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||Loss at ULL sticks with Tribe
BY MATTHEW V. ROBERSON
SUN STAFF WRITER
JONESBORO — Arkansas State’s Indians still feel like they owe Louisiana-Lafayette and themselves something.
It’s been nearly a year since UL Lafayette handed Ark-ansas State a 27-24 defeat that assured ASU of a losing season and appropriately eliminated the Indians from Sun Belt Conference contention.
While the Ragin’ Cajuns might remember it a little differently, the Indians look back and recall a game they could have and should have won — but didn’t.
“We felt like we were the better team but they beat us,” ASU quarterback Nick Noce said. “The guys that were there, that played against them last year in that game, know what it felt like. We felt like we should have won.”
Indicative of its whole season last fall, ASU started its game at Louisiana-Lafayette quickly but self-destructed. After moving down the field into the ULL red zone, the Indians received back-to-back false start penalties, then had a field-goal attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown.
Instead of leading, ASU trailed.
“We took the opening drive and after a couple of penalties had a field goal blocked which they returned for a touchdown,” ASU coach Steve Roberts recalled. “It really turned the complexion of the first half.”
Louisiana-Lafayette bulldozed its way to a 24-0 lead before Arkansas State finally recovered. The Indians managed to fight their way back, but had a critical fourth-down pass ruled incomplete in the end zone.
Arkansas State tight end Manuel Burton, who had an apparent touchdown catch wiped away on the play, said the Indians simply made too many mental mistakes at UL Lafayette last season.
“Last year’s game was just a combination of us not being real focused as a team,” Burton said. “We had penalties, the offense wasn’t really executing, and we didn’t really come out with the intensity and the focus that we needed.”
Noce took the loss especially hard, refusing interview requests following the defeat.
“I really put a lot of pressure on myself that game,” Noce said. “I really felt like there was a lot more I could have done to help our team win. I felt like I put our team in bad situations just from the way I played. I was really upset after that game. I felt like I let a lot of my teammates down, especially the seniors.”
Arkansas State will have a chance to redeem itself Thursday night when the Ragin’ Cajuns visit.
Again ASU is in a similar position as it was last year. The Indians (2-3 overall, 1-1 Sun Belt) already have one loss in league play and can’t afford another if they want to stay in the hunt for the SBC title.
And, ASU is also having similar problems with penalties. The Indians are one of the most penalized teams in the country with 56 in five games.
Since committing 13 penalties in a 28-21 loss to Louisiana-Monroe, ASU has taken steps to keep from repeating the mistakes. When the Indians commit a penalty during practice, they run conditioning drills and then repeat the play until it’s executed correctly.
“Everybody understands that the penalties are really killing us,” Burton said. “They’re getting it across to us. I think you’ll see this weekend that we’ll have less penalties than we’ve had all year.”
The Indians are hoping that by correcting their mental mistakes, the results will be much different than the final score against ULL a year ago.
Noce said last year’s defeat to ULL serves as motivation.
“I took that loss pretty tough, but it was a great learning experience for me,” Noce added. “I look back on it now and realize that you’ve got to mature from it and move on.”
Indians seek revenge against UL
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