Arkansas State at Memphis By the Numbers

Arkansas State at Memphis – Rivals Meet Again

ON TAP: Arkansas State plays at Memphis on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the first of three consecutive non-conference games for the Red Wolves.  The contest will be televised on ESPN3, and every A-State game can be heard live on 107.9 FM in the Jonesboro area as part of the EAB Red Wolves Sports Radio Network.  The live radio broadcast can be accessed through the A-State athletics Web site (AStateRedWolves.com).

THE PRINCIPALS:  A-State will carry a 2-1 overall record into Saturday’s game after knocking off Sun Belt Conference foe Troy 41-34 last Thursday (Sept. 12).  The Red Wolves are 1-1 in non-conference games, defeating UAPB in their season opener before falling at Auburn the next week.  This week’s game will pit the Red Wolves against the opponent they’ve played more than any other in school history — the Memphis Tigers.  A-State has played 57 games against Memphis, which brings an 0-2 record into the game.  While Memphis was either tied or led in the fourth quarter each of its first two games, it fell 28-14 at home against Duke and 17-15 on the road at Middle Tennessee.

BY THE NUMBERS . . .

• 1 of just 16 FBS programs to win at least 20 games over the last two years (2011 & 2012).
• 1 receiving touchdown needed by both Allen Muse & Julian Jones to tie the 8th most (9) in school history.
• 1 field goal needed by Brian Davis to tie the fifth most in Sun Belt Conference history (45).
• 2 rushing touchdowns needed by David Oku to tie the seventh most (22) in school history.
• 3 ASU was picked to finish 3rd in the preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll with 45 pts. and 2 first-place votes.
• 4 turnovers gained against Troy were the most by A-State over a span of seven games.
• 4 players with 100 yards rushing vs. UAPB, making A-State just the 7th FBS team to accomplish the feat.
• 5 consecutive victories at Liberty Bank Stadium.
• 5 of the last eight seasons have seen A-State achieve bowl eligibility.
• 5 players named to one of college football’s major award watch lists.
• 7 preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections, the most in the league.
• 8 players (Albright, Carrethers, Haunga, Kennedy, McCants, Muse, Oliver, Williams) already with their degree.
• 8 game Sun Belt Conference winning streak held by A-State.
• 8 consecutive winning seasons at Liberty Bank Stadium.
• 9.7 tackles for loss per game by A-State, the second highest average in the NCAA.
• 10 win seasons in 2011 & 2012, making ASU the first team in SBC history w/ back-to-back 10-win campaigns.
• 10 Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Awards over the last 11 years.
• 12 tackles, tying the most by an A-State player this year, recorded by jr. LB Qushaun Lee against Troy.
• 13 votes in the final 2012 USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, ranking A-State No. 32 in the nation.
• 15 players named to the most recent Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List (3.5 GPA or higher).
• 16 Sun Belt Conference victories over its last 17 league games.
• 17 statistical categories in which A-State ranks among the top 50 teams in the nation after two games.
• 18 A-State players named to at least one preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team.
• 21 A-State wins over its last 27 regular-season games dating back to 2011.
• 23 All-Sun Belt Conference selections over the last two years combined.
• 27 players named to the most recent Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or higher).
• 28 votes in the final 2012 Associated Press Top 25 poll, ranking A-State No. 32 in the nation.
• 30 or more points scored by A-State in 20 of its last 26 games.
• 39 points needed by Brian Davis to break the Sun Belt record for career points by kicking (295).
• 50 percent of A-State’s scoring drives this season have taken less than two minutes (9 drives).
• 91 yd rush by Michael Gordon vs UAPB matched the 2nd longest in ASU history.
• 158 receiving yards by Allen Muse against Troy were the sixth most in the nation last week.
• 295.7 rushing yards per game by A-State ranks ninth in the nation.
• 300 yards or more of total offense recorded by ASU in 38 of its last 41 games.
• 400 or more yards total offense by A-State in each of its first three games.
• 544.3 yards of total offense per game by A-State ranks as the 15th highest in the nation.
• 26.7 million-dollar football facility project in Liberty Bank Stadium’s north end zone announced.

