ASU, Memphis try it again

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JONESBORO ? The teams, the faces and the place are all the same. Only the date has changed.
Arkansas State and Memphis will take a second shot at one another this evening so long as Mother Nature doesn?t intervene a second time. Word is she?s going to cooperate.
With forecasts for clear skies this evening, nothing should keep Arkansas State from its 54th meeting with rival Memphis tonight at Indian Stadium. Kickoff is 6 p.m. for a game that had to be rescheduled from its original Sept. 8 date when heavy rains, thunder and lightning swept through Northeast Arkansas and forced its postponement.
ASU coach Steve Roberts opened his weekly press conference in a light-hearted manner, joking that all the weather predictions are that the game will go on this time.

?There is a 20 percent chance of rain in the morning, clearing off to beautiful fall-like weather for the ballgame against Memphis,? Roberts said. ?So that?s certainly a great report for us getting this ballgame in and actually playing.?
The question that has evolved is whether Arkansas State can be ready for its biggest rival a second time this season. The first time was no problem.
Scheduled as the home opener, ASU appeared headed toward a capacity crowd as both Tiger and Indian supporters streamed in and a unique atmosphere filled the air.

But just prior to kickoff, thunderstorms rolled in, bringing a downpour of rain and lightning bolts striking too close for the officiating crew?s comfort. After nearly three hours, officials decided to postpone the game and school officials agreed to play tonight rather than wait to the end of the season.

?We need the atmosphere to duplicate what it would have been on Sept. 8 when we were scheduled to play that game,? Roberts added. ?It was a great atmosphere and we need that type of atmosphere here Thursday night.?
Both teams are virtually in the same predicament entering tonight?s meeting, while Memphis holds a 27-21-5 lead in the series.
Each is coming off a loss and desperately needs a win to avoid setting a pattern as conference play heats up. ASU travels to Louisiana-Monroe for its Sun Belt Conference opener the following Saturday, Sept. 29.

?It?s a huge game for us,? ASU quarterback Corey Leonard said. ?It?s probably bigger than it was three weeks ago. We have to get to 2-2. We have to be on the right page going into conference. There is no bigger stage to play on than here at home against Memphis, your biggest rival. I think we?re looking more forward to it now than we were three weeks ago.?
Memphis and ASU aren?t the same teams they were three weeks ago.

The Tigers began the season throwing the football almost at will. Quarterback Martin Hankins threw 60 of 61 total passes, completing 41, against Ole Miss. But the Tigers haven?t thrown the ball near as much since, including 27 times against Jacksonville State and 33 at Central Florida.

Memphis has put more of an emphasis on its rushing attack with the return of tailback Joseph Doss, who missed the Tigers? game with JSU but returned to rush for 48 yards on nine carries against Central Florida. Doss is expected to play a bigger role tonight.

ASU coach Steve Roberts said he?s changed his strategy as much as 40 percent from the original script for the Tigers. A short week to prepare hasn?t helped matters.
?Obviously, an accelerated week limits you ... ,? Roberts said. ?I would think that probably 60 percent of our game plan on both sides of the football has remained the same as what it would have been had we played on Sept. 8th, but obviously they?ve changed some things and we?ve changed some things on both sides of the football since that time.?
Arkansas State started the season throwing the football more than running, including 37 passes compared to 34 rushes in a 21-13 loss to then-No. 4 Texas. Since then, the Indians have run the ball 81 times compared to 69 pass attempts.
ASU is pretty close, though, to being the balanced attack the Tigers originally prepared for, according to Memphis coach Tommy West.
?We?re coming off a bad performance, so we can?t worry about the opponent,? West added. ?The opponent is ourselves. If we play like we did Saturday, then it will be the same result.?

The Tigers might be missing one of their main weapons in sophomore wide receiver Duke Calhoun, who suffered a sprained knee against JSU. Calhoun did not play against Central Florida but is tied for second on the team with 11 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Roberts said don?t expect the Tigers to come in throwing the football like mad as they did against Ole Miss ? with or without Calhoun.
?I think they will be more balanced,? Roberts said. ?I think what we saw in the Ole Miss game was indicative of two things. One, they were down at halftime by three touchdowns and had to pass to get back in the ballgame. Two, the way Ole Miss was playing them (defensively), they were not going to allow them to run the football. Since that point, people have played them fairly balanced and they have had more balanced attacks.?
Memphis is preparing for another big game from ASU tailback Reggie Arnold.

An All-American as a freshman who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last year, Arnold has surpassed the 100-yard mark each of ASU?s last two games. He had 156 against Southern Methodist and then 130 at Tennessee.
But the Tigers might want to be aware of Arnold on special teams, too.
Arnold made a bone-crushing hit on Tennessee?s Jonathan Hefner last Saturday for a 4-yard loss on a punt return. Arnold, who also made a tackle last year against Oklahoma State, hopes to make another against Memphis.

