JONESBORO — Either Arkansas State or Florida Atlantic will get a much-needed victory today.
Arkansas State (2-5, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) hosts Coach Howard Schnellenberger’s Florida Atlantic Owls (1-4, 0-2) at ASU Stadium in a game that both teams want to use to jump-start the second half of their seasons.
“It’s quite obvious that they’re an outstanding football team with a record that doesn’t indicate their capacity,” Schnellenberger said of ASU.
The Red Wolves are favored by eight points. Kickoff is set for noon.
Florida Atlantic started its season with a 32-31 victory over Alabama-Birmingham and was competitive in a 30-17 loss to Michigan State, which is ranked No. 7 in the country.
But losses to North Texas, South Florida and Louisiana-Monroe have followed for the Owls, who had last week off to regroup.
That’s a good thing, Schnellenberger said of the off week, which gave his team extra time to prepare for ASU’s no-huddle Spread offense.
“They do everything on offense,” he said. “If we take all of the games we have prepared for this year and put them in a hot graph, we probably wouldn’t cover all the formations and all the different plays they run so effectively.”
ASU Coach Steve Roberts said he expects field position to be a key factor in a gamethat features a Florida Atlantic defense that ranks second in the Sun Belt allowing 26.6 points per game going against an ASU offense that is second in scoring at 27.7 points per game.
“We have to move the football effectively on offense to have an opportunity to win,” Roberts said. “We have a great plan defensively and need to force them to have to execute their own offense. Then we have to make some plays on special teams to give us field position.”
Fifth-year senior Florida Atlantic quarterback Jeff Van Camp has completed 88 of 139passes for 1,022 yards with 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
“He is capable of making all the throws,” Roberts said of Van Camp, who passed for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns in Florida Atlantic’s 35-18 victory over ASU last year in Boca Raton. “We have to get pressure on Van Camp. But with so much bootleg and moving the pocket its going to be tough to keep him in one spot.”
Florida Atlantic also returns the Sun Belt’s top rusher in 2009, Alfred Morris, who gained 1,392 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Morris has rushed 95 times for 386 yards and 5 touchdowns this season, rushing for more than 100 yards in games at Alabama-Birmingham and Louisiana-Monroe.
“A tremendous athlete,” Roberts said.
Van Camp and Morris are playing behind an offensive line that has yet to start the same five players in any game this year.
“Injuries just haven’t helped them up front,” Roberts said. “The way they have had to fill in the line on offense they have not been able to get on track.”
Scnellenberger praised ASU quarterback Ryan Aplin, the Sun Belt’s player of the week after he accounted for four touchdowns in ASU’s 36-34 loss at Indiana. Aplin completed a school-record 33 passes, passed for 275 yards and added 23 rushing yards to complete the game with 298 yards of total offense.
“He is the spark plug,” Schnellenberger said of the conference’s leading passer.
“I give him a very high grade to this point,” Roberts said of Aplin’s performance after seven games. “He competes every time he takes the field. He does it all, he can run the ball offensively and throw it. There are a few throws he would like back but that’s part of it.”Florida Atlantic at Arkansas State WHERE ASU Stadium, Jonesboro WHEN Noon Central today RECORDS Arkansas State (2-5, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference); Florida Atlantic (1-4, 0-2) COACHES Steve Roberts (43-60 in nine seasons at Arkansas State and 92-93-1 in 17 seasons overall); Howard Schnellenberger (54-59 in 10 seasons at Florida Atlantic, 154-136-3 in 26 seasons overall) SERIES Florida Atlantic leads 3-2 TV Comcast Sports Southeast RADIO KABF-AM, 88.3 in Little Rock; KFIN-FM, 107.9 in northeast Arkansas; KTLO-AM, 1240, in Mountain Home; KWYN-AM, 1400, in Wynne; KRLWAM, 1320, in Walnut Ridge/Pocahontas; KRLW-FM, 106.3, in Walnut Ridge/Pocahontas; KWAK-FM, 105.5, in Stuttgart; KQEW-FM, 102.3, in Fordyce; KOOUFM, 104.7, in Hardy; KAPW-FM, 99.3, in Brinkley/Forrest City; KAFN-FM, 102.5, in Gould/Monticello INTERNET astateredwolves.com
Sports, Pages 26 on 10/23/2010