HEAD COACH BRYAN HARSIN: Bryan Harsin was named the Red Wolves’ 29th head football coach on Dec. 12, 2012.  Harsin is a 13-year coaching veteran at the NCAA FBS level who has coached in 10 bowl games as either an assistant or offensive coordinator.  Harsin, a finalist for the 2009 Broyles Award recognizing the top assistant coach in the country, has been associated with two nationally-prominent programs during his rise to A-State’s head coach.  Working closely with Chris Petersen at Boise State and Mack Brown at Texas, two of the most well-respected coaches in the country, Harsin spent the last seven seasons as an offensive coordinator with the Broncos and Longhorns.

HIGH MARKS:  Arkansas State head football coach Bryan Harsin was ranked as the sixth best hire in the nation among 26 new coaches at the time, according to CBSSports.com.  The article written by Dennis Dodd said the following when referring to A-State’s 29th head coach:  “We’re talking a Sun Belt program that has changed its AD (once) and coaches (twice) over the last two years. Somehow the Red Wolves went from national championship game offensive coordinator (Malzahn) to Fiesta Bowl-winning offensive coordinator with a stop in Texas (Bryan Harsin). Not too shabby.”

STARTING STRONG:  With the Red Wolves victory over UAPB, Bryan Harsin became the Red Wolves first head coach to win his inaugural game at the school since Larry Lacewell in 1979.  ASU’s previous seven head coaches all suffered setbacks in their first game, including Al Kincaid, Ray Perkins, John Bobo, Joe Hollis, Steve Roberts, Hugh Freeze and Gus Malzahn.  With a victory Saturday, Harsin can also become A-State’s first head coach since Bill Adams in 1939 to begin his inaugural season with the school by winning three of his first four games.

YOUNGEST FBS HEAD COACHES:  At 36 years of age, Arkansas State head coach Bryan Harsin is the fourth youngest head coach in the nation.  Western Michigan’s P.J. Fleck is the youngest at 32 years old with a Nov. 29, 1980 date of birth.

• Coach   Age (DOB)
• P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan, 32 (11-29-80)
• Matt Campbell, Toledo, 33 (11-29-79)
• Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech, 34 (8-9-79)
• Bryan Harsin, Arkansas State, 36 (11-1-76)
• Willie Taggart, USF, 37 (8-27-76)
• Justin Fuente, Memphis, 37 (7-30-76)
• Lane Kiffin, USC, 38 (5-9-75)
• Matt Rhule, Temple, 38 (1-31-75)
• Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern, 38 (12-2-74)
• Garrick McGee, UAB, 40 (4-6-73)
• Matt Wells, Utah State, 40 (8-10-73)

THE ARKANSAS STATE – MEMPHIS SERIES:  Arkansas State has played Memphis more than any other opponent in school history, and Saturday’s game will mark the 58th meeting all-time between the two schools since 1914. Memphis leads the all-time series 28-23-5, but ASU won in Jonesboro in 2011 and 2012 by 47-3 and 33-28 scores, respectively.  A-State has won four of the last five meetings. While the Red Wolves’ 2011 game against Memphis concluded a four-year home-and-home series, this year’s game will wrap up a two-year home-and-home series.

A-STATE vs. THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE:  A-State holds an all-time record of 25-33-5 against current members of the American Athletic Conference.  A-State holds victories over current AAC members Cincinnati (1), Memphis (23) and SMU (1).  The Red Wolves have played five members of the league, including UCF (0-1), Cincinnati (1-1), Louisville (0-2), Memphis (23-28-5) and SMU (1-1).

99th SEASON UNDER WAY:  Arkansas State kicked off its 99th season of football Aug. 31, 2013, vs. UAPB.  A-State now holds a 428-458-37 record since its inaugural 1911 season and has played in nine bowl games.  ASU did not field a football team from 1942-44 due to World War II.  Arkansas State also didn’t have a team in 1918 as World War I was ending.

AN A-STATE VICTORY WOULD . . .:  Make A-State 3-1 or better through four games for the first time since 2008 . . . Give the Red Wolves at least two non-conference victories for the third consecutive year . . . Make Bryan Harsin the first head coach since Bill Adams in 1939 to begin his inaugural season at the school by winning three of his first four games . . . Give the Red Wolves their second victory over a team from a BCS automatic qualify conference (def. Texas A&M, 18-14, in 2008) since joining the FBS in 1992.

