JONESBORO -- It took Arkansas State less than five minutes Saturday to set a tone so strong that the outcome wasn't the question, but rather what it could accomplish along the way.
RELATED ARTICLE
http://www.arkansas…">League officials skip out on celebration
Most of Saturday's 55-17 victory over Texas State ended up being about setting records, milestones and sending off one of the school's best senior classes in style.
The Red Wolves (9-3, 8-0 Sun Belt) did that as well as could be expected in front of 20,143 at Centennial Bank Stadium, where ASU broke single-season school and Sun Belt Conference scoring records, set a league record for interceptions in a season, and finished off an undefeated conference season to win the outright Sun Belt title.
It marked ASU's fourth title in five seasons, and its third outright title over the same span.
It became such a party that Coach Blake Anderson -- who already had been doused twice by players with Powerade -- let cornerback Rocky Hayes play running back, tight end Darion Griswold take a direct snap on a rushing touchdown and receiver J.D. McKissic take snaps at defensive back.
"They had a lot of fun," Anderson said. "They work too hard not to have some fun, and they earned every bit of it. ... We want to win one more, but we're going to enjoy this one for a little bit."
The real part started when the clock hit zero. Fans poured from the stands to crowd a stage set up at midfield while the team put on championship hats and T-shirts to accept the conference championship trophy and players threw beads with a New Orleans Bowl logo on them to those huddled on the field.
Anderson and Athletic Director Terry Mohajir declined to say after the game that the Red Wolves officially will be playing in that bowl, but a source told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that today's announcement will pit ASU against Louisiana Tech in the Dec. 19 game at the Superdome.
ASU will come off a dominating three weeks during which it put an emphatic exclamation mark on its Sun Belt championship.
After a victory at Appalachian State on Nov. 5, Anderson expressed confidence in his team's ability to remain focused over the final month of the season. The Red Wolves responded with victories at Louisiana-Monroe (59-21), at New Mexico State (52-28) and Saturday's blowout over Texas State (3-8, 2-6).
"We didn't let the fact that we were favorites in these games, we didn't play down to that level," defensive end Chris Stone said about the last three games. "So, I'm proud of them for pulling it out."
Saturday's blowout was evident from the start.
Senior Michael Gordon, who rushed for 148 yards to crack 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season, took a run 20 yards on the first play from scrimmage.
That drive ended with Gordon's 3-yard touchdown run and the next one with Fredi Knighten's 32-yard yard pass to Chris Murray for a 14-0 lead. By the time defensive back Money Hunter intercepted a Tyler Jones pass near the goal line and sprinted 99 yards for the longest return in ASU history, the Red Wolves led 20-0 and turned their sights toward setting records.
ASU led 27-7 at halftime and took a 34-7 lead on Knighten's 7-yard pass to McKissic. Then the single-season scoring record fell when Knighten kept on a 7-yard draw. ASU extended its season points total to 492 by the end of the day, breaking the mark it set last year.
Hayes' third-quarter interception of backup Connor White -- who played in place of the benched Jones -- was ASU's 26th of the season, a Sun Belt single-season record. Then Griswold, a high school quarterback, capped the record-setting day when he took a direct snap for a 4-yard touchdown, ASU's 65th of the season that set the school and Sun Belt records.
ASU finished with 535 yards of offense, with 343 coming on the ground. Knighten finished 12 of 16 passing for 192 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown in his final home game.
"Going out a winner, nobody remembers anything else except the fact that you won," Knighten said. "That's the only thing that matters to me. I don't care about the stats. I don't care about anything else."
Sports on 12/06/2015