INSIDE SLANT

The changes made in the starting lineup didn’t pay off with a victory for Arkansas State on its trip to Florida Atlantic, but coach Steve Roberts wasn’t all that unhappy with the play of the new starters.

“I thought they played hard, that they competed,” Roberts said. “Obviously, the impact, or the result, wasn’t what we wanted. We’re still examining things as we move through practice this week to try to give us the best opportunity to win and move this program forward.”

The most notable change was at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Ryan Aplin took over for senior Corey Leonard. Among other new faces in the lineup were sophomore Derek Lawson at tailback, freshman Allen Muse at receiver, redshirt freshman Nathan Herrold at middle linebacker, and sophomore Jeremy Gibson at defensive end.

J.T. Jordan, who was injured and missed the first half of the season, also got his first start of the year.

Could more changes be in the making when the Red Wolves go to Middle Tennessee for their next outing? Roberts said only that he and his staff are “evaluating everything, making sure we’re putting kids on the field who want to compete and deserve the opportunity to play.”

The Red Wolves, who fell to 2-7 with the loss to the Owls, have three games remaining in the season, starting with the Blue Raiders.

The Wolves are back home on Nov. 28 to take on North Texas and finish the next week at Western Kentucky.

NOTES, QUOTES

• WR Bandon Thompkins needs six more catches and 81 more yards receiving to tie his season highs. He has 35 receptions for 430 yards with three games remaining. His previous highs were 41 catches as a sophomore in 2007 and 511 receiving yards as a freshman in 2006.

• PK Josh Arauco is 15 points shy of setting a Sun Belt record for scoring by kicking. Arauco has scored 270 points on field goals and PATs. Troy’s Greg Whibbs is the record-holder with 284 points (2004-07).

Series History:   Middle Tennessee leads series 8-2 (last meeting, 2008, Arkansas State, 31-14).

Scouting The Offense:   ASU ranks near the bottom of the league in total offense, producing only 332.8 yards a game. RB Reggie Arnold, a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his previous three years, is well off the pace to get there a fourth season with only 510 yards through nine games. Redshirt freshman QB Ryan Aplin started in place of senior Corey Leonard in the last game and likely played well enough (20-of-27 passing for 168 yards and a touchdown) to earn him a second start.

Scouting The Defense:   The Red Wolves lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense, allowing only 21.7 points a game, and in total defense. They are allowing 351.9 yards a game, but their schedule has included road games against Nebraska and Iowa. They have only five interceptions, however, and only 11 sacks.

Quote To Note:   “We’re struggling on both sides of the football right now. I’m proud of the way we have played when you take the year as a whole, but we have to get better these last three weeks.”—Coach Steve Roberts, on the state of the season now.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: Arkansas State at Middle Tennessee, Nov. 21—A win could kick-start the Red Wolves to finish up a disappointing year on a higher note. But Middle Tennessee sits where the Wolves were expected to be this year—with a share of second place in the Sun Belt standings.

Keys To The Game:   The Red Wolves need to finish drives after having to settle for field goals on four of their five trips inside the Red Zone in the loss at Florida Atlantic. The defense needs to contain one of the league’s top combination rusher-passers in Dwight Dasher, who is the league’s top rushing quarterback (79.2 yards a game) and the No. 2 passer (224.8).

Players To Watch:  

WR Brandon Thompkins is not only ASU’s top receiver (35 catches, 430 yards), he also gives the Wolves a threat in the return game. He is averaging 21.6 yards on 28 kickoff returns.

LB Demario Davis leads the Wolves in tackles with 60 stops and in sacks with three. That puts him in 12th place among Sun Belt sack leaders.

SS Kelcie McCray is fourth in the conference in interceptions with three.

Roster Report:  

• TE J.T. Jordan (undisclosed) made his first start of the season in the game against Florida Atlantic after missing the first half of the year.