The game lived up to the national spotlight it was thrust into
All eyes were on the Sun Belt on Thursday night during Louisiana’s 34-30 win over Arkansas State in Jonesboro. It was the only game on the FBS mid-week slate. The game lived up to the national spotlight it was thrust into.
Arkansas State scored a touchdown in all three phases in the first half alone. It felt like the teams fumbled more times than anyone could count (they combined for five fumbles, losing three). It was absolute anarchy as both teams desperately fight to earn bowl eligibility as the season comes to a close.
It was only fitting that the game would come down to its final play. The Ragin’ Cajuns led 34-30 with just under ten seconds to play. Jaylen Raynor took the snap at the Louisiana 13 yard line. He dropped back and tried a pass for Hunter Summers. It fell incomplete with just six seconds left.
A flag was flung onto the field. Instead of fourth down from the 13, it would be first down from the two yard line.
Raynor’s next pass attempt couldn’t connect. With only a few seconds left, the Red Wolves had one final chance.
With the game on the line, Raynor kept the ball. He tried to rush up the middle. He was brought down just short of the end zone. But the game couldn’t just end without a hint of extra drama.
As Raynor tried to fight to the goal line, the referees did not blow their whistles. It appeared as if the quarterback was stymied on the initial attempt, by the Arkansas State offense surged towards Raynor while he attempted to extend the ball into the end zone. A Ragin’ Cajun defender knocked it loose and Red Wolves offensive lineman Aleric Watson fought for possession. He was in the middle of a crush of bodies that bouldered towards the goal line. As they tumbled forward, Louisiana players were running onto the field from the sideline. It was absolute pandemonium. Nobody knew what was going on.
The officials ruled the play short, and declared the game over. Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones was irate. He was spotted by ESPN cameras screaming as he walked off the field.
“This one will probably live with me for a lifetime,” he said.
The game came down to a lack of execution in critical moments. Arkansas State converted just four of their fifteen third downs. They only scored one touchdown on their six trips inside the final quarter of the field. And on the final play, it came down to a missed assignment.
“We had a catastrophic missed assignment on the last play,” Jones said. “That happens. People make mistakes. But we can’t make mistakes at that stage of the game.”
The final play was a culmination of a number of costly errors committed by the Red Wolves over the course of the game. After taking a ten point lead early in the contest, an Aaron Blancas muffed punt and Kenyon Clay fumble helped give Louisiana a 14-10 lead.
In Jones’ eyes, not even Chauncy Cobb’s 93-yard kickoff return score could salvage what he viewed as a poor showing on special teams.
“Even though we had the long kickoff return for a touchdown, I think we got outplayed there,” he said.
Those two mistakes, with the one that opened the door coming on special teams, might have been the difference. Jones said his team had momentum before Blancas turned the ball over. Instead, the Red Wolves will be licking their wounds after another heartbreaker.
The win gives Louisiana a fighter’s chance at earning bowl eligibility. They will need to earn another victory over in-state rival ULM on the final day of the regular season in order to qualify. It’s an improbable turnaround for a team that was 2-6 just a few weeks ago.
For Arkansas State, the loss marks a new low point in a whirlwind of a season. After a four-game win streak which brought them into contention for the Sun Belt West crown, they now have to win their final game in order to simply make a bowl game. They’ve dropped their last two games on the final play. It’s been incredibly difficult for Jones and his team to stomach.
“They all hurt when you lose,” Jones said. “Everybody in here invests in victory. This one probably hurts a little bit more.”
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