TENNESSEE RED WOLVES:  Arkansas State has 10 players on its roster from the state of Tennessee, including six players listed on its depth chart.  A-State players from Tennessee include:

• Darius Buckley:  Memphis, Tenn. (Lambuth)
• Jason Card:  Memphis, Tenn. (Ridgeway)
• Ryan Carrethers:  Nashville, Tenn. (Brentwood Academy)
• Brian Davis:  Brentwood, Tenn. (Brentwood)
• Julian Jones:  Germantown, Tenn. (Germantown)
• Markel Owens:  Jackson, Tenn. (Liberty Tech)
• Sirgregory Thornton:  Memphis, Tenn. (Germantown)
• TeDarius Turner:  Memphis, Tenn. (Cordova)
• Trent Waters:  Knoxville, Tenn. (Bearden)
• Johnston White:  Covington, Tenn. (Covington)

WEEKLY HONORS:  Arkansas State had four players named a national Honorable Mention Player of the Week at their respective positions by the College Football Performance Awards after the Troy game.  Those players included sr. DL Amos Draper, soph. RB Michael Gordon, soph. TE Darion Griswold and sr. WR Allen Muse.  Gordon was also recognized by College Sports Madness as its Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week.

TURNOVER TIDAL WAVE:  The Red Wolves entered their last game against Troy with one forced turnover with a fumble recovery against Auburn, but gained four turnovers against Troy for their most since Oct. 23, 2012, against Louisiana-Lafayette — a span of seven games.  The Red Wolves went from a -2 turnover differential to a +2 over the course of one game, moving them from tied for fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in turnover margin to third.  A-State also now ranks 40th in the nation in turnover margin.

THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY:  Arkansas State has been one of the most successful teams in the nation this season converting third downs, ranking 17th in the country with a .553 percentage.  The Red Wolves converted 9-of-12 attempts vs. UAPB, 8-of-18 vs. Auburn and 9-of-17 vs. Troy.

HITTING TWO-HUNDRED:  Arkansas State has rushed for at least 200 yards in two of its first three games this season and in six of its last eight regular-season games dating back to last season.  The Red Wolves have won eight consecutive games when rushing for 200 yards or more, a streak that also dates back to 2011.

PICKING IT OFF:  A-State recorded its first three interceptions of the season last game against Troy, and all three were the first ever recorded by sr. DL Amos Draper, soph. CB Rocky Hayes and jr. DB Frankie Jackson.  Hayes and Jackson both made the move from the offensive side of the ball to defense during the spring.

300-PLUS: Dating back to the 2010 season, Arkansas State has posted at least 300 yards of total offense 38 of its last 41 games.  A-State finished the 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl with 285 yards, snapping a streak of nine consecutive games with over 300 yards total offense.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD:  Including a 62-point outburst in its season opener and 41 points scored against Troy, A-State has now posted at least 30 points in 20 of its last 26 regular-season games dating back to the 2011 season. The Red Wolves’ 10 games with at least 30 points last year were their most since 1951 when it hit the total 10 times as well.

PLAYING IN THE BACKFIELD:  The Arkansas State defense recorded 15 tackles for loss in its season opener, five more against Auburn and nine versus Troy.  The 15 tackles for loss vs. UAPB were the Red Wolves most ever since joining the Sun Belt Conference.  A-State is ranked second in the nation in tackles for loss.

DOUBLE-FIGURE STOPS:  Junior LB Qushaun Lee recorded a season-high 12 tackles last game against Troy, which tied soph. S Chris Humes for the most by an A-State player this year.  While Lee recorded a double-figure tackles total for the first time this season, he posted 10 or more stops in a game for the fourth time of his career.  Lee is currently ranked tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference in tackles with 8.7 per game.

ON THE RISE:  Senior WR Julian Jones has posted a season-high receptions total each of the last two games, ending the Auburn game with seven and the Troy game with eight.  He also had two against UAPB to give him 17 for the season, which matches his career total entering the 2013 season.  Jones is ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in receptions with 5.7 per game.

POWER PUNT:  While Arkansas State didn’t have a punt cover more than 58 yards all of last season, sophomore Luke Ferguson has already had two travel more than 60 yards over his first six attempts of the season.  He had a 60-yard punt versus Auburn and a career-best 63 yard punt last game against Troy.  Ferguson is ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference with a 47.5 average per attempt.

A FLARE FOR THE DRAMATIC:  Sophomore RB Michael Gordon is responsible for two of the three longest runs by A-State this year, including a 92-yard outburst against UAPB that was the second longest in school history.  Gordon posted a 64-yard touchdown run against Troy as well, and he is averaging 13.1 yards per attempt (16).  Gordon has two 100-yard rushing games, including a 102-yard showing against UAPB and a 115-yard effort versus Troy.

