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Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – Two bad teams playing for the right to play in a bad bowl. Coastal has to win two more games …. ASU now has to win the last two games.
Guess what …. No chance!!
Louisiana Tech will beat the brakes out of ASU in Ruston. The Troy game will become meaningless. Not to mention, our last home game will consist of the mascots …. Me …. And a very few others. Nobody will come.
This was another failure of the defense and offense. How about forcing three turnovers and losing the game cause ASU had three of their own.
I really thought the offense was listless. The Red Wolves had 311 yards of offense compared to 271 by Coastal. But often the Chanticleers had several short fields to deal with and did a good job of converting. Trey Owens, our quarterback, had a decent afternoon with just over 200 yds passing on a 23 of 40 attempts. He was once again our leading rusher with 34 yards. It was another anemic rushing performance with the Red Wolves gaining 108 yards on the ground. That was better than the 60 odd yards that Coastal Carolina managed to rush.
The real story had nothing to do with statistics… it had to do with the game plan and turnovers.
This should have been an easy game for ASU, even on the road. The Chanticleers had been listless against Old Dominion…another bad team in the Sunbelt. They have been beaten by other Sunbelt teams as well and really haven’t made a good stand anywhere. They also are not going to go to a bowl. They’re going to lose one of their last two.
Like you, I am tired of just flat getting beat by bad teams. It happens every year during Butch Jones’ Arkansas State career at ASU. We’ve had really bad games and a few good games. He seems to follow a pattern much like he did at Tennessee. Great recruiting followed up by mediocre seasons or worse.
I continue to hear that his coaching staff is not 100% behind their head coach. There’s some dissension. I normally do not talk about rumors, but considering the team’s demise the last two games I think it may have some credibility behind it.
Coach Butch has always wanted to have a team that was balanced, even when he didn’t have the personnel to be balanced. ASU from the time Butch Jones came onto the scene has not performed the run game anywhere near his or our expectations.
Coach finally admitted that the defensive line is undersized. I’ve been screaming that since the first game of the year. That should have been corrected and he should know that.
We have good skilled people and that has kept us in games when maybe we shouldn’t have been in them at all. But the workhorses of the team are not as good as are necessary for a conference championship or really even a good bowl game.
I’m going to make a prediction now that we are going to get the brakes beat off of us at Louisiana Tech. They operate with great players and great coaching regardless of their budget or their money. Louisiana Tech operates with $15 million less than Arkansas State. All three Louisiana schools do not have the funds that Arkansas State does. We deserve better!
We have heard from Coach Jones so many times as to why Arkansas State hasn’t competed well in the Sunbelt. Now, without question, it is time for the administration to make a move. I hear there are coaches out there that would love to take Arkansas State to the next level.
I really don’t think there would be a mass exodus by Arkansas State players if Butch were to be fired. But yet I think Coach Butch deserves one last look.
Louisiana Tech will provide more than enough competition. If somehow he were able to beat Tech, then I think we have to hold off until we see what happens against Troy at home. If he loses as badly as I suspect he will to Tech, I contend that we need to cut our losses and go ahead and move Coach Butch to the sidelines.
Congratulations the Chanticleers or winning against a bad Arkansas State team. My hope is that you win your final two games and go to a bowl. The Sunbelt needs all the teams they can get into bowl games. It’s good for the conference.
Arkansas State is in bad need of rallying their fan base with a new coach. We need someone that our fan base can identify with and who would be more “out there” with the community.
I can tell you that our basketball coach gets it. Ryan Pannone has worked very hard to get the fan base on board. He has promoted his team and made sure that the fans knew who they were watching and what kind of people they are.
I’m out and about an awful lot and I have not seen Coach Butch in more than a year. The Red Wolves need more from their main sport head coach.
The time for change is upon us. And while I am not like a Tennessee fan and mad at Coach Butch…change is necessary if he cannot win his last two games.
Chris Pezman, our Athletic Director, really needs to hear this message. It’s not only from me but from a lot of devoted Red Wolf fans.
“Mediocrity will never do at Arkansas State!”
About the Author: Bob Troutt is a lifelong Jonesboro resident, Arkansas State University journalism graduate and member of one of Northeast Arkansas’ most prominent newspaper families. A veteran of The Jonesboro Sun and a lifelong A-State fan, Troutt has spent decades watching—and caring deeply about—Arkansas State football.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the mascot of Coastal Carolina. It has been corrected.