DENTON, Texas (11/29/08) ? Arkansas State junior running back Reggie Arnold and junior quarterback Corey Leonard accounted for a combined four touchdowns to lead the Red Wolves (6-5, 4-2) to a 33-28 Sun Belt Conference victory over North Texas (1-11, 0-7) Saturday afternoon at Fouts Field, giving ASU six wins on the season to make it bowl eligible for the third time in the last four years.
Junior safety Marcus Brown secured the victory when he intercepted Giovanni Vizza with 23 seconds left in the game, stopping a North Texas drive that reached the ASU 41-yard line. The interception completed an ASU rally after the Mean Green had grabbed a 28-24 lead, its only advantage of the game, on a 29-yard touchdown run by Cam Montgomery with 6:54 left in the third quarter.
ASU responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive on its next possession to regain the lead at 30-28 after Josh Arauco's extra-point was blocked. Leonard found junior wide receiver Brandon Thompkins for a 63-yard reception, the longest of Thompkins career, that set up Arnold's second touchdown run from the one-yard line at the 5:07 mark of the third quarter.
Arauco kicked a 24-yard field goal with 9:05 left in the fourth quarter to set the final score at 33-28. The defense, led by three players with an interception and a career-high 13 tackles from senior linebacker Ben Owens, then stopped the Mean Green on its final two possessions to clinch the win.
“I am very proud of our football team,” said ASU Head Coach Steve Roberts. “This was a big win for us. We have now become bowl eligible in three of the last four years and that is big for this program. For us to win on the road like this, having played only one home game the last five weeks is also big for our program.”
The Red Wolves finished with 393 yards of total offense, narrowly missing its sixth 400-yard performance of the season. Arnold recorded his third straight 100-yard rushing game, finishing the day with 101 yards to pace ASU's rushing attack that piled up 188 yards. Leonard completed 12-of-22 passes for 205 yards and tied his own school record with his 16th passing touchdown of the season.
Along with Brown, sophomore defensive tackle Bryan Hall and junior safety Evan Van Dolah both tallied their first career interceptions. ASU, which lost one fumble, improved to 6-0 this year when winning the turnover battle.
North Texas finished the game with 327 yards of total offense, marking the seventh game the Red Wolves have outgained their opponent. ASU had six players finish with five or more tackles and also had six players finish with at least one tackle for loss. Junior corner Daylan Walker followed Owens with eight tackles, while Brown and junior defensive end Alex Carrington posted seven.
ASU led 7-0 and 14-7 in the first half, but North Texas came back to tie it up both times. After North Texas tied the score 14-14 with 48 seconds left in the first half, Paul Stephens returned the Mean Green's kick a career-best 57 yards to set up Arauco's first field goal from 36 yards. Stephens' return was the longest by an ASU player since Darren Toney had a 60-yard return against Florida International last season.
Leonard ended ASU's first possession of the second half with a three-yard touchdown run that gave ASU a 24-14 lead, its largest of the game, early in the third quarter. The Mean Green came back to score 14 unanswered points before ASU went back on top for good with 5:07 left in the third.
The victory sets up a showdown next Saturday with Troy for the Sun Belt Conference title. If ASU defeats Troy, the Red Wolves and Trojans will both finish with a 5-2 conference record, while Louisiana-Lafayette can also finish with a 5-2 league mark with a win over Middle Tennessee this Wednesday. However, ASU can win the tie-breaker over the Ragin' Cajuns and Troy with a head-to-head win over the Trojans.
