Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ASU can’t keep up after costly fumble
SMU 44, ARKANSAS STATE 21
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 by four points over SMU during the second quarter. Instead, it turned into a 14-point swing as the Mustangs (3-1) scored 27 consecutive points in a 44-21 victory at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
Mack, a senior tight end, had caught a pass near the SMU 25 and was on his way to the end zone when a Mustangs cornerback swatted his back foot, causing him to bend backward, then rear forward.
He lost control of the football reaching for the goal line, and it was recovered by SMU in the end zone to protect a 17-14 lead.
SMU scored two touchdowns before halftime — a 35yard run by Ke’Mon Freemon 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’s touchdowns.
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 38.
Redshirt freshman Logan Bonner replaced Hansen in between the SMU touchdowns, and the offense went threeand-out. Bonner finished 6 of 15 for 45 yards and an interception.
Hansen returned with ASU down 37-13 just before the end of the third quarter, but the deficit was insurmountable.
The game previously had been a trade of offensive blows.
By the end of the first quarter, ASU led 14-10 and Hansen was 10 of 14 for 148 yards and two touchdown passes. SMU’s Hicks was 7 of 10 for 110 yards and a 55-yard touchdown pass to Proche, who finished with three catches for 131 yards and two TDs.
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, 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 10:19 left before halftime, it had been the only time the Mustangs had managed to sack him to that point.
The ASU defense surrendered its most yards of the season (580), while SMU’s Hicks led the game in passing with 266 yards on 16-of-32 passing and two touchdowns.