Red Wolves, Bobcats seek complete game
Butch Jones and Jake Spavital are still looking for their respective football teams to play a complete game this fall.
One more opportunity remains for both football teams.
Arkansas State and Texas State will close out the season when they meet Saturday afternoon at Centennial Bank Stadium.
Both teams are coming off road losses to two of the Sun Belt Conference’s four bowl-eligible teams as ASU fell 28-20 at Georgia State and Texas State tumbled 35-21 at Coastal Carolina.
Jones, who is finishing his first season as ASU’s head coach, saw progress defensively, but the Red Wolves (2-9, 1-6 Sun Belt) continued to struggle offensively with negative plays that put them in long-yardage situations.
ASU’s defensive numbers have improved over the last month. After a six-game stretch where the Red Wolves allowed 47.8 points and 618.7 yards per game, they have limited opponents to 32.8 points and 422 yards per game over the last four games.
Offensively, the Red Wolves are averaging just 72.3 rushing yards per game after finishing with minus-3 against Georgia State. The Red Wolves have allowed 43 sacks and 91 tackles for loss according to NCAA statistics, numbers that rank among the bottom five in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Georgia State finished with six sacks and 15 tackles for loss, contributing to ASU finishing 5of-19 on third and fourth down combined.
Texas State (3-8, 2-5 Sun Belt) was tied at 21 with Coastal Carolina late in the third quarter before the Chanticleers pulled away on a couple of Grayson McCall touchdown passes.
Spavital is 8-27 in his third season as head coach at Texas State, which hasn’t won more than three games in a season since 2014. He was proud of the way his team fought on the Chanticleers’ senior day.
Texas State played turnoverfree football and had only one penalty last weekend.
The Bobcats ran for 188 yards against the Chanticleers and finished with 301 total yards. Their most recent victory was a 27-19 decision against LouisianaMonroe on Nov. 6, a game in which running back Jahmyl Jeter ran for 95 yards and three touchdowns.
Finishing with a victory would be big for Texas State, Spavital said.
Jones described this as the last opportunity for everyone in his program to put their football identity on video, not only Saturday but through the week.
Freshmen such as offensive lineman Makilan Thomas, who saw extended playing time at guard against Georgia State, and wide receiver Omari Walker, who had his first career reception last week, figure to see more action.