JONESBORO -- Having played seven games in the last seven weeks doesn't make Arkansas State an exception. 59 of 131 teams at the FBS level have not yet had an open date in their schedule.
But 21 of those 59 will get a respite this week. Thirty more will be off next week.
Come Week 10, eight teams, one of them being ASU, will have played at least nine straight weeks.
Coach Butch Jones isn't bemoaning the circumstances. Much of it is simply schedule luck -- not only have the Red Wolves played every week thus far, but all 12 of their games this season will be played on Saturdays, something that hasn't happened for ASU since 2008.
The Red Wolves' extended run of games has been a topic of conversation for Jones each of the past two weeks.
"What we're asking of this football program is absurd," Jones said at ASU's media availability Tuesday. "To have to play nine games straight and the back-to-back road games and two of your biggest trips on the back end. ... It's crazy."
Of the eight teams that won't have a bye until Week 10, four are from the Mid-American Conference, which regularly plays midweek contests, allowing for extended breaks between games.
Another is Brigham Young, which, as an independent, has flexibility in building its own schedule rather than being determined by a conference. The Cougars play 10 games in a row before being off in Week 11.
That leaves the Red Wolves with Virginia and Ole Miss.
Jones mentioned the subject when he was asked about ASU's injuries. That there's a correlation between playing seven straight games and having a team that Jones has repeatedly described as "banged-up" is understandable.
Several key Red Wolves have missed at least one game thus far, including quarterback A.J. Mayer, wide receivers Te'Vailance Hunt and Champ Flemings and defensive end Kivon Bennett.
There are also the unforeseen consequences that Jones outlined Tuesday.
"You lose steam in recruiting," he explained. "Whether you play a midweek game, you're out recruiting for the next two days, or a bye week, you usually take three days. ... When you're this late in the season, you're now close to official visits, so you lose that opportunity."
Jones doesn't necessarily think the NCAA should modify the college football season to have multiple open dates. Rather, he'd prefer that there's a mandatory bye week for each team such that nobody starts the season with more than six straight game weeks.
That's probably something James Blackman could get behind -- the sixth-year quarterback has started all of ASU's games but has taken plenty of punishment.
"This is what I signed up for," Blackman said. "Before you go out there, you know you're going to get banged on a little bit. It's a part of playing football."
Blackman's efficiency
James Blackman's season hasn't been overwhelming from a raw numbers perspective. Unlike last year, when he cracked 300 passing yards twice in six games, the South Bay, Fla., native has not thrown for more than 285 yards in any game this season.
But his completion percentage -- currently at 69.3% -- would be far and away the best of his six-year collegiate career. Blackman's previous best was 64.7% as a sophomore at Florida State in 2018 when he attempted just 51 passes.
Blackman's 25-for-34 outing at Southern Mississippi last weekend marked the fourth time in seven games he's completed at least 73.5% of his passes, and that's on top of throwing only one interception on 215 pass attempts.
"From January to now, my biggest focus was being consistent on and off the field," Blackman said. "My work ethic with my film study, just understanding the offense inside and out. ... Those small things have been helping me get through my reads a lot fast and get the ball where it needs to be."
The yardage numbers are likely at least somewhat a consequence of a leaky offensive line that has limited Blackman's time in the pocket. The Red Wolves have typically been unable to allow plays to develop down the field.
Blackman's average depth of target, per Pro Football Focus, is 8.1 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. That number was at 11.4 yards last season and has been at least 10.0 yards in four of Blackman's previous campaigns.
"Just understanding how to get from my first read to my second read ... is helping me tremendously," Blackman said.
Run stoppers
Through seven games, no team in the nation has improved its run defense more than ASU.
At this point a year ago, the Red Wolves were surrendering an average of 290.6 yards per game on the ground. This fall, it's down to 150.6.
"Guys have a better understanding of how the different pieces on the defense fit together," defensive tackle T.W. Ayers said. "Each man [understands] that if he doesn't do his job, it's going to mess up the guy behind them or the guy next to him."
Conversely, 78 of Southern Miss' 168 rushing yards came in the fourth quarter alone last weekend in Hattiesburg.
Butch Jones has spoken for the need to develop more players in the trenches, and the Golden Eagles' 10 minutes of possession in the quarter had ASU's defense gassed.
There were also plenty of missed tackles, with multiple on Frank Gore Jr.'s 30-yard touchdown run.
"You've got to know where you are out on the field and the down and distance," Ayers added. "When you're the first guy, you can't be focused on the ball. ... We've just got to realize that first and foremost, we've got to get the stop.