Arkansas State running back Reggie Arnold (No. 2) breaks through the SMU defense for a touchdown during the first quarter of Saturday’s game in Jonesboro, Ark. (Stuart Palley)
There are a lot of questions following the disaster at Arkansas State this weekend, but very few answers.
For the third time this season, SMU’s defense gave up at least 500 yards in a 45-28 loss to the Indians. The Mustangs don’t have much to smile about this year – the supposed breakthrough season is slowly fading away.
Head coach Phil Bennett will address these issues today at his weekly press conference as SMU tries to get things turned around heading into this week’s rivalry game against TCU.
“The bottom line is: We just got it taken to us,” Bennett said after the game Saturday.
The team was non-existent in the first quarter, going down 21-0 by the end of the first 15 minutes. The Mustangs’ offense totaled just 53 yards in a first quarter that saw three Thomas Morstead punts and one turnover, a Justin Willis interception.
The Indians, on the other hand, clicked from the beginning. ASU quarterback Corey Leonard threw for 104 yards and rushed for 50 yards and two touchdowns, in the first quarter alone. “Defensively we’ve got to work to get better,” Bennett said. “We just couldn’t make the plays defensively when we needed to get off the field. When you get behind 21-0 you can’t utilize your game plan.”
The Mustangs turned it around in the second quarter mounting a seven-play, 97-yard touchdown drive that included a 54-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Zack Sledge.
The pass to Sanders was a dump off that he took and crossed sideline-to-sideline to get downfield. Sledge caught his pass in the end zone with defenders on his back. And with the defense forcing a turnover-on-downs and a punt, the Mustangs looked like they had things going their way.
That continued for the rest of the quarter as the defense held strong and the Mustangs went 58 yards in three plays, culminating in a 20-yard touchdown pass to Columbus Givens. The Mustangs had momentum and were within a touchdown going into halftime and seemed to have worked the first quarter out of their system.
That wasn’t the case.
The Indians got the ball to start the half and went the length of the field for a touchdown. The Mustangs lost the momentum they had gained “when we didn’t go down and answer their score,” Bennett said.
However, SMU weren’t calling it quits just yet. At the end of the third quarter, the Mustangs were able to get bring the scoreline deficit to a single touchdown as they capitalized on excellent field position, getting the ball at the ASU 28-yard line.
However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Indians.
The quarter began with an ASU field goal, and the Indians never looked back. Two turnovers, a Willis fumble and another interception led to two touchdowns for Arkansas State as it built its biggest lead of the game, a 24-point advantage.
The Mustangs were able to gain one final offensive attack ending with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Devin Lowery. But the lead was too much and the Mustangs were too late.
“We’ve got to have improvement defensively, had we really been on offensively this would have been a shootout anyway, but we’ve got to get some people healthy and get them lined up in the right place,” Bennett said.
The Mustangs now have the unenviable task of entering Fort Worth against a disappointed TCU team.
“It challenges us without question, it’s going to be two teams who are frustrated at 1-2,” Bennett said.
SMU will look to defend its Iron Skillet win from two years ago. But after the loss to Arkansas State, it looks like a task that might be unobtainable. One thing is for sure: if the Mustangs still want this season to be a success, a lot will have to change between now and next Saturday.
SMU quarterback Justin Willis narrowly avoids a sack by an Arkansas State defender during Saturday’s game in Jonesboro, Ark. (Stuart Palley)
