Indiana Hoosiers vs Arkansas State Red Wolves Football Preview

In the Football Bowl Subdivision, there are over 50 college football games played every Saturday from Labor Day weekend through the second weekend of November. On these Saturdays, the Alabama’s and Ohio States gain the lion's share of publicity. However, this doesn't mean that the Arkansas States and Indiana’s of the world cease to matter. There will be a lot of urgency packed inside Memorial Stadium this weekend, because the Indiana Hoosiers plainly need to win this Saturday’s game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves if they want to make a bowl game in 2010.

In the larger scheme of things, a college football observer might not assign too much importance to this weekend’s game between Arkansas State and Indiana. After all, these are two undistinguished teams in the sport, with ASU hailing from the lightly-regarded Sun Belt Conference and Indiana occupying the lower tier of the Big Ten. The impact of this game won’t reverberate through the rest of the college football community, that’s for sure. However, this contest on the Hoosiers’ home field will be very important for each of these teams. ASU is 2-4 through the first half of its season and has very little margin for error right now. Coach Steve Roberts’ ballclub has to start posting results if it expects to produce a winning season. On the other side of the divide, Indiana coach Bill Lynch desperately needs this game in advance of the second half of his team’s season, which consists solely of Big Ten games. Indiana, sitting at 3-2, has to get to 4-2 to give itself a reasonable chance of going .500 and thereby becoming bowl eligible.

The Red Wolves turn to quarterback Ryan Aplin for the balance of their offensive production. Aplin has thrown for 1,574 yards through six games while rushing for 207 more yards. This is a versatile and distinctly athletic quarterback who could pose problems for Indiana’s decidedly suspect defense. Indiana has coasted against inferior teams but got lit up by Big Ten schools Michigan and Ohio State. If Aplin can play a big-time game this weekend, the Red Wolves have a chance to make the Hoosiers sweat bullets. ASU needs to score 30 points against Indiana – that’s the bad news. The good news is that such a feat is entirely doable.

If Aplin is a quality quarterback, Indiana signal caller Ben Chappell can also be included in the conversation. Chappell has thrown for 1,476 yards, but in only five games, whereas Aplin has racked up 98 more passing yards in six contests. Chappell has smoked Western Kentucky (on the road) earlier this year, and while Arkansas State hasn’t yet played WKU in the Sun Belt, that result still indicates that Indiana is better than a lower-tier Sun Belt team. If Chappell plays his best and doesn’t commit an untimely turnover, it will be very hard for ASU to go on the road and win in Bloomington.

Two teams are looking for a critical boost before they return to conference play. Two talented multi-threat quarterbacks will duel to establish gridiron supremacy. Arkansas State versus Indiana won't dominate headlines, but the Red Wolves and Hoosiers are both facing an appointment with destiny.

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