Photo by Abigail Leggett | Staff Photographer

The Arkansas State Red Wolves held on until the end against the fourteenth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones, only losing 24-16 at home. 

While the Red Wolves performed well in the game, Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones said there are no moral victories.

“I thought this was a game we could have won, but if you just look at progress, this is the same team that’s better than last year, and they beat us 52 to seven.”

Jones said playing a ranked team was a great opportunity for Jonesboro and A-State.

“We had a four-hour commercial for Arkansas State University, for Jonesboro, Arkansas and ESPN2. So hopefully the country saw a great team,” Jones said.

The Red Wolves’ defense were able to hold the Cyclones to a field goal on their second drive of the game. While an offensive holding penalty would start A-State at their own 18-yard line, the Red Wolves were able to kick a field goal to start the second quarter after large gains by running back Devin Spencer and wide receiver Hunter Summers during the drive. The Cyclones missed a 30-yard field goal, then A-State was forced to punt on their next drive. 

Photo by Abigail Leggett | Staff Photographer

The Red Wolves surged towards the Iowa State side of the field and went for it on fourth down. A-State would score after quarterback Jaylen Raynor rushed up the middle to the end zone. An extra point from kicker Clune van Andel made the score 10-9 Red Wolves, their first lead of the game.

A-State lead for 28 seconds. Iowa State got the ball with 39 seconds remaining, dismantled the Red Wolves defense, and scored with 11 seconds remaining in the half. The Cyclones’ two-point conversion was also good, putting them back ahead at 10-17 in time for halftime.

After only having two penalties the entirety of the first half, the Red Wolves would get eight in the second half. The Red Wolves ended the game with 10 penalties for 90 yards while the Cyclones only had 3 for 30 yards. This raised quite a few eyebrows.

“If a team could only play with three penalties, that’s kind of interesting,” Jones said.

After multiple passes, including a 15 yard pass to Summers to get A-State in Cyclone territory and a 35 yard pass to wide receiver Chauncy Cobb to get to the 7 yard line of Iowa State, Raynor threw to tight end Tyler Fortenberry for a touchdown. This would be called on offensive pass interference.

After the penalty, Raynor instead scrambled for a rushing touchdown. This time, the officials called A-State on a controversial holding call, putting the Red Wolves all the way back to the Cyclone 26 yard line on third and goal. 

Photo by Abigail Leggett | Staff Photographer

The Red Wolves would have to settle for a field goal, putting the score at 17-16 Cyclones. 

Jones said he usually has the luxury of having an iPad on the sideline to see those penalties before he gets agitated with the referee. This was not one of those penalties. 

“It’s really inexcusable. There’s a professional level of things and I’ll just leave it like that, that was unacceptable,” Jones said. “But I started off, there are three to four plays that make an outcome of the game, and obviously, from a momentum standpoint, that was a critical juncture of the game. But again, I can’t say anything negative in terms of I’m just disappointed.”

Iowa State would score again and Raynor would be intercepted on the next drive, putting the final score at 24-16 Red Wolves.

With the loss, the Red Wolves fall to 1-2. They will go on the road to face off against the Kennesaw State Owls (1-2) at 5 p.m on Saturday. 

Categories: Sports