Arkansas State football feels no pressure with no expectations against Ohio State

Champ Flemings’ first college game was against Ohio State.

The Arkansas State redshirt senior wide receiver traveled to Columbus with Oregon State in 2018 and lost to the Buckeyes 77-31 in the season opener.

It was his introduction to college football, Flemings said. And when he’s back with the Red Wolves on Saturday, the pageantry will be nothing new for him.

“It’s just another game,” Flemings said. “I’m not too worried about the crowd noise or the hundreds of thousands of people and whoever’s in the other color jerseys. It doesn’t really make too much of a difference.

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“The quality of opponent, it is what it is. We've got to go out there and play a football game.”

Butch Jones' Arkansas State 'shares same values' as Ohio State

Butch Jones has seen Ohio State recently, too.

Before becoming Arkansas State’s head coach in 2021, Jones was on Alabama’s coaching staff as special assistant to coach Nick Saban, helping the Crimson Tide to a national championship win against the Buckeyes.

As he prepares for the Buckeyes with Arkansas State, Jones, who has led programs at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee, said his and Ohio State’s programs “share the same principles and values” and “stress the same things we stress.”

But Jones is trying to turn his program around, inheriting a Red Wolves team that went 4-7 under Blake Anderson in 2020 which turned into two wins in 12 games in 2021.

Jones sees progress in the Red Wolves.

In Arkansas State’s 58-3 win against Grambling State last week, he said it was the first time in his tenure where his team “tried to hunt,” recording 339 yards and six touchdowns in the run game with former Florida State quarterback James Blackman, former Iowa State running back Johnnie Lang and former Ohio State running back Brian Snead, while allowing 102 yards of offense defensively.

But Jones knows Ohio State will be a different beast.

“They force the offensive line and the quarterback to work on every single play,” Jones said of the Buckeyes’ defense. “They give you a multitude of different looks, very aggressive. They take great pride in their toughness, which you would expect from them.”

Flemings calls Ohio State’s defense a “confident group,” one that will challenge Arkansas State’s offense and force the Red Wolves to beat them in one-on-one coverage.

Defensive tackle TW Ayers said it will be one of the only times Arkansas State’s defense will have a chance to compare itself to “all these guys that you see on TV,” including quarterback C.J. Stroud, who he’s aiming to get into the backfield against.

Entering into Ohio Stadium with 29 newcomers, more than 40 freshmen and sophomores and as 43.5-point underdogs, Arkansas State, Ayers said, is coming in with a bit of relief. There’s no pressure because there are no expectations.

“You just get to go out there and (it’s) just like you’re playing ball like you’re a kid, just out there having fun, knowing your responsibility, focusing on exactly what your job is and not having all the pressure because nobody thinks you can,” Ayers said. “So you might as well go out there and just put on the best performance you can.”

Rob Harley to return to Ohio Stadium as Arkansas State's defensive coordinator

Snead will not be the only familiar face on the opposing sideline at Ohio Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Rob Harley, Arkansas State’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, played safety at Ohio State from 2001-05 and was a member of the Buckeyes’ 2002 national championship team. Harley’s great uncle was Chic Harley, the first three-time All-American in Ohio State history.

Harley has had coaching stints at Ohio Dominican, Michigan State, Florida International and Pittsburgh, where he spent six seasons as linebackers coach along with later being the program’s recruiting coordinator.

While Jones said he knows Harley has great friends and former teammates still around Ohio State, he has no questions as to where his defensive coordinator’s head will be at Saturday.

“He’s an Arkansas State Red Wolf going in there playing game two,” Jones said.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Arkansas State has no expectations against Ohio State football