Arkansas State Red Wolves

Offense Falls Short in Season Finale

Game Report Posted: November 15, 2014 02:13  

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Arkansas State offense has been less than spectacular for most of 2013, but it was hard to not lend blame to that side of the Red Wolves' ball Saturday at Western Kentucky.

Despite the ASU defense holding WKU to just 205 total yards, a 2-for-9 performance on 3rd down and collecting eight sacks on the day, the offense still only managed to score two touchdowns and had the clock run out on it inside the 5-yard line, as Arkansas State fell in its regular season finale, 16-15, at L.T. Stadium.

The Red Wolves' defense forced five punts Saturday, but the offense also left itself with punting situations on five occasions. Twice in the first half alone the ASU offense responded to the defense forcing WKU to punt with a 3-and-out of its own.

They did it again in the third quarter after the defense held the fresh lead that the offense had just grabbed, failing to capitalize on an opportunity to grow the lead.

That would prove to be costly, as Western Kentucky finally got into the endzone to take a one-point, 16-15 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Arkansas State offense answered the way it had all game long -- with its fifth 3-and-out of the afternoon.

The defense made one final stand and gave the offense the ball back trailing by just one points with 1:56 left on the clock and all 3 timeouts.

Senior QB Phillip Butterfield aired a 3rd-down 40-yard pass to get the ball across the 50, then converted a 4th-down 33-yard pass to Julian Jones to put the Red Wolves inside the 10-yard line with 1:19 left.

But Arkansas State couldn't seal the deal on its ninth win of the regular season, instead taking a 10-yard penalty on first down to push themselves out of the red zone, then with no timeouts left, watching the time run out as Butterfield threw a 15-yard pass and David Oku rushed for 4 yards and 6 yards (I dont see how the math works that that didn't score, but wtvr).

Six different players recorded sacks for the Red Wolves, Chris Stone and ROLB Qushaun Lee with two each.

The Red Wolves now await their Bowl Game fate as they finish the regular season 8-4, 5-2 Sun Belt. WKU finishes 7-5, 4-3 Sun Belt.

Butterfield Leads Red Wolves Past Texas State

November 16, 2013

Game Report Posted: November 02, 2014 07:58  

JONESBORO, Ark. -- He may not have started it, but he certainly finished it.

Arkansas State senior quarterback Phillip Butterfield, relegated to the bench for most of this season, entered Saturday's game in the second quarter and led the Red Wolves to points on four of five possessions, helping ASU hold off Texas State for a 27-21 win at home.

Starting sophomore quarterback Fred Knighten led Arkansas State (7-3, 4-1 Sun Belt) to a touchdown on the game's opening possession to give the Red Wolves an early 7-0 lead but went ice cold after that, failing to lead the offense to points on three straight drives carrying into the second quarter, forcing the change under center.

With the exact same amount of pass attempts (13) as Knighten, Butterfield threw for five completions, 101 more yards and one more TD than his counterpart. The veteran finished the game 10-for-13 for 169 yards and two touchdowns, all but ensuring he'll get the starting nod in the regular season's second-to-last game and his career home finale on Senior Night versus Georgia State.

The defense struggled once again against a no-huddle offense and mobile quarterback. The Bobcats didn't blow out or light up the Red Wolves, but the combination of no-huddle and quarterback mobility has hampered ASU and Mark Rivera-coached teams for years, and it has continued this season.

The win also officially made the Red Wolves bowl eligible with their seventh win, considering one win this season was against an FCS team.

ASU Defense Beats Browning, ULM in the Rain

November 9, 2013

Game Report Posted: October 19, 2014 09:02  

MONROE, La. -- Browning just kept passing, and while his aerial attack and superior scrambling ability usually causes problems for opponents, the Red Wolves defense stifled him and the Warhawks all day long.

And good thing too, because the offense wasn't much help. ASU was outgained offensively by ULM despite the defense holding Browning to under 200 yds passing and the Warhawks to less than 100 rushing yards as a team. ASU was 3-10 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down, and starting QB Fred Knighten went a paltry 10-23 with no TDs and had a fumble