JONESBORO,
Ark. (11/14/2011) — Following his performance in Arkansas State's 30-21 Sun
Belt Conference victory over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday, ASU junior
quarterback Ryan Aplin was named SBC Offensive Player of the Week by
CollegeSportsMadness.com, and sophomore placekicker Brian Davis and senior punter
Neely Sullivent were named to the national honorable mention list by College
Football Performance Awards.
Aplin
recorded 296 yards of total offense, including 226 yards through the air and 70
on the ground, and was responsible for three touchdowns in the win over the
Cajuns. He completed 20-of-32 passes
(63%) and tossed a pair of touchdown passes that gave ASU an early 14-0
lead. His rushing touchdown came with
1:31 left in the third quarter, putting the Red Wolves back ahead 27-21 after
the Ragin' Cajuns had taken a one-point lead earlier in the quarter. During the game, he became the Sun Belt
Conference's fifth all-time leader in passing yards with 6,413 career yards to
his credit. He also went over 3,000
yards of total offense this season during the game, making him just the second
Sun Belt Conference player ever with at least 3,000 yards in two different
seasons. Aplin was responsible for at
least three touchdowns in a game for the fifth time this season and went over
200 yards passing for the ninth time.
Davis was a
perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and added three extra points to finish
with 12 points in the victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. His three field goals were the second-most of
his career, tied the second-most this year by a Sun Belt player and marks the
fourth time of his career he has made multiple field goals in a game. His last field goal in the game gave ASU a
two-possession lead with 2:49 remaining.
During the game, he moved into a tie for the fourth most field goals made
(15) in a season by an ASU player, and he also took over fourth place for the
most points made by kicking (77).
Sullivent
punted twice in the game for a 49.0-yard average. He had a long punt of 53 yards and both of
his kicks were downed inside the Ragin' Cajuns' 20-yard line. Sullivent has punted 13 times on the season,
averaging 42.2 yards per kick. He has a long punt of 67 yards, two kicks of
more than 50 yards and six of his 13 punts have been downed inside the
opponents' 20-yard line.
Holding a
6-0 Sun Belt record with two league games remaining on its schedule, Arkansas
State (8-2 overall) can secure at least a share of the conference championship when
it returns to action Saturday at Middle Tennessee State (2-7, 1-4). The
Red Wolves currently hold the nation's seventh longest winning streak at seven
games, which includes three consecutive road victories. The Red Wolves are ranked 28th
nationally by CBSSports.com and are 36th in the latest BCS
standings.
Saturday's
kickoff against the Blue Raiders is set for 2:00 p.m. in Murfreesboro, Tenn.,
and the game will be televised by ESPN3.com.
