Tuesday night lights fire in Wolves, Cajuns

Arkansas State quarterback Fredi Knighten said the Red Wolves are fired up to take on Louisiana-Lafayette today in Jonesboro. “You know they’re competitive, just like us,” Knighten said. “They come out and they expect to win.”
Arkansas State quarterback Fredi Knighten said the Red Wolves are fired up to take on Louisiana-Lafayette today in Jonesboro. “You know they’re competitive, just like us,” Knighten said. “They come out and they expect to win.”

JONESBORO -- When Arkansas State's current class of 13 fourth- and fifth-year seniors arrived on campus, none of them pointed to a game against Louisiana-Lafayette as meaning all that much.

"It was just another Sun Belt team that we played," said defensive end Chris Stone, who signed with ASU in 2011 and redshirted that fall.

Tonight’s game

ARKANSAS STATE

VS. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE

WHEN 7 p.m. today

WHERE Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro

RECORDS Arkansas State 3-3, 2-0 Sun Belt; Louisiana-Lafayette 2-3, 1-0

COACHES Blake Anderson (9-9 in second season at ASU and overall); Mark Hudsepth (38-19 in fifth season at Louisiana-Lafayette; 104-40 in 11th season overall)

SERIES Louisiana-Lafayette leads 23-18-1

TV ESPN2

RADIO KASR-FM, 92.7, in Little Rock/Conway; KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro

INTERNET ESPN3.com

That won't be the case today when Stone and his fellow senior classmates at ASU (3-3, 2-0) play the Ragin' Cajuns (2-3, 1-0) for the final time in their collegiate careers today at Centennial Bank Stadium.

"It's always the most fun conference game we play every year," senior cornerback Rocky Hayes said. "It's just an emotional game. It's a rivalry game and we treat it that way."

It's become so contentious that it has been chosen for a midweek primetime telecast on ESPN2 for the fifth consecutive season, one of seven such games involving Sun Belt teams this year.

"It's become a rivalry out of respect," said ASU Coach Blake Anderson, who lost 55-40 in his first meeting with the Ragin' Cajuns last year. "Both of us are in the conference race ever year. There have been great games, physical games every year. Not everybody has those. We're fortunate to have one, and I'm glad we've got it at home."

How did a ho-hum, middle-of-the-season conference series elevate in stature?

Realignment played a role. When an exodus in 2013-2014 saw five programs, including original members North Texas and Middle Tennessee, leave for Conference-USA, ASU, Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe were left as the only original members of the league formed in 2001.

Louisiana-Monroe has struggled to maintain consistency since a breakout 2012 season. ASU has catapulted with a string of offensive-minded head coaches while Louisiana-Lafayette has thrived in five seasons under Coach Mark Hudspeth, who arrived in 2011 to become the most accomplished programs in the league.

Both programs have gone to four consecutive bowl games and have more conference victories -- ASU has 27, and Louisiana-Lafayette 26 -- and more first-team all-Sun Belt picks -- 20 for ASU, 19 for Louisiana-Lafayette -- than any other Sun Belt team since 2011.

So today's game means as much as any other on both team's schedule, especially considering either team plays Georgia Southern, last year's champion which is 11-0 since joining the Sun Belt.

When ESPN2 cameras flip on tonight, on the field will be last year's Player of the Year in Ragin' Cajuns running back Elijah McGuire and last year's first-team All-Sun Belt quarterback in the Red Wolves' Fredi Knighten.

"You know they're competitive, just like us," Knighten said. "They come out and they expect to win. That's a different type of mentality when you're playing a team that expects to win. They're going to give you a good fight."

The recent run has made the game matter in the conference standings, and how ASU has lost the last two games is what makes it important for its seniors.

The Red Wolves used victories in 2011 and 2012 to springboard them to outright Sun Belt titles, and losses in 2013 and 2014 ruined bids for other trophies.

Stone pointed to the loss in 2013 as what turned this into a rivalry for him. ASU was held to 79 yards rushing and gave up 265 rushing yards in that game, a 23-7 loss in Jonesboro that helped make it so the teams split the conference title at the end of the season.

Then there was last year, when both teams entered the game at Cajun Field with unbeaten league records, before the Ragin' Cajuns rushed for 419 yards in a 55-40 victory. There were 16 penalties in that game, 8 for unsportsmanlike conduct, and 5 players from both teams and a Ragin' Cajuns assistant coach was reprimanded by the conference office for conduct.

Anderson said that the game could get "chippy" but said "it's our job to control it."

Players expect nothing less tonight in a game that, once again, means quite a bit.

"It's going to be physical, it always is with those guys," Hayes said. "We're after a conference championship and they're in the way. We've got to knock them off the board and they're up next."

Sports on 10/20/2015

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