Jonesboro, Arkansas – Arkansas State and Tulsa changed leads five times on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 19,316 at Alison Park at Centennial Bank Stadium. The final lead took place with 3:30 remaining in the third period on WR Corey Rucker’s five-yard reception from Jaylen Raynor. The play capped a 79-yard scoring drive by the ASU Red Wolves. Both defenses stiffened throughout the balance of the contest. A Hurricane blunder hindered a last-minute comeback by the Visitors. The Red Wolves held TU to only 14 yards for the balance of the game. The Golden Hurricane allowed 86, but 44 by ASU resulted in a missed field goal.
With 1:48 left, Tulsa looked to force a punt when they halted the Red Wolves for a loss on third and six on their 35. However, Golden Hurricane LB Gavin Potter negated an ASU punt when called for a flagrant and poorly-timed unnecessary roughness penalty. It extended the Red Wolves possession. With no time-outs left for Tulsa, Arkansas State ran the clock to seal their second victory of the season for a 2-0 start.
Red Wolves and Golden Hurricane engage in see-saw battle
Arkansas State overcame Tulsa’s early three-point lead with a 35-yard pass from Raynor (21 of 32 passes, 255 yards, two INTs and one INT) to Adam Jones before the first quarter ended. In the second, Tulsa S Dayne Hodge picked off a Raynor pass to take over on the TU nine. The Golden Hurricane drove the length of the field ending with Kirk Francis’s touchdown strike to WR Kamdym Bejamin (six catches for 131 yards and one TD). Later in the period, a Tulsa punt bounced off Red Wolf Courtney Jackson. Tulsa’s Zion Steptoe pounced on it to recover it at the Tulsa 31. QB Cardell Williams came in to run the ball over for a one-yard score to put Tulsa up, 17-7 at halftime.
Red Wolves retaliate
To start the second half on Tulsa’s first possession, Red Wolves’ S Trevian Thomas intercepted a Francis pass. From the ASU 37, Raynor directed the ensuing drive to the Golden Hurricane 15. From there, he carried the ball through the middle for a 15-yard score. Following a five-yard loss on third down on their next series, Tulsa punted from their 19. The Red Wolves’ Jackson, who had erred earlier leading to a Golden Hurricane TD, redeemed himself. He fielded the punt, broke a few tackles and running left, he sped around the left side all the way to the end zone for a 77-yard TD. The Red Wolves jumped back ahead for a 21-17 lead. The third quarter action heated up.
On the next Tulsa possession from the 35, Francis (16 of 28 passing, 199 yards, one TD and one INT) connected with Benjamin for a 45-yard pass to the ASU 20. That set up Anthony Watkin’s two-yard scoring run. The Golden Hurricane took back the lead, 24-21. On the subsequent Red Wolves’ possession, however, they ran six minutes off the clock to lead once again with Rucker’s previously reported touchdown. This week’s Guest Game Analyst, Rick Selak said, “I would have taken the over on this (66). With over three minutes to play, I responded, “Rick, this will be the final score.” For once, I was right! The defensive battle endured for the final 18 minutes in a hard-fought game with a bitter ending for the Golden Hurricane. Final score: Arkansas State 28 – Tulsa 24.
Extra points: Red Wolves and Hurricane movin’ on up
The Red Wolves travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to face No. 17 Michigan (1-1), fresh off their 31-12 loss to Texas at The Big House on Saturday. Good luck to the Red Wolves. Arkansas State introduced four starting players from Michigan among their starters last Saturday. Their Homecoming will not be heart-felt by over 100,000 Wolverine fans. Tulsa takes a bus trip over an hour away to Stillwater, OK to play No. 13 Oklahoma State (2-0). The Cowboys return from their 39-31 double-OT win at Arkansas.
As for our continuing saga
We at Collegefootballfan.com take our first football excursion on a flight for our first time to see another team of Cowboys play. These Cowboys from Wyoming got off to a slow start his season. At 0-2, they fell hard at Arizona State, 48-7, in Week One. Despite the lower score, the fell even harder at home to FCS Idaho last weekend, 17-13. Their incoming opponent is no slouch. BYU comes calling with a record of 2-0. They won over Southern Illinois and SMU, a top 25 team in many preseason polls.
Like Arkansas State last week, this will only be our second game seeing the Wyoming Cowboys. In 2005, St. Laurie and I watched them play UNLV on cold night in the desert at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. A botched extra point was their downfall to the Rebels in overtime, 49-48. This lasts as a very memorable excursion. You can read about it in my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Click on the title to enjoy that adventure and all the others over so many years!
As for our BYU history, it goes back to the ‘80s – A Kickoff Classic and a game at Navy. These are also recorded in Fifty Years. With a record of 3-1, we saw the Cougars twice again two years ago at home and in the Independence Bowl. HC Kalani Sitake guides his team through one more game before jumping into their second Big XII season for the rest of the 2024 season.
Enjoyed “Jones-boogie”
Agriculture and the school itself dominate the Jonesboro aura. Arkansas State sits on a beautiful campus with very nice athletic facilities. Allison Field at Centennial Bank Stadium is a great place to watch a ballgame. Sorry to say my camera battery died for some reason before the game even started. Very disappointed here that I could not record the action and the beauty of a game here in photos on a crisp, clear evening. The school seems to be building a fun game atmosphere on game days in the stadium. The Red Wolves will be a team to be reckoned with in the Sun Belt after its next two games at Michigan and at Iowa State.
My host Rick Selak (Auburn ’80) and I enjoyed the local good ole Buffalo Wild Wings® despite not getting to watch his alma mater’s game on TV there. Nixed by the ESPN contract to show certain games outside their primary markets. We did enjoy the spirit of the Arkansas Razorback fans who cheered their team into OT against Oklahoma State there. They left right after the loss to Oklahoma State. It was fun for us while they lasted. In the end, Rick wasn’t too happy either. His Tigers fell to the Cal Bears at home, 21-14. Still on the Pacific Coast, the University of California of Berkley near San Francisco Bay plays now in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Geography is no longer essential to college education.
-ed. by Steve Koreivo – Member of Football Writers Association of America; Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Click on the title to read reviews, buy my book and to submit a review. Thanks!