Quick turnarounds key for ASU

JONESBORO -- Blake Anderson said he understands the big picture benefits of playing midweek games throughout each football season.

His Arkansas State team played one Sun Belt Conference game on Wednesday earlier this season -- a 27-26 victory over Georgia Southern on Oct. 5 -- and over the next few weeks will twice play on Thursday in games moved from Saturday so they can be televised on one of ESPN's networks.

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ARKANSAS STATE VS. LOUISIANA-MONROE

WHEN 6 p.m. Saturday

WHERE Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro

RECORDS Arkansas State 2-4, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference; Louisiana-Monroe 2-5, 1-2

SERIES ASU leads 23-14

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

INTERNET ESPN3.com

"The opportunity to be on national television, and get those eyes on your program is still huge," Anderson said Monday.

But Anderson admitted it disrupts any semblance of normalcy and adds a degree of difficulty to preparation.

This season, the Red Wolves have already played twice on Friday and once on Wednesday. Coming off an off week, the Red Wolves have a home game against Louisiana-Monroe at 6 p.m. on Saturday that will be played under a relatively normal schedule, the following three weeks won't be.

Saturday's game will be just ASU's third in a 35-day period and will start a string of four conference games in a 20-day period. To make things even more difficult, two of those games will be on Thursday after playing the previous Saturday.

After this week, ASU travels to Georgia State on Nov. 3, which will be on ESPNU, and after hosting New Mexico State on Nov. 12, it plays at Troy on Nov. 17, which will also be on ESPNU.

It's part of the deal in the Sun Belt Conference, Anderson knows, but that doesn't make it any easier to navigate as his team concerns itself with staying healthy and quickly moving on to another opponent.

"It's a lot of football in a short period of time," Anderson said. "For us, it's like a playoff -- every game is really important. No luxury of taking any of them lightly, no luxury of looking past anybody."

ASU was able to handle a short week the one time it faced one last year. It beat Georgia State at home before winning at Appalachian State five days later, a game that essentially put it in control of the Sun Belt title race.

"We'll obviously stick to a very similar schedule," he said.

But first comes Saturday's game against Louisiana-Monroe, which lost last week to New Mexico 59-17 under first-year Coach Matt Viator. The Warhawks (2-5, 1-2 Sun Belt) lost starting quarterback Garrett Smith after an Oct. 15 victory over Texas State, and Will Collins, who made his first start last week, left last week with an injury.

Viator has not announced a starter, so Collins and freshman Caleb Evans could both play. Defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen said he's not too concerned with the position as ASU continues preparations.

"We're just preparing for their offense," he said. "We're not preparing for any particular quarterback, because we don't know who we're going to face."

Following a bye week, ASU knows it will get some reinforcements for Saturday's game.

The Red Wolves beat South Alabama on Oct. 15 without left guard Colton Jackson, whose 44-game consecutive starts streak was snapped when he suffered a concussion, and receiver Chris Murray, who had a collarbone injury. Left tackle Jemar Clark also played through an ankle injury.

Anderson said Clark and Murray returned to practice Sunday night after taking the bye week off. Jackson could return today while finishing up a five-day concussion protocol that did not begin until last week. He last practiced Oct. 12.

If Jackson doesn't return, Anderson said freshman Troy Elliott will earn his second start.

"It's great work for Troy. He's going to be a really good player," Anderson said. "But you're going to benefit from having a senior up there as opposed to a true freshman. I think everybody would see that."

Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner said he flipped on the film from Sunday's practice and liked what he saw, given the grueling stretch that awaits ASU. Clark has started 26 games, and while Murray has only seven passes this season, he has averaged 19.1 yards per reception in his two seasons at ASU.

The break even helped players who weren't seriously injured, like quarterback Justice Hansen, who was not in during the final series against South Alabama after suffering a thigh bruise.

"We looked fresh, fast and ready to go down the stretch," Faulkner said. "I think it's a big key any time that you're fixing to play as many games as we're going to over the next six weeks."

Sports on 10/25/2016

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