2020 Arkansas State

4–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Blake Anderson.

Schedule and results

Arkansas State in 2020, game by game: lost at Memphis 24–37; won at Kansas State 35–31; lost at Coastal Carolina 23–52; won vs. Central Arkansas 50–27; won vs. Georgia State 59–52; lost at App State 17–45; lost vs. Troy 10–38; lost at Louisiana 20–27; lost at Texas State 45–47; lost vs. South Alabama 31–38; won vs. UL Monroe 48–15+33−29Lost 24–37 at Memphis-13MemphisWon 35–31 at Kansas State+4Kansas StateLost 23–52 at Coastal Carolina-29Coastal CarolinaWon 50–27 vs. Central Arkansas+23Central ArkansasWon 59–52 vs. Georgia State+7Georgia StateLost 17–45 at App State-28App StateLost 10–38 vs. Troy-28TroyLost 20–27 at Louisiana-7LouisianaLost 45–47 at Texas State-2Texas StateLost 31–38 vs. South Alabama-7South AlabamaWon 48–15 vs. UL Monroe+33UL Monroe
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UL Monroe 48–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 8th in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
362–⁠409
Coach
Blake Anderson
Elo
1430 −91 this season
SP+ rating
-6.5 No. 94 of 130; offense No. 42, defense No. 122
SRS
−7.3 No. 57 of 77 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 65 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 92 roster talent No. 97 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Keith Heckendorf
Defensive coordinators
David Duggan and Nick Paremski
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense46th of 127
  • Defense95th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1443%1.4646th of 127
Defense0.1943%1.4495th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.17 def
42% off
43% def
—43rd off
103rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.0own 2616% allowed
Defense3.9own 3317% caused

CORE rating -5.3, 85th of 127 (offense 2.1, defense 7.4).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsLayne Hatcher QB2,058 yds
Passing touchdownsLayne Hatcher QB19 TD
Rushing yardsJamal Jones RB576 yds
Rushing touchdownsJamal Jones RB3 TD
Receiving yardsJonathan Adams Jr. WR1,111 yds
Receiving touchdownsJonathan Adams Jr. WR12 TD
TacklesJustin Rice LB76 tkl
SacksJustin Rice LB7 sacks
InterceptionsAntonio Fletcher S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Corbet Mims SDE★★★No. 794
Antwon Fegans Jr. CB★★★No. 1200
Austin Woods OT★★★No. 1347
Brett Nezat PRO★★★No. 1379
Corey Rucker WR★★★No. 1467

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.844
Running backs22.00.768
Receivers13.00.842
Offensive line33.00.820
Defensive line23.00.847
Linebackers13.00.830
Defensive backs43.00.833
Athletes and specialists13.00.804
Whole class152.90.823

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 101

The 2020 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Coastal Carolina8–⁠011–⁠114
Louisiana7–⁠110–⁠115
App State6–⁠29–⁠3
Georgia Southern4–⁠48–⁠5
Georgia State4–⁠46–⁠4
Troy3–⁠45–⁠6
South Alabama3–⁠54–⁠7
Arkansas State2–⁠64–⁠7
Texas State2–⁠62–⁠10
UL Monroe0–⁠70–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.