WEST POINT, N.Y.?Mental miscues, turnovers, penalties and special teams breakdowns all cost Arkansas State dearly as the Black Knights of Army easily dispatched the Indians, 38-10, here on Saturday.
ASU (5-5, 4-2) committed nine penalties, had two interceptions, a lost fumble and had several mental lapses that allowed a stingy Army defense to force ASU into being one-dimensional. The biggest bright spot for the Indians on the day was Antonio Warren rushing for 128-yards and a touchdown.
The normally reliable special teams had a tough day as return star James Johnson muffed a punt that Army recovered and had another punt return for a touchdown that was called back because of a pair of penalties. In all, ASU had nine penalties on the day leaving the team total just one off the record for penalties in a season with one game remaining.
ASU held the Cadets (4-6) on their first offensive possession, but the Indian offense couldn't get going and managed just 18 yards on the first two series of the game. On ASU's second offensive series, Eric Neihouse punted the ball 31 yards to Scott Wesley, but Oren O'Neal got his hand tangled Wesley's face mask, resulting in great field position for the Black Knights. Two rushes later by Carlton Jones and Army was up 7-0 with 9:52 left in the first quarter.
ASU's drive after that started in a promising manner was Nick Noce and company began methodically moving the ball down the field, going from the ASU 20 to the ASU 42 before a penalty moved the ball back to the ASU 37. The next play, Noce threw into coverage and Army's Randy Chasten stepped in front of the ball for the first of two interceptions by Noce on the day.
ASU's best drive of the day came late in the first quarter through the start of the second. Already trailing 14-0, the Indians began a 16 play scoring drive but managed only three points. However, an ASU offense that had been having difficulty sustaining drives seemed to be returning to normal.
The defense for the Tribe stepped in and held Army to just 19 yards on the ensuing possession and forced the Cadets to punt the ball away. But with 1:47 left in the first half, Johnson slid underneath the punt and muffed the ball. Nicholas Lopez fell on the ball for Army at the ASU 37.
Four plays later Army punched in another score when quarterback Zach Dahman found a wide open Corey Anderson for a 15 yard touchdown.
ASU's offense again sputtered and forced Neihouse to punt away with just 4:03 left in the first half. But Army again found a way to move the ball on the Tribe, this time aided by ASU penalties. Dahman found Jones underneath for a screen pass that Jones turned into a big gain, moving the ball form the ASU 47 to the 21. On the next play, Scott Wesley busted several tackles and found his way to a 21-yard touchdown romp, giving Army a 28-3 halftime lead.
The loss by ASU makes the season finale against North Texas even more important as a win over the Mean Green would give ASU its sixth win on the year and make ASU bowl eligible. A win at UNT combined with a Louisiana-Monroe loss would move the Indians into the New Orleans Bowl as the conference champions.
