MOBILE, Ala. — Buried beneath the double-digit leads of past victories, the unsolved problems of the Arkansas State University football team reached out and tripped the Red Wolves on Saturday night in their first Sun Belt Conference loss of the season against South Alabama.
ASU (5-3, 4-1 Sun Belt) had six turnovers in its 24-19 loss to South Alabama (4-6, 3-3) as the Jaguars built a 10-0 first-quarter lead off two interceptions that were first tipped by ASU receivers.
The Red Wolves nearly overcame their early struggles, but South Alabama linebacker Bull Barge forced a fumble while redshirt junior quarterback Justice Hansen was diving for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown with five minutes left in the game.
South Alabama recovered the fumble for a touchback and later intercepted Hansen a fourth time to end the game.
The touchback was similar to the one in ASU’s 44-21 loss at SMU, when senior tight end Blake Mack lost his grip on the football while reaching for the goal line. The play protected SMU’s 17-14 lead in the second quarter, and the Mustangs scored two consecutive touchdowns just before halftime.
On Saturday, Hansen’s touchback tacked on to a night where ASU lost the turnover ratio 6-to-1.
“You could see a lot frustration,” ASU Coach Blake Anderson said. “We knew we were making uncharacteristic mistakes. We knew we were letting them gain energy.”
“Nobody ever panicked,” he added. “Felt like we could make plays when we needed to, and we did make some plays. Just not enough. You put yourself in that position enough times on the road against a team that’s capable, and you’re going to lose.”
ASU had found its way out of mistakes in its previous three victories.
The Red Wolves trailed New Mexico State 14-7 at halftime when ASU accumulated more penalty yards (111) in the first half than it had in any game all season.
In ASU’s 51-17 victory over Coastal Carolina, the Red Wolves only led 17-7 at halftime because a 50-yard run by senior running back Johnston White was called back on an illegal formation penalty.
Redshirt sophomore kicker Sawyer Williams has missed four extra points this season, and he has missed a field goal in each of the last three games.
Williams missed a 32-yard field goal wide right during the third quarter against South Alabama, which turned into crucial points in the end.
“We beat ourselves,” senior defensive end Ja’Von Rolland-Jones said. “There’s a lot of plays that we should have made.”
So, how are the problems eliminated?
“We just need to come out, lock in and focus more,” Rolland-Jones said. “Obviously, we’re not focusing more before the game because we don’t need to come out that flat. We pride ourselves in not coming out flat. We like coming out hot. You have to come out hot, because a team can sneak up on you and beat you.”
The ASU offense started cold against South Alabama, with two interceptions on its first two drives.
Senior wide receiver Dijon Paschal batted a Hansen pass that was high and behind, which was intercepted by a diving South Alabama defender. On the following drive, a pass bounced off junior receiver Kendrick Edwards into the diving hands of another Jaguar.
With three games remaining, the Red Wolves are in a four-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt. They host Texas State on Saturday.
“We just got to look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we did wrong, man,” Rolland-Jones said. “It’s not a life-or-death situation for us. We definitely want to win all of our games. But at the end of the day, we killed ourselves in this game.”
Saturday’s game
ARKANSAS STATE VS.TEXAS STATE
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro RECORDS Arkansas State 5-3, 4-1 Sun Belt; Texas State 2-8, 1-5
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