Ty Doucet-Harmon · Arkansas State Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Quack-quack, wrong pond. Well, howdy, I'm Ty Doucet-Harmon, and when I'm not up in the stands in Jonesboro, I'm guiding duck hunters through the flooded timber of the Arkansas Delta. I scout this football team the same way I scout a duck season: early mornings, patience, and a sharp eye for which way the birds are moving. I travel with the Red Wolves and I live with the Red Wolves, and every week I'll bring you the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines, in a slow Delta drawl with a duck call never far from my lips. When we win, I blow the call and do a little wing flap. When we lose, I retreat to the duck blind, which is what I call the space behind the desk. Grab your waders.
The School in 60 Seconds
Arkansas State football was founded in 1911 and has played in the Sun Belt since 2001. The Red Wolves have claimed 12 conference championships, most recently in 2016, and one national championship at the NCAA College Division level in 1970. The school changed its mascot to the Red Wolves in 2008. Home is Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, opened in 1974 and listed at 30,382 seats. The last five seasons climbed like a sunrise over the timber: 2-10, 3-9, 6-7, 8-5 and 7-6.
The Coach and the Scheme
Butch Jones is the head coach; CFBD dates his hire to Dec. 12, 2020. This team throws it: Trey Owens has completed 68.7% of his passes, and we average 231.7 passing yards a game (68th). The run game is 130.4 a game (110th). The defense is good against the pass, 184.3 yards allowed (31st), and it takes the ball away: 11 takeaways and a plus-3 turnover margin, 34th in FBS. Here's the hard truth from the blind: the run defense allows 195.4 a game (124th), and opponents convert 45.9% of third downs (129th). We only have 3 sacks all year. That's an empty sky on opening morning.
Players to Know
QB Trey Owens: 138 of 201, 1,631 yards per ESPN (1,622 per AP), 9 TD, 6 INT.
RB Solomon Baggett: 287 yards on 61 carries per ESPN (289 on 62 per AP), 2 TD.
WR Hunter Summers: 31 catches, 422 yards, 3 TD. Chauncy Cobb caught four for 40 at Southern Miss.
K Clune Van Andel: made field goals of 29, 40 and 44 yards last week. That's a man who hits his birds.
S Joe Drew: team-high 64 tackles. DT Ryan Reese: 1.5 sacks. CB Dontrae Henderson: 2 interceptions.
The Conference Picture
Arkansas State is 3-4 and 1-2 in the Sun Belt. We beat West Georgia 52-7, Kennesaw State 17-14 and Southern Miss 23-13. We lost at Memphis 42-24, at TCU 31-7, a three-pointer at Louisiana 23-20 and a 56-49 shootout to South Alabama. After Georgia State, we have a week off, then host UL Monroe on Nov. 7. Two of those losses were by a field goal and a touchdown. Close, friends. Real close.
Season so far, from the blind: some mornings the birds just don't come in. That TCU trip was one of them. But other mornings the sky fills up, like the 52-7 day against West Georgia, and last week, when we grinded out the clock in Hattiesburg. A good guide knows the weather changes. You stay in the blind, you stay patient, and the ducks come back. Coach Jones has this team climbing, and seven wins last year proved it.
This Week: Georgia State (4-2) at Arkansas State (3-4)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. Central) · Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro · ESPN+.
Last week: we beat Southern Miss 23-13. Our five scoring drives each ran between seven and 13 plays, and we closed it out with a 14-play drive that ate the last 7:21. AP says we won time of possession by about 20 minutes. Kenyon Clark and Timothy Carter ran for touchdowns. Georgia State lost 49-22 at James Madison.
Our offense vs. their defense: Georgia State's pass defense is good, 38th, but its run defense is 81st. If we can grind it like last week, we keep their offense on the bench.
Their offense vs. our defense: Georgia State scores 36.5 points a game (26th) and runs for 206 (26th). Rodshaun Dorsey has 7 touchdown catches, and linebacker Xavier Esqillion has 7 sacks. Those are big mallards, friends.
Series: CFBD shows we won four of the six meetings from 2016 through 2025.
Availability: no injury or availability report found for either team as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Stopping the run on our side. (2) Winning the turnover battle again. (3) Owens keeping drives alive.
My read: this one's going down to the last possession. Stay in the blind till the final whistle. I'll bring the duck call.
To Malik Overstreet, Georgia State's insider: welcome to the country, city boy. No traffic out here, just geese.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
In Jonesboro for the game? Omar's Uptown on South Main Street is a nice spot for a family supper.
My call: Georgia State Panthers 30, Arkansas State Red Wolves 29.