Jan 5, 2014; Mobile, AL, USA; Arkansas State Red Wolves quarterback Fredi Knighten (9) hands the ball off to running back David Oku (25) in the second half at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
Arkansas State backup quarterback Fredi Knighten led a 59-yard game-winning drive in the final minute and a half of the GoDaddy Bowl, and the Red Wolves beat Ball State 23-20 Sunday night in Mobile, Ala.
Knighten hit receiver Allen Muse for a 13-yard touchdown with 32 seconds remaining.
Red Wolves starting quarterback Adam Kennedy, a senior transfer from Utah State, re-injured his knee just before halftime. Knighten, a sophomore, took over and went 15-for-20 for 115 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Arkansas State (8-5) won the GoDaddy Bowl for the second year in a row, while Ball State fell to 0-7 all-time in bowl games.
The Cardinals (10-3) had one last chance when senior quarterback Keith Wenning drove them down the field and got kicker Scott Secor — who had already made 26- and 37-yard field goals — in prime position to tie the game from 38 yards out.
The kick was blocked, securing the victory for Red Wolves interim head coach John Thompson.
“God answers prayers, and he answered prayers with this team. This is a pure blessing,” Thompson said. “All the glory goes to God, I’ll tell you that. We kept coming back. This was a family win.”
Senior running back Jawhan Edwards (28 carries, 146 yards) gave Ball State the lead when he dived into the end zone from a yard out with under two minutes remaining to cap an 80-yard, 16-play drive that took nearly seven minutes.
The march was made possible after Ball State cornerback Eric Patterson intercepted Knighten on third-and-goal with seven minutes to play and Arkansas State leading 16-13.
Knighten redeemed himself with the game-winning drive.
“Fredi’s a winner,” Thompson said of Knighten, who also led the team in rushing with 19 carries for 97 yards. “He stuck in there when things went against us.”
Arkansas State linebacker Qushaun Lee, last year’s MVP of the Red Wolves’ bowl win against Kent State, picked off Wenning with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, again shutting down one of Football Bowl Subdivision’s most prolific offenses that averaged 40.1 points a game coming in.
Wenning finished 23 of 44 for 215 yards with one touchdown and one interception. It was the worst passing performance of the year for the senior, who came in No. 5 in the nation with 3,933 passing yards.
Junior wideout Willie Snead led the Cardinals with nine catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Arkansas State wide receiver J.D. McKissic had 10 catches for 82 yards.
The Red Wolves opened the second half with two straight marches down the field, but they came up short in the Cardinals’ red zone both times, settling for field goals of 18 and 29 yards by kicker Brian Davis that put them ahead 16-10.
Arkansas State was the only team to score in the third quarter after its defense twice stopped Ball State on fourth-down attempts.
Secor’s 37-yard field goal with 12:58 remaining in the game pulled the Cardinals within 16-13, the last scoring before the final two minutes.
Thompson, the Red Wolves’ defensive coordinator, led the Red Wolves to a bowl win for the second year in a row.
Last month, Arkansas State head coach Bryan Harsin left to take the same position at Boise State. In December 2012, Gus Malzahn bolted the Red Wolves to take over at Auburn.
In attendance Sunday night was the Red Wolves’ new head coach, Blake Anderson, the former North Carolina offensive coordinator.
Anderson said during a first-half interview with ESPN that the trend of coaches abandoning the Red Wolves’ program had to stop — and that he’s “going to be here awhile.”
“(This program has) a great tradition, it’s a great area and it has great administrators who have a vision for what we want to do in the future,” said Anderson, who will be the fifth head coach in five years for the Red Wolves. “I think I made a statement with my contract and what it says (about) my ability to leave (early).”
Playing in a driving rain Sunday night to begin the final bowl before the BCS National Championship Game on Monday, the high-scoring offenses of Ball State and Arkansas State got off to slow starts.
The Cardinals went three-and-out on their first two possessions, while kicker Brian Davis missed a 34-yard field goal on Arkansas State’s opening drive. The kick appeared to sail directly over the top of the right upright, but it was ruled no good despite protests by the Red Wolves’ sideline.
A missed field goal is not a reviewable play.
Ball State’s third drive ended with a familiar combination late in the first quarter: senior quarterback Keith Wenning to junior wideout Willie Snead. The duo capped a 14-play, 89-yard march when Wenning found Snead slicing between two defenders for a 9-yard touchdown, giving the Cardinals a 7-0 lead.
It was the 35th passing score of the season for Wenning, 15 of them to Snead, who came into the game fourth in the nation in touchdown receptions this season.
Davis made a 41-yard field goal to cap Arkansas State’s fourth drive, midway