Late mistakes lead to OT loss at Arkansas State in 2014
If Big 12 and other Power 5 conference fans look down on teams in the Mountain West as being far inferior, it would probably be safe to say that most MWC fans feel the same way about Sun Belt Conference teams. That’s why 2014’s 21-14 loss to Arkansas State, the premier program in the Sun Belt, had to be hard for Matt Wells to swallow.
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Making matters worse, 2014 was the Red Wolves’ worst team of the last decade. Having won three-straight conference titles, the 2014 ASU squad went just 7-6 overall and became the only ASU team from 2011-2016 to fail to capture the Sun Belt title.
Adding even more mystery to this loss is the fact that, as we have already stated, 2014’s team was one of the best of Wells’ career joining last year’s squad as the only 10-win teams he’s produced. The other three losses USU had that season came to Tennessee, Boise St., and Colorado St., three worthy foes.
But in the fourth game of the season and coming off a home win over Wake Forest, Utah State was caught sleep-walking as they went on the road. Still, Wells’ team absolutely dominated the stats.
USU outgained ASU 413-316 and won the turnover battle 4-1. But the Aggies did not score on any of the four possessions after Arkansas St. turnovers.
What’s more, as he would experience in the 2015 loss to UNM, Wells’ saw special teams cost him a win. The Aggies had a 38-yard FG blocked on the final play of regulation to send to overtime a game that USU led until 4:58 in the 4th quarter.
That field goal was set up by an Arkansas St. fumble at its own 38-yard-line with just 47 seconds to go. But the Aggies picked up only 15 yards on five plays making the game-winning kick more difficult.
At Tech, Wells will not only have to figure out how to beat teams that have been consistently better in recent years, he’s going to have to make certain that his team does not slip up against lesser opponents like Kansas or some non-conference teams like Houston and Wyoming which are on the schedule in the not-so-distant future. Losing games like that will keep the program from recapturing the place it once occupied in the college football landscape.