Arkansas State Obliterated By Illinois; Lose 58-10
Champaign, IL - Outmatched. Outperformed. Outlandish.
That's how Red Wolves Head Coach Jason Cameron described Saturday's loss to Illinois at Memorial Stadium. The Arkansas State defense gave up 262 yards on the ground as Roderick Grant gashed the defense for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns.
"Quite simply. We got outerformed on all phases of the game, coaching included." Coach Cameron said.
"We knew they are a talented team, and we had some good practices during the week. But, when it came to gameday, we looked lost."
For the second consecutive week, heralded QB Ryan Aplin looked confused with Tee Martin's offense, and was benched at halftime. Aplin had a paltry stat line of 8-18, 77 yards, and 2 INTs. Backup Philip Butterfield didn't fare any better as he finished with 7-14, 75 yards, and 2 INTs.
Illinois defense was swarming all night, led by consensus All American Whitney Mercilus, who provided continuous pressure from the edge, finishing with a sack.
Due to the pressure from the front 7, including Akeem Spence (1 sack), the QBs had no time to find the open receivers, leading to miscues. Illinois LB Stephen McCoy led the team with 2 picks, while SS Travis Clark took a Kendrick Daniels fumble 33 yards back for a score.
The stagnant Arkansas State offense did get a burst from Anthony Kincy when he scored on a 66 yard run in the first. Kincy ended the game with 80 yards rushing.
For the second consecutive week, a running back led the team in the passing game, with JD McKissic catching 5 balls for 59 yards.
"We have got to get the passing game going. We have too much talent. Aplin is obviously struggling with picking some things up." Offiensive Coordinator Tee Martin said.
Martin said that they may have to simplify the offense to give Aplin more confidence, something that is quite alarming for Red Wolves fans, as the expectations were high that Aplin would really shine this year under Tee Martin's guidance.
On the defense, the team couldn't muster any pressure, ending the game with one sack a week after they got 8.
The fact that Roderick Grant ran the ball at will on the defense is a bad sign for the team. "We are going to get that fixed. Believe me." said Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt.
CB James Bradberry, who Coach Cameron made a priority to bring back this year, allowed Illinois WR Joe Moore to get behind him at crucial times, allowing Moore to score 2 times. Despite that, the coaching staff isn't worried.
"We believe in Brads." Coach Cameron said.
"He did struggle a bit, but on the whole, we think he did alright. He held their top wideout to under 75 yards, which is impressive with a great QB they have in Scheelhaase. He even managed to grab a pick himself."
The team will be home next week as they welcome the Memphis Tigers. The team will look to get the passing game going as their top 3 wideouts have a combined 14 catches through two weeks.
| Arkansas State Red Wolves at Illinois Fighting Illini |
| Sep 3, 2011 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Arkansas State Red Wolves (1-0) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) | 10 | 14 | 31 | 3 | 58 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| ARST | ILL |
| Total Offense | 200 | 490 |
| Rushing Yards | 48 | 262 |
| Passing Yards | 152 | 228 |
| First Downs | 9 | 17 |
| Punt Return Yards | 0 | 23 |
| Kick Return Yards | 233 | 74 |
| Total Yards | 433 | 587 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 3-13-23% | 4-9-44% |
| 4th Down Conversion | 1-1-100% | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 1-0-1 | 3-3-0 |
| Penalties | 0 | 1-15 |
| Possession Time | 15:31 | 16:29 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | ARST | ILL |
| 6:18 | (ILL) Roderick Grant 63 yd run (Derek Dimke XP) | 0 | 7 |
| 3:30 | (ILL) Derek Dimke 42 yd FG | 0 | 10 |
| 0:58 | (ARST) Kincy 66 yd run (Coffin XP) | 7 | 10 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | ARST | ILL |
| 6:26 | (ILL) Roderick Grant 1 yd run (Derek Dimke XP) | 7 | 17 |
| 0:54 | (ARST) Coffin 18 yd FG | 10 | 17 |
| 0:14 | (ILL) Roderick Grant 8 yd run (Derek Dimke XP) | 10 | 24 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | ARST | ILL |
| 6:40 | (ILL) Joe Moore 35 yd pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke XP) | 10 | 31 |
| 5:12 | (ILL) Derek Dimke 39 yd FG | 10 | 34 |
| 3:07 | (ILL) Joe Moore 5 yd pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke XP) | 10 | 41 |
| 1:04 | (ILL) Roderick Grant 33 yd run (Derek Dimke XP) | 10 | 48 |
| 0:51 | (ILL) Travis Clark 33 yd fumble recovery (Derek Dimke XP) | 10 | 55 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | ARST | ILL |
| 2:02 | (ILL) Derek Dimke 44 yd FG | 10 | 58 |
| Arkansas State Red Wolves | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Ryan Aplin | 8-18 | 77 | 0 | 2 | | Phillip Butterfield | 7-14 | 75 | 0 | 2 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Anthony Kincy | 6 | 80 | 13.3 | 1 | | JD McKissic | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 0 | | Kendrick Daniels | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | | Taylor Stockemer | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 0 | | Phillip Butterfield | 2 | -10 | -5.0 | 0 | | Ryan Aplin | 8 | -37 | -4.6 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | JD McKissic | 5 | 59 | 11.8 | 0 | | DeKeathan Williams | 5 | 38 | 7.6 | 0 | | Allen Muse | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | | Kedric Murray | 1 | 30 | 30.0 | 0 | | Carlos McCants | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Andrew Tryon | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Nathan Herrold | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Jason Card | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Nick Nelms | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Don Jones | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | James Bradberry | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | Darius Rosser | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | Max Coffin | 1-1 | 1-1 | 4 | 19 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | Neely Sullivent | 6 | 221 | 36.8 | 1 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | Anthony Kincy | 6 | 126 | 21.0 | 0 | | Chaz Scales | 5 | 107 | 21.4 | 0 |
| | Illinois Fighting Illini | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Nathan Scheelhaase | 11-20 | 184 | 2 | 1 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Roderick Grant | 25 | 189 | 7.6 | 4 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Joe Moore | 4 | 75 | 18.7 | 2 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Travis Clark | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Nathan White | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | | Stephen McCoy | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | Jonathan Smith | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | Shawn White | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | Akeem Spence | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | Whitney Mercilus | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | Derek Dimke | 3-3 | 7-7 | 16 | 45 |
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