SMU 44, Arkansas State 21

ASU can't keep up after costly fumble

Arkansas State’s Blake Mack is tackled by SMU safety Rodney Clemons during the first half of Saturday night’s game in Dallas. ASU led 14-10 after one quarter, but SMU took over after that.
Arkansas State’s Blake Mack is tackled by SMU safety Rodney Clemons during the first half of Saturday night’s game in Dallas. ASU led 14-10 after one quarter, but SMU took over after that.

DALLAS -- Teetering like a high-wire artist, Arkansas State University tight end Blake Mack's stumble for balance gave way to disaster when he fumbled at the goal line.

If the play were a touchdown, it would have put ASU up 21-17 over SMU with 8:24 left in the second quarter. Instead, the Mustangs (3-1) continued a streak of what would become 27 consecutive points in a 44-21 victory at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday.

Mack, a senior tight end, had caught a pass near the SMU 25 and was on his way to the end zone when SMU cornerback Jordan Wyatt swatted his back foot, causing him to bend backward, then rear forward.

He lost control of the football while reaching for the goal line, and it was recovered by SMU in the end zone for a touchback to protect a 17-14 lead.

"I knew that I had to make a move, that they would be on my legs," said Mack, who finished with 5 catches for 102 yards and 1 touchdown. "Trying to regain my balance, I kinda lost the little things that we preach. We preach ball security, and just trying to make a play, I lost sight of that."

SMU scored two touchdowns before halftime -- a 35-yard run by Ke'Mon Freeman and a 49-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Ben Hicks to James Proche -- to go up 30-14.

ASU (1-2) starting quarterback Justice Hansen was knocked out for a large portion of the game before SMU extended its lead.

The Red Wolves defense forced a punt after Mack's fumble, but Hansen was sacked on the next possession while attempting a fourth-down pass at the SMU 37. He came up rubbing his lower back with his left hand.

ASU Coach Blake Anderson said after the game that Hansen suffered from back spasms the rest of the night.

"I just took a knee to the back," said Hansen, who tried to enter the game on ASU's next possession.

Anderson held him out.

Redshirt freshman Logan Bonner replaced Hansen in between the SMU touchdowns, and the offense went three-and-out. Bonner finished 6 of 15 for 45 yards and an interception.

Hansen took medication at halftime, of which he did not specify, but it didn't help.

Hansen returned with ASU down 37-13 just before the end of the third quarter, but he rubbed his lower back after each of his final five throws.

The deficit was insurmountable. He was sacked, ASU punted, and Bonner played the rest of the game.

Anderson thought Hansen's injury got worse as the night went on, and his final pass showed he had no power.

"He tried to go back and wanted to continue to play, but I just couldn't put him in harm's way any longer," said Anderson, who said nothing indicated the injury is long term.

The game previously had been an exchange of offensive blows.

By the end of the first quarter, ASU led 14-10 and Hansen was 10 of 14 for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. SMU's Hicks was 7 of 10 for 110 yards and a 55-yard touchdown pass to Proche, who finished with 3 catches for 131 yards and 2 touchowns.

ASU scored its first touchdown on a 32-yard sideline pass from Hansen to Omar Bayless to take a 7-3 lead.

It was the second consecutive reception by Bayless, who caught a jump ball for a 30-yard reception from a scrambling Hansen, who was pummeled by an SMU defender after he released the football. Hansen was flushed out of the pocket several times during the first quarter.

Just before his 19-yard fade pass for a touchdown to Mack, which put ASU up 14-10 with nine seconds left in the first quarter, Hansen had scrambled out of the pocket to complete a 29-yard pass to Christian Booker.

When SMU defensive end Dimarya Mixon sacked Hansen with about five minutes left before halftime, it had been the only time the Mustangs had managed to sack him to that point.

Hicks' first touchdown pass went for 55 yards, which put SMU up 10-7 when Proche got behind ASU cornerback Jeremy Smith on a deep route.

Another swing came just before SMU went up 17-14 at the start of the second quarter.

The ASU defense had forced a fourth and goal at its own 4, but ASU senior cornerback Nehemiah Wagner roughed SMU's kicker on the field-goal attempt -- a personal foul that gave the Mustangs a first down and led to Courtland Sutton's direct-snap touchdown run of 2 yards with 10:19 left in the first half.

"I was frustrated," Anderson said. "I felt like we had just given them a great opportunity. We should be up 28-10 at [the] half. ... It's just undisciplined mistakes. You cannot rough the kicker, and you cannot fumble the ball going in on the 2. It just can't happen."

The ASU defense surrendered its most yards of the season (580), while Hicks led the game in passing with 266 yards on 16-of-32 passing and 2 touchdowns for SMU.

The ASU offense had 427 total yards and lost the turnover battle 2-0.

The Red Wolves will next play Wednesday, Oct. 4, at Georgia Southern at 7 p.m.

"I just told them, our goal, a conference title, is still on the table," Anderson said. "A great bowl game is still on the table. All we did was miss an opportunity in nonconference play to win some games that we were capable of winning but not playing well enough to win yet."

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Arkansas State receiver Chris Murray (14) attempts to haul in a pass while SMU’s Justin Guy-Robinson reaches to knock down the ball Sept. 23 in Dallas.

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SMU’s Elijah McQueen (left) and Rodney Clemons break up a pass intended for Arkansas State’s Christian Booker.

Sports on 09/24/2017

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