NCAA College Football Betting – Arkansas State Indians

[Shame About Ray]

After a close 21-13 loss to No. 4 Texas, Arkansas State was looking to make a big sports betting splash in 2007. But a fifth place finish in the Sun Belt left Arkansas State with a relatively inconspicuous football wagering season. There is more ammo in place for this year to make a dent in the conference.

Offense

The offense is built around quarterback Corey Leonard and running back Reggie Arnold who team up to make one of the better tandems. Leonard is a solid quarterback but he is a runner and at times, a better runner than passer. He had 15 interceptions, which is an amount he has to reduce.

Arnold is a quality back. He’s topped 1000 yards rushing over the last two seasons and should surpass that benchmark again in his junior season.

Senior Kevin Jones and junior Brandon Thompkins are the top two wideouts and both have good speed. Thompkins had 41 receptions last year.

The key here is that the offensive line could be one of the better units in the Sun Belt even though they lost four starters. Tackle Matt Mandich is the anchor and is a first-team Sun Belt lineman, and the other four projected starters are experienced.

If that’s the case, the Indians should have a strong offense given the talent they have at all of the skill positions.

Defense

The story of the Indians defense will be if they can recover from losing all four starters in the secondary including Tyrell Johnson, the Sun Belt’s all-time leading tackler. There aren’t too many answers how to replace a veteran secondary quite yet.

The front seven should be a strong suit with Brian Flagg and Alex Harrington up front. They are a decent duo off the edges, which might help mask some of the deficiencies in the secondary.

The defense was fine last year but how will they respond after losing a number of top playmakers?

Outlook

The Indians have a decent all-around team if they can work out the kinks in the secondary, which might make them a sleeper (somewhat) in the Sun Belt.

They have one of the best running backs in the conference who teams with a dual threat quarterback to make up a productive offense. If Leonard can limit his interceptions this year, the Indians will move the ball consistently.

One caveat is that both Leonard and Arnold are recovering from shoulder surgeries and haven’t been part of spring practice yet.

They have a killer finish to the schedule, which will likely hinder their chances at a title and limit them to a spoiler role.

They play five of their final six games on the road with trips to LA-Lafayette, Alabama, FIU, Texas North and Troy planned. If they can get to 4-2 before that difficult stretch, the Indians should have chance to be bowl eligible.

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