MUSE STANDS OUT:  Senior WR Allen Muse finished the Troy game with a career-high 158 receiving yards, which were the sixth most in the nation last week.  He collected his third career 100-yard receiving game, but his first since the 2010 season.  Muse’s 158 yards also tied the 12th most in school history for a single game.  Additionally, he posted his eighth career touchdown reception to tie the 10th most in school history.

KENNEDY RECORDS NEW HIGHS:  One game after senior QB Adam Kennedy set new season highs for passing attempts (41), completions (29), passing yards (272), rushing yards (74) and total offense (346 yards) against Auburn, he came back to post a season-best 282 passing yards against Troy.  He also completed a season-long 55 yard pass in the game against the Trojans, giving him at least one pass covering 40 or more yards in each of A-State’s first three outings.  His 29 completions against Auburn tied the fifth most in school history for a single game.

WELL ROUNDED:  Senior RB David Oku has gone over 100 yards combined rushing and receiving in a game twice this season and nine times during his career at A-State.

FINDING THE END ZONE:  Senior running back David Oku, who posted 16 rushing touchdowns last season to tie the third most in school history, recorded two rushing touchdowns against both UAPB and Troy this season.  Oku has now recorded at least one rushing touchdown in 12 of his 16 games played at Arkansas State.

UNBUCKLE THE BELT:  The Red Wolves opened Sun Belt Conference play in their third game of the season, the earliest since 2010 when they played their second game against a league opponent.  A-State improved to 8-5 all-time in Sun Belt Conference openers with its 41-34 victory over Troy.  The Red Wolves’ victory was their first in an SBC opener since 2011.

STOP THE BLEEDING:  While Arkansas State suffered a 38-9 setback at Auburn to snap a nine-game winning streak, it got back in the win column last Thursday (Sept. 12) with a 41-34 victory over Troy.  With the win, A-State still has not dropped back-to-back games in the same season since falling in the last two games of the 2010 campaign.

MIDWEEK MONSTERS:  Historically, A-State has performed well in midweek games since joining the Sun Belt Conference.  Since the 2001 campaign, the Red Wolves hold an 11-3 record in all midweek games after their win over Troy.  ASU has now won its last six midweek games.  The Red Wolves play two midweek games this season, including a Tuesday (Oct. 22) contest against Louisiana-Lafayette in addition to their game against Troy.

HOME SWEET HOME:  With a 5-1 home mark last season, Arkansas State secured its eighth consecutive winning record at Liberty Bank Stadium dating back to 2005.  ASU is now 38-8 at Liberty Bank Stadium since the 2005 season and has won 13 of its last 14 home games.  The Red Wolves actual on-field record all-time at Liberty Bank Stadium is 130-71-1 since it opened in 1974. ASU’s six home wins in 2011 were its most since 1985.

DAVIS HONORED:  Senior kicker Brian Davis was named a national College Football Performance Awards Placekicker of the Week following the Auburn game.  Davis posted a season-high three field goals, giving him 44 for his career that leaves him one shy of tying the fifth most in Sun Belt Conference history.  Davis was a perfect 3-of-3 on his attempts that covered 34, 21 and 42 yards.  Dating back to last season, Davis has now made his last six consecutive field goals to leave him only one short of tying the sixth longest streak in school history.  Including Auburn, Davis now has 12 career games with multiple field goals made.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH:  Arkansas State has 25 underclassmen (sophomores or freshmen) listed on its 2-deep.  The list includes 13 sophomores, six redshirt freshmen and six true freshmen.  Among the underclassmen, six are listed as starters on the offensive or defensive side of the ball.  A-State’s 25 underclassmen on its two-deep was tied for the 14th most in the nation with Colorado and Illinois according to the 2013 initial depth charts.  Virginia listed 34 players on its opening-day two-deep for the most among all teams.

IN THE POLLS:  Arkansas State ended the 2012 season receiving votes in the final major polls, including 28 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and 13 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll.  Both totals placed the Red Wolves 32nd in the nation. The Red Wolves were also among “others receiving votes” in the 2013 preseason and week two USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll.

NCAA RECORD:  A-State became the seventh FBS team in NCAA history to have four players (David Oku, Fredi Knighten, Michael Gordon, Sirgregory Thornton vs. UAPB) rush for over 100 yards in the same game.  The other teams include Arizona (1951), Texas (1969), Alabama (1973), Army (1984), Nebraska (2001) and Nevada (2009).

Courtesy Arkansas State University