The Red Wolves failed to capitalize on the national spotlight, losing to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 34-30 on Thursday. It was a game full of potential that was never capitalized on, where the Red Wolves found their attempts to score falling flat nearly every time.

Their first encounter with these red zone woes came on their second drive of the first quarter, where quarterback Jaylen Raynor threw a pass to wide receiver Corey Rucker Jr. for a gain of 28 yards to the Cajuns’ 8 yard line. This was a huge spark of life after a four-play dud of a drive that ended their opening on offense with a punt. They were set up for success, but two runs for a total gain of five yards followed by an incomplete pass to the end zone cut their visit to the red zone short.

They kicked a field goal to put the first points of the game onto the board and took a 3-0 lead. While they weren’t able to capitalize on their first grasp at a touchdown, the defense wanted their turn in the red zone and on the very next possession for the Cajuns, a sack turned into a fumble recovery touchdown by defensive tackle Cody Sigler that brought the Red Wolves’ lead to 10-0. 

Photo by Sooyeong Choi | Staff Photographer

However, their triumphant attitude was shot down soon after as major mistakes came on the next two Red Wolves’ possessions. After the Cajuns failed to score on their drive following the fumble, the Red Wolves gave them a free possession after a miffed punt return fell from the hands of WR Aaron Blancas. This led to the Cajuns’ first points of the game to cut Arkansas State’s lead to only three. 

Following this touchdown by Louisiana, the Red Wolves decided they weren’t done giving out presents and gifted them another fumble, which in turn led to a touchdown drive that cut into the beginning of the second quarter, giving the Cajuns their first lead of the game at a score of 14-10. 

Coach Butch Jones lamented this sequence of events in his post-game presser, noting how much of a momentum killer it was for the team and how they need to avoid major collapses like this. “We had the momentum. It’s 10-0, and then two catastrophic turnovers. You can’t turn the football over. That’s football,” Jones said. 

Their loss of rhythm was definitely seen in their next drive following the second fumble. After finally being able to convert on first downs and making it to the 21 yard line on the visitor’s side, the Red Wolves’ offense fell apart after two runs for losses and a two yard pass failed to make it any further down the field. A field goal gave them some sort of comfort on the scoreboard, making it 14-13 with the Red Wolves only down by one point. 

However, the Cajuns responded almost immediately with a field goal of their own to bring it back to a four point lead at 17-13. Before a back-and-forth field goal kick-off could happen, lightning struck for the Red Wolves as WR Chauncey Cobb sped to a 93-yard kick return touchdown, giving the Red Wolves the lead with a score of 20-17. 

Photo by Sooyeong Choi | Staff Photographer

Cajuns kick returner Ja’Corian Norris ran 66 yards on a kick return to give them a boost towards their next points. The Cajuns eventually got that touchdown on a 1 yard rush from quarterback Lunch Winfield. 

The major advantage on the Cajuns’ possessions during the first half seemed to be the holes that the Red Wolves defense provided their offense that led to explosive plays for major gain. Even if A-State defended well on three-quarters of a drive, the plays where their pressure let up were often the nail in the coffin that sealed the deal for a Louisiana touchdown.

Jones commented on this lack of execution on the defense. “I talked about critical down execution, you know, I thought [there were] way too many mistakes on defense with our eyes,” Jones said.

Before the half ended, the Red Wolves couldn’t let the Cajuns have the last laugh and finally capitalized on a red zone opportunity with plenty of excellent passes from Raynor and capped off by a 1 yard rush by RB Devin Spencer. A-State went to the tunnels with a 27-24 lead at half-time, not knowing that this touchdown would be their last of the game. 

When it came time to take the field for the second half of the game, it seemed as though neither team decided to show up on offense. The first points of the half came over halfway through the third quarter on a touchdown from the Cajuns after RB Bill Davis broke away from the A-State defenders for a 36 yard score. 

The Red Wolves went scoreless during the third quarter, failing to convert on first down near the start of the period, but eventually found their rhythm to only fall short before scoring. The state of the two offenses did not improve in the fourth quarter, with both teams only scoring a field goal apiece. 

As the final possession came down to the Red Wolves, a jolt of life seemed to charge the offense as Raynor began to click on all cylinders with his receivers. He was able to get the team to the red zone, but once again, the team was not able to finish in the end zone. The most concerning part of this drive, however, was the time management made by Jones as the time ticked down on the last possession.

Despite having thirty seconds left on the clock with a timeout left to use, Jones opted to keep the time running, which ended up not working in their favor. He explained his controversial decision after the game, saying he believed that the play calls were drawn up right and didn’t want to give the Cajuns the opportunity to adapt to their strategy. “We liked the play call that we had,” Jones said. “We didn’t want them to be able to substitute or do anything with a timeout. And we felt that having a timeout at the end of the game, it gave us maybe an extra play.”

The Red Wolves hope to keep their bowl hopes alive with their last game of the season at Appalachian State on Saturday, November 29th. The game is win or go home, as a loss would prevent the Red Wolves from a bowl game in the post season.

Categories: Sports