Jeff Reed: Appalachian State & A-State for the Upper Hand

In recent seasons, October, November and mid-week have been a pretty good formula for Arkansas State football.

Last weekend, Arkansas State ended October with a 48-34 victory over Georgia State. That makes it 15 victories in the Red Wolves’ last 17 games in the 10^th month.

As far as November, and there are 3 of those games on the schedule, the Red Wolves are 13-3 since Hugh Freeze was the head coach (circa 2011).

And there are the midweek numbers. Last season the Red Wolves dropped two in mid-week that were actually part of a 3-game losing streak, but since the glorious Memphis comeback victory in 2007, A-State is 12-3 in midweek contests.

Tonight the Red Wolves (5-3, 4-0) and Appalachian State Mountaineers (7-1, 4-0) play in Boone, N.C. It will be the Red Wolves’ first appearance on a Thursday while the Mountaineers dominated defending Sun Belt champion Georgia Southern two weeks ago.

Since starting 0-2 in Sun Belt play in its inaugural SBC season, Appalachian State has not lost in league play. The streak is at 10 and includes a 37-32 triumph over ASU in Jonesboro that turned into a Red Wolves’ nightmare.

That was part of the series when UL-Lafayette exposed the Red Wolves’ inability to stop an inside running game and the rest of the teams on the scheduled followed suit. App State did not hesitate to join that group.

ASU led 20-6 and allowed 30 straight points, all of them after their best defender, linebacker Xavier Woodson was tossed for targeting. There was also some game mismanagement right before halftime when the Red Wolves could have gotten to the locker room leading by two scores but wound up just by one and that was erased on the first possession of the second half.

Like most games on this level, it is hard to get a good gauge on what these teams really are. If you give Appalachian State the Red Wolves’ schedule, then they are probably 5-3 and if you give A-State the Mountaineers schedule, then there is a good chance it’d probably be 7-1.

One common opponents so far, Georgia State. The Mountain folks drilled them pretty good and A-State did as well, but only after trailing by a touchdown at halftime.

On the weekly league teleconference call a North Carolina writer complained about the schedule, and should an asterisk be put aside the league champion. We are assuming he felt like A-State might win and thus the Red Wolves would have an easier road than App State because they did not have to play Georgia Southern. GaSo won last year by not having to face the Red Wolves or UL-Lafayette.

The league schedule is what it is. All that matters tonight is those two teams have their futures under their control.

And that is all you can ask for.

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Jeff Reed is editor of astatenation.com