JONESBORO, Ark. (10/23/10) - Trailing by a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the Arkansas State Red Wolves (3-5, 3-2) reeled off 28 consecutive points and went on to defeat the Florida Atlantic Owls 37-16 in Sun Belt Conference football action Saturday afternoon at ASU Stadium.

Florida Atlantic (1-5, 0-3) led 16-9 following a field goal from kicker Ross Gonall on the opening play of the fourth quarter, but the Red Wolves used a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Aplin to wide receiver Anthony Robinson to tie the game on the next ASU possession, then cashed in when the ASU defense forced turnovers on the next three FAU drives, resulting in three A-State touchdowns in just over two minutes.

Defensive back Adrian Hills picked off FAU quarterback Jeff Van Camp and returned the interception 37 yards to put the Red Wolves on top 23-16, ASU noseguard Dorvus Woods forced a fumble when he sacked Van Camp at the Owl one to set up the next A-State touchdown and Hills' interception at the FAU 40 led to a four-yard touchdown run from wideout Anthony Robinson that gave the Red Wolves a 37-16 lead with 7:12 remaining.

Robinson hauled in a career-high eight passes for 88 yards and added a receiving touchdown from Aplin, who finished the day 28-of-46 for 230 yards and a touchdown.  Aplin also rushed for 64 yards and a score to go along with 55 yards and a touchdown from running back Jermaine Robertson. 

In addition to Hills' heroics, linebacker Nathan Herrold led the Red Wolves defense with 8 tackles, and defensive tackle Bryan Hall added six stops and a pair of sacks.

"I am excited about the way we finished the football game," said ASU head coach Steve Roberts.  "We played three phases of football extremely well in the fourth quarter.  We challenged them to finish when we had the opportunity and the kids stepped up and did a tremendous job, obviously sparked by the play of our defense.  We did a super job of getting pressure on their quarterback, forcing errant throws and making plays on the ball."

After a scoreless first quarter, Arkansas State got the scoring going with a 24-8yard field goal from Bobby Zalud just over two minutes into the second period.  Florida Atlantic wasted no time in answering the ASU field goal, moving 71 yards in four plays on the Owls' next drive and finding the end zone on a 29-yard pass from Van Camp to tight end Rob Housler.  Gornall added the extra point for the 7-3 Owl advantage at the 11:40 mark in the second quarter.

The Red Wolves answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive to regain the lead on their next possession.  Robertson rushed for 40 yards on the drive, including a 22-yard run to the FAU 18, followed by a 17-yard run that set up a one-yard scoring run from Aplin.  Zalud's extra point was off the mark, leaving ASU on top 9-7 with 9:16 to play in the half.

An 80-yard touchdown pass from Van Camp to wide receiver Lester Jean midway through the third quarter put the Owls back on top.  Arkansas State's Tim Starson blocked the extra point, leaving FAU with a 13-9 advantage, but the Owls tacked on a 36-yard field goal from Gornall on the opening play of the fourth quarter to go up by a touchdown at 16-9.

The Red Wolves will be back in action Nov. 2 when they host the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State in a 6:00 p.m. game that will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

ASU postgame notes vs. FAU:

TEAM

• ASU's Team Captains for game 8 were Dominic Padrta, Alfred Louis and Anthony Robinson.
• ASU has won back-to-back Sun Belt Conference games for the first time since the last two games of the 2009 season.
• A-State improved to 3-1 this year at home this year and to 31-11 all-time at ASU Stadium under head coach Steve Roberts.
• ASU evened its all-time series record against Florida Atlantic to 3-3.
• ASU's 21-point margin of victory against FAU is its largest against an FBS opponent since defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 52-21 in its sixth game of the 2007 campaign.

OFFENSE

• ASU ran a season-high 91 offensive plays, including 44 rushing and 47 passing.
• Ryan Aplin took over 4th place for completions (178), 5th place for total offense yards (2,373) and 6th place for passing yards (2,084).  Aplin threw one touchdown passing, giving him 13 for the season that ties the seventh most in school history.
• Aplin completed 28 passes during the game, matching his second highest total this year.
• Anthony Robinson recorded his first career rushing touchdown and second career receiving touchdown while posting eight receptions for 88 yards, both career highs.
• ASU completed at least one pass to a season-high 12 different receivers.
• A season-high 10 different players recorded at least one rushing attempt.  Neely Sullivent and Lucious Henderson both carried the ball for the first time this year, giving ASU 11 players with a rushing attempt this year.
• ASU recorded 408 yards of total offense against FAU, marking the fifth time this season it has posted at 400-plus yards.  The Red Wolves have now recorded at least 300 yards of total offense in every game this season, marking the first time since 1996 that A-State has piled up 300-plus yards in eight straight games.
• ASU recorded at least 150 rushing yards for the fifth time over the last six games.

DEFENSE

• ASU limited Florida Atlantic to 319 yards of total offense, its second fewest allowed this season.
• ASU held an opponent to under 100 rushing yards for the first time since its 2009 season opener, limiting FAU to 92 total yards on the ground.
• ASU tied its season high with two interceptions, both by Adrian Hills.  Hills posted an interception for the first time of his career at ASU and became the first A-State player to post multiple interceptions in a game since Darren Toney picked off two passes against Florida International on Nov. 3, 2007.  Hills returned his first interception for a touchdown, the first by an ASU defensive player since Demario Davis recorded a pick-six against Iowa last season.  Hills joined M.D. Jennings as the second ASU player this year to record two interceptions in a game.
• ASU forced a season-high three turnovers (2 interceptions, one fumble recovery).
• Nathan Herrold recorded a team-high eight tackles, matching his second highest total of the season.
• A-State recorded a season-high four sacks.  Bryan Hall recorded a career-high two sacks, giving him a team-best 5.5 for the season.  Dorvus Woods recorded his second sack of the year and Brandon Joiner picked up his first full sack.  Woods and Joiner also both forced one fumble, which was Woods second and Joiner's first this year.  Additionally, Joiner recorded his first fumble recovery at ASU.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Bobby Zauld recorded a career-high four touchbacks out of seven kickoffs against FAU.  The Red Wolves averaged 63.3 yards per kickoff, its fourth highest this season.
• Neely Sullivent averaged 45.5 yards per punt, his second highest this season.  Over the last two games, he is averaging 46.2 yards on 10 punts.  Sullivent punted for a season-high 273 yards on six punts against FAU.  He had two punts inside the 20, giving him 12 for the year.
• Rod Hall took over sole possession of fifth place at ASU for punt return yards in a season, finishing the game with 25 yards on one return to give him 618 for the season.
• Tim Starson blocked one extra point in the game, giving him four blocked kicks for the season that is the second most in school history.