What's next for Ohio State football? An early glance at Arkansas State
The non-conference portion of Ohio State’s schedule continues this week.
Arkansas State, which was once one of the top teams in the Sun Belt until backsliding in recent seasons, travels to Columbus on Saturday.
Throughout the previous decade, it won a share of the conference title more than any other team in the league. Coaches Hugh Freeze and Gus Malzahn were poached by SEC schools.
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But the Red Wolves are coming off consecutive losing seasons, including going 2-10 last fall in former Tennessee coach Butch Jones’ first year at the helm.
Week 2: Ohio State vs. Arkansas State
Saturday, noon, Big Ten Network, 97.1 FM/1460 AM
Poll position
The regular season’s first Associated Press poll isn’t unveiled until Tuesday afternoon, leaving the Buckeyes at No. 2 behind Alabama from the preseason release. Arkansas State has never been ranked by the AP.
Ohio State vs. Arkansas State point spread
Ohio State opened as a 44-point favorite over the Red Wolves, the heaviest the Buckeyes have been favored since their final non-conference game last season against Akron.
Arkansas State's last game
If the Red Wolves needed a jolt of confidence after a stretch of losing seasons, they got some over the weekend in a 58-3 rout of Grambling, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. It was Arkansas State’s most lopsided win since 2012.
Arkansas State’s strength
James Blackman was a former starting quarterback at Florida State before transferring to Arkansas State last year. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener, while also running for a pair of scores. The Red Wolves’ scoring dipped last season after he missed the final six games with an injury.
Arkansas State’s weakness
While it held Grambling to a field goal last Saturday, no Sun Belt team allowed more points last season than Arkansas State. Among all 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, it ranked No. 122 in scoring defense and No. 129 in total defense. Jones' track record of success is on the offensive side of the ball.
Arkansas State’s player to watch
Former Ohio State running back Brian Snead, who was dismissed from the university in 2018 after he was found in violation of two student code of conduct charges of sexual misconduct, transferred from FCS Austin Peay over the summer. Snead rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against Grambling.
Arkansas State’s X-factor
Though he’s been in the South for almost a decade, Jones isn’t unfamiliar with Ohio State. After being fired by Tennessee in 2017, he spent the next three seasons on Alabama’s support staff, involved with game-planning, and was with the Crimson Tide when they faced the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff championship game to end the 2020 season.
Ohio State-Arkansas State series history
The Buckeyes have gone against Arkansas once, meeting the Razorbacks in 2011 Sugar Bowl, but they have not played the state’s other FBS team.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football vs. Arkansas State preview
