Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

9/26/2011 at 9:30am

Image by ASU Media Relations

ASU kicker Brian Davis attempts one of his six field goal Saturday against UCA. Davis and the Red Wolves won 53-24.

ARKANSAS STATE 53, UCA 24

Why Arkansas State Won
Though it struggled to get in the end zone in the first half, Arkansas State got a record-setting night from kicker Brian Davis and scored on 10 of its first 11 possessions on its way to the one-sided victory before a crowd of 27,918. The Red Wolves rolled up 646 yards, five different players scored touchdowns and Davis, a sophomore from Brentwood, Tenn., had six field goals to set a new single-game school and Sun Belt Conference record. Meanwhile the defense gradually turned up the pressure on UCA quarterback Wynrick Smothers, sacking him twice and holding him to 4 of 11 completions for 118 yards in the second half. Sterling Young also intercepted Smothers and returned it 31 yards for the fourth-quarter score that made it 53-17. Quarterback Ryan Aplin was 19 of 28 for 220 yards and 1 touchdown and rushed for 84 yards.

Kick Start
With his field-goal record, one shy of tying the NCAA mark, Davis also set a school scoring record for kicking with 23 points.

Not bad for a guy head coach Hugh Freeze was thinking about benching after poor practices during the week.

Davis’ 24-yard field goal opened the scoring and he added kicks of 32, 33, 34, 21 and 33 yards, the last making 46-17 with 11:13 left in the game.

Extra points rounded his total.

“Yesterday I was ready to bench him and go for it on fourth down every time,” Freeze said. “Shows how smart I am.”

Davis had only two field goals prior to Saturday.

“It was just kind of clicking,” Davis said. “Today I just kind of knew it was my day. I thought the snapping was great. It was definitely a rough week in practice.” 

Turning Point
After scoring just one touchdown and taking a 19-10 halftime lead, Arkansas State charged out in the second half with a 10-play, 83-yard drive that ended with Jermaine Robertson’s 1-yard touchdown run with 12:00 left.

The defense then sacked Smothers twice in a row, forcing UCA to punt from its 11, and the Red Wolves went on to score 10 more points to take command, 36-10 with 3:36 left in the third quarter. 

Three For All
Arkansas State used three quarterbacks Saturday, subbing in Andre Smith and receiver Dwayne Frampton in the second half.

Smith, the backup, came in during a series in the third quarter and took two snaps, scoring on a 2-yard run that made it 36-10 with 3:36 left. He took over for good with 14:42 left

In their version of the Wildcat offense, the Red Wolves put in Frampton in the first half, but his possession was erased by a penalty. Frampton, who had eight catches for 100 yards got in for one play to start the fourth quarter and promptly rushed 10 yards for the touchdown that made 43-17 with 14:54 left. 

For Starters
Wynrick Smothers got his first career start in place of Nathan Dick, who was out with a concussion sustained the previous week.

He was 16-of-31 for 224 yards with an interception and a 53-yard touchdown pass. Smothers also scored UCA’s final touchdown on a halfback pass from Terence Bobo with 2:45 to go. 

True Colors
Arkansas Gov. and Red Wolves fan Mike Beebe was in the press box for Saturday’s game, checking other football scores online and unabashedly wearing red to supports his alma mater Arkansas State.

Beebe flipped the coin at midfield in the pregame toss but brought the Red Wolves no luck as the Bears won the toss. 

Speaking Out
“I knew that they certainly were capable of playing with you. I think if we were better in the first half in the red zone production, not that I’m not very excited to see Brian and that unit perform the way they did, but we certainly don’t want to have to depend on that every single game to get the points.”
— Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze on the first-half offense and Brian Davis’ field goals. 

Up Next
Arkansas State opens Sun Belt Conference play at Western Kentucky at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Central Arkansas returns to Southland Conference action with a home against Stephen F. Austin.

Tagged: ASU Red Wolves, Hugh Freeze, Brian Davis, Clint Conque, UCA Bears, Arkansas State Red Wolves