Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Arkansas State 50, Louisiana Lafayette 27

WHY ARKANSAS STATE WON
A complete conference game — yes, even the special teams — gave Arkansas State its third consecutive victory. The Red Wolves (5-3, 3-1) controlled momentum for four quarters, and when the Ragin Cajuns (4-3, 2-2) took a step forward, John Thompson’s defense forced them into mistakes, including five turnovers. Senior Ryan Aplin finished the game 21 of 31 for 269 yards and one touchdown while David Oku rushed for his team high 10^th touchdown as ASU never trailed and didn’t allow the Cajuns to score until the seven-minute mark in the second quarter. The large allowed ASU to run 27 straight rushing plays to end the game. The final pass play came 8:39 left in the third quarter.

TURNING POINT
The play that broke Lafayette’s back came with 1:53 left in third quarter when freshman Rocky Hayes ran a delay sweep from the Red Wolves’ 43 and went 57 yards relatively untouched for his first touchdown of his career. The touchdown gave the Red Wolves a 40-14 lead.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Sophomore running back Frankie Jackson put up some of his best numbers of the season, finishing for 77 yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts. His first score came on an 11-yard run to the right side just seven seconds into the second quarter. It capped off a five-play drive and gave ASU a 13-0 lead. Jackson’s second touchdown was the Red Wolves’ final score. Jackson now has four touchdowns this season and 10 for his career.

OFF BROADWAY
Where the Red Wolves entered the game with the best pass defense in the Sun Belt, the Cajuns started the night with a conference best plus-6 turnover differential. However, with Broadway starting in just his third game, the sophomore was responsible for all five of Lafayette’s turnovers. He threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles which kept the game from being even close to competitive. Senior defensive back Tausean Holmes had the first interception in the first two minutes of the second quarter. It set up Aplin’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Julian Jones. The other two interceptions came courtesy of Chaz Scales in the third quarter and Chris Stone in the fourth. Nathan Herrold and Tim Starson recovered Broadway’s two forced fumbles.

AUTOMATIC DAVIS
For the first time all season, there wasn’t a glaring special teams mishap to make the Red Wolves cringe. Arkansas State punted just three times for an average of 44.3 yards and Brian Davis could not miss the uprights. The junior kicker made all five of his attempts, hitting from 29, 21, 45, 22 and 47 yards. Davis’ five field goals, including the career-long 47-yarder, gave him both the third most in a single game in ASU history and the third most in the country this season.

BREAKING THE HABIT
Tuesday night was just another example of ASU continuing to distance itself from its history of disappointment, a process that started last year under Hugh Freeze. The victory was the school's first in Lafayette since 1992, snapping a seven-game losing streak. The Red Wolves have now won 11 of their last 12 conference games and are on a six-game road win streak.

SPEAKING OUT
"I'm very proud of our team. Coming here, we hadn't had much success in quite a few years.  I'm very proud of our team defensively, offensively, and the special teams in it all came together tonight." 
— ASU Coach Gus Malzahn

UP NEXT
Arkansas State will look to become bowl eligible for the second straight year as it stays on the road to play North Texas (3-4, 2-1) in Denton, Texas. The Mean Green will be coming off their game with Middle Tennessee this Saturday. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. on Nov. 3 at Mean Green Stadium.