Missed moment still stings ASU

Arkansas State Coach Blake Anderson on Monday still was lamenting his team’s missed opportunity at the end of Saturday night’s 43-36 loss at Nebraska.
Arkansas State Coach Blake Anderson on Monday still was lamenting his team’s missed opportunity at the end of Saturday night’s 43-36 loss at Nebraska.

JONESBORO -- A 500-mile flight and the passing of a day did not change Arkansas State University Coach Blake Anderson's feelings about his team's near upset of Nebraska in Lincoln.

"It still sucks," Anderson said about Saturday's 43-36 loss during the team's weekly news conference Monday.

At a glance

WHEN 2:30 p.m. Central, Saturday

WHERE Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro

TV ESPNU

RADIO Red Wolves Sports Network including KFIN-FM 107.9 in Jonesboro; KAFN-FM 93.7 FM and KAFN-AM in Benton/Little Rock; KDXE-FM 106.5 and KDXE-AM 1380 in North Little Rock; and KASR-FM 92.7, in Conway

INTERNET astateredwolves.com

2017 RECORDS Arkansas State 0-1; Miami 1-0

COACHES Blake Anderson (24-16 in fourth season at Arkansas State and overall); Mark Richt (10-4 in second season at Miami and 155-55 overall)

BETTING LINE Miami 14½

SERIES Miami leads 2-0

LAST MEETING Miami won 41-20 in 2014

The final play looked a lot like if "The Catch" instead had been incomplete in the fabled San Francisco 49ers 1981 NFC Championship victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

With six seconds left, redshirt junior quarterback Justice Hansen rolled right and lofted a pass into the back of the end zone that junior receiver Kendrick Edwards later would say grazed his hands, falling incomplete after time expired.

If the pass were completed, Anderson said Monday that his gut was telling him to go for the victory and attempt a two-point conversion.

"I wish I'd had the opportunity to make that decision," he said.

The Red Wolves now must recover in time for Saturday's home opener against No. 18 Miami, which beat FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman 41-13 on Saturday.

"I think [a hangover is] even more of a concern when you come out of it truly knowing you should have won the game," Anderson said. "I think the ups and downs of the football season are one of the biggest challenges between a great team and being a mediocre team. Can you continue to gain momentum and rise each week without having the big drop off?

"We've got to pick ourselves up, learn, and we've got to raise that intensity level another notch, which is hard, because we played incredibly hard [against Nebraska]."

The loss provided Anderson confidence in his team's inexperienced offensive line while also raising major concerns in the defense's tackling ability against the run.

Hansen was hardly rattled against Nebraska (sacked once). He set school records for completions (46) and pass attempts (68) for 415 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

But the ASU defense missed 17 tackles that Anderson counted, which contributed 175 extra yards of offense.

Miami provides a bigger test for the offensive line with aggressive defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, and the Red Wolves also will have to tackle the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading rusher, junior running back Mark Walton (1,117 yards, 14 touchdowns in 2016).

Diaz -- a former assistant at Middle Tennessee State like Anderson, ASU offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen, though each at different times -- drastically improved Miami's defense when he joined Coach Mark Richt's staff in January of 2016.

From 2015 to 2016, the Hurricanes defense improved in the NCAA rankings in both tackles for loss (No. 95, with 5.08 TFL's per game to No. 8, with 8.31 TFL's per game) and sacks (No. 64, with 26 total sacks to No. 22, with 37 total sacks).

Each member of the ASU offensive line, except for sophomore guard Troy Elliott, had their first start against Nebraska.

"You just got to do your best in showing them film, trying to keep it simple so they can play fast," Faulkner said. "We can dictate some looks by some of the things we can do on offense. But I'll be honest with you, the way those kids came out and played the other night was highly impressive. The future's bright with those guys. The stage wasn't too big.

"It was exciting to see a group that never played together -- not one live [play] in a game -- and come out and play the way they did."

Cauthen said the defense must get better at tackling in preparation for Walton.

"We don't get to tackle guys like that, because we don't have nobody like that," Cauthen said. "In order to get better at tackling, you have to do it on a daily basis.

"I think we were not good at our angles, being disciplined in that, and I think that's attributed to having new players back there seeing game speed stuff. Tackling is a fundamental issue, and the only way to get better is to continue to do it. I think we'll get better at it as the year goes on."

Anderson announced senior cornerback Brandon Byner is out 1-2 weeks because of a hamstring injury.

Starting left guard and sophomore Dalton Ford is day to day with a shoulder injury that he played through against Nebraska, and Anderson said running backs Johnston White (thigh contusion) and Armond Weh-Weh (ACL) should see playing time against Miami. Senior defensive tackle Dee Liner (groin) played sparingly in Nebraska but will be back to "full speed" this week.

Sports on 09/05/2017

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