Getting to know the opponent

[Husker_x]

Getting to know Arkansas State

• When: 1 p.m. Saturday

• Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln

• TV: FSN pay-per-view

• Radio: 1110 AM KFAB

 

LAST TIME OUT

Hard to learn much about Arkansas State after the season's first week. The Red Wolves weren't tested Saturday by Mississippi Valley State. They piled up 40 points and 294 total yards by halftime, cruising easily to a 61-0 win.

 

Led by the Sun Belt's preseason defensive player of the year, lineman Alex Carrington, Arkansas State allowed just 69 yards — and 16 of those came from an opposing punter who dropped the snap and scampered for a fourth down gain. Mississippi Valley State was 0 for 12 on third downs and never had the ball longer than four minutes.

 

The ASU offensive unit was just as efficient as its counterparts on defense, capping nine of its 14 drives with touchdowns. And eight of those touchdowns came from the ground game. The Red Wolves relied on several running backs all day Saturday, recording 358 rushing yards on 53 carries. They attempted just 14 passes, totaling 138 yards through the air.

 

OFFENSIVE STARS

Arkansas State's two best offensive playmakers will end their careers with their names all over the school record book.

 

Quarterback Corey Leonard, actually the Sun Belt's preseason co-offensive player of the year, set the school career record for total offense by picking up 136 yards Saturday. He has 7,433 yards now.

 

Leonard has already recorded the second-most completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns in ASU history. Cleo Lemon, an NFL quarterback during the past six years, still holds those records.

 

And then there's running back Reggie Arnold, who's 611 yards from becoming the school's all-time rushing leader. If he reaches 1,000 yards again this year, he'll become just the eighth player in NCAA history to do so in four consecutive seasons.

 

HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS

These Red Wolves probably won't be intimidated by the scene at Memorial Stadium. They proved last year that they can handle hostile environments quite well, when they left Kyle Field with a shocking 18-14 upset of Texas A&M. Arkansas State never lost composure that day, scoring the game's go-ahead touchdown with less than five minutes on the clock.

 

The victory marked the program's first win against a BCS conference school since it joined the NCAA's highest division 16 years ago.

 

The Red Wolves did play at Alabama later in the season, dropping that game 35-0.

 

REPLACEMENT GUARD

Arkansas State will have to replace its starting left guard before Saturday's match-up with Nebraska.

Senior Dominic Padrta, a 10-game returning starter who began the 2009 season opener with top offensive unit, reportedly suffered a season-ending injury during the first quarter of the team's 61-0 win. He was the lone senior on the offensive line.

 

Alfred Louis, a 6-foot-3, 306-pound junior, was listed behind Padrta on the team's most recent depth chart. Louis started two games and played in eight last season.

 

The Red Wolves will be searching for a new backup safety this week, too. They started sophomore Kelcie McCray and junior M.D. Jennings at the two safety spots last Saturday, but in the second quarter, senior Evan Van Dolah suffered a serious injury. He reportedly also is out for the year.

 

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