shorthanded at offensive line and wide receiver and Nebraska took advantage of A-State's lack of deep passing to stifle the Red Wolf offense. No offensive touchdowns and the Cornhuskers held the offense from racking up very many yards as well. The defense began to get pressure, something they didn't do in the first two games but big plays allowed Nebraska to finish off the Pack. Unfortunately the special teams again had issues when penalties on 2 punts that gave the Cornhuskers more than 20 yards field position each time.
Last night's game versus Alcorn was as much a mismatch in talent as ASU's game with Oregon. The Red Wolves could have scored 100 had they not shut it down at halftime. The defense was as impressive as they had been all year holding the Braves to 130 total yards. Though it was a complete talent mismatch the Red Wolves defense played hard and apparently had been challenged to shut out Alcorn and did so even with a number of walkons playing in the fourth quarter. Aplin and the offense opened it up in the second quarter with some down field passing and we saw wide receivers get open deep. The special teams still left a bad taste in my mouth with a number of kickoffs out of bounds and a muffed punt that gave the Braves their only chance at scoring - a missed field goal.
So A-State is 2-2, right where we thought they'd be. The question remains, who is this team? Are they the team that got boat raced in the first half versus Oregon? Are they the offensive juggernaut that we saw against Memphis and Alcorn? Was it injuries or Nebraska's defense that shut down the A-State offense? Lots of things still to learn about this group.
The Sun Belt season is upon us, and there is one thing I see. There shouldn't be any team A-State faces in SBC play that are as good as either Oregon or Nebraska, however there won't be any as bad as Memphis and Alcorn either. The conference looks much improved this season and there are a number of teams that not only are better but they probably have the date with the Red Wolves circled on their calendar.
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