?That was pretty fun,? Arnold said. ?It took me back to my high school days, making a tackle. I don?t know if he felt it but I think I gave him a good shot. I don?t know how hard it was, but it was fun to go down and tackle that guy like that.?
Last year, Arkansas State shocked Memphis when Leonard completed a 53-yard Hail Mary pass to Patrick Higgins on the final play of the game for a 26-23 victory.

This season, ASU is second in the Sun Belt in scoring offense and scoring defense, and leads the league in rushing defense and total defense. The Indians also rank first in kickoff returns and punting.
They are a well-rounded group that Roberts has confidence in.
?We will compete regardless of who we are playing,? Roberts said. ?I have seen our guys bring it every week now for three weeks as far as the mental and physical and emotional preparation that we?ve talked about a ton since last fall.?

 

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Thanks to postponement, Tigers in midst of busy 11 days


Oh, it's happened before, but you probably weren't around to see it.

As the University of Memphis prepares to play Arkansas State at 6 tonight in Jonesboro, the Tigers find themselves in the midst of a college football minimarathon. By postponing their Sept. 8 game against ASU because of weather conditions, the Tigers are playing the second of what will be three games in 11 days.

The last time the football team bunched three games together in less than two weeks, Calvin Coolidge was in the White House, Zach Curlin was in his first season as Tiger football coach and Boss Crump was in between terms as mayor of Memphis.

No doubt the Tigers are hoping history doesn't repeat itself. Memphis opened its 1924 triple play by allowing 58 points in a lopsided loss, two more points than it allowed last weekend in 56-20 defeat at UCF.

It has been an interesting stretch for the Tigers, who practiced the day after returning from Orlando and worked out Monday night -- normally an off day -- to prepare for Arkansas State. The Tigers will not have a break from football until after the Marshall game Tuesday night at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

That's 11 consecutive days of practices and/or games. Tiger tailback Joe Doss said while the setup presents challenges, he's been motivated by a preseason comment made from first-year running backs coach James Joseph.

''We've just had to go and get after it,'' Doss said. ''Our running backs coach said during camp that if you want something you've never had, you've got to be willing to do something you've never done. This is one of those things that we never have done.''

It's new to everyone. In his 23 years in college football, UofM director of football operations John Flowers said he's never experienced such a situation.

''As a player, I would love it,'' Flowers said. ''It's less practices and more games. That's what you live for."

Tiger quarterback Martin Hankins said it has been different, but most have been able to adapt.

''You just get out of your routine a little bit,'' he said. ''But that happens in everyday life too. You just learn to deal with it, and that's what we'll do.''

While Arkansas State (1-2) also is playing its second game in less than a week, the Indians don't follow with another game five days later like Memphis does.

''It's a crucial 11-day (stretch),'' said Tiger receiver Dave Thomas. ''And we've already lost one of the three games. It's important we win these next two.''

Thomas said the Tiger coaching staff is trying to make allowances for the bunching of games. It wasn't a ''heavy-contact week'' at practices Sunday through Wednesday said Thomas, who had a 10-yard touchdown reception against UCF on Saturday. He said staying mentally focused was the priority.

Three weeks ago, the Tigers (1-2) and Indians spent three hours in their respective locker rooms waiting for the lightning to subside before the schools agreed to postpone the game.

What has made preparations for the game less chaotic is having already prepared for the Indians earlier this month.

''I can still remember a lot of our game-planning for that week,'' said Hankins, who completed 12-of-27 for 178 yards and a touchdown in last year's 26-23 loss to ASU. ''It's been a matter of refreshing. It hasn't been so much going into it blind.''

Hankins said he and his teammates were looking forward to the challenge of playing three games in less than two weeks, a first for all of them.

''We wanted to make it really work by winning the first game at Central Florida,'' he said. ''But that didn't happen, so now the best we can do is come out of it 2-1. That's going to be our goal.

''It's going to be a challenge, but we've just got to do what we do. All we're thinking now is winning another football game to get back to .500.''

Since the originally scheduled Sept. 8 game, Memphis has defeated 1-AA Jacksonville State at home and lost its Conference USA opener on the road by allowing more than 300 yards rushing and 601 total. Tiger coach Tommy West said the extra games have given the Indians more film to study.

''I'm not sure that (Arkansas State will) attack us the same way they would have,'' West said. ''They saw some weaknesses or deficiencies Saturday, and they do have in their package some things that they could use to try and take advantage. Plans can change in a two-week period.

''I don't think it will necessarily change us. You have to prepare for what they've done.''

West believes his team, which fell behind 49-0 at UCF, will have the fortitude to answer last weekend's knockout blow.

''I believe in this team,'' he said. ''I think this can be a good team. I love these kids. I think they're good kids and doing what we're asking. We've just got to get better playing.''

And, West said, he was encouraged by the recovery of his alma mater. Tennessee, after its 59-20 loss on the road at Florida, bounced back with a victory against Arkansas State.

''They went and got 59 put on them, got killed by a conference team,'' he said. ''Then they came back and won the game the next week. I give them credit for being able to come back. We've got to come off this thing and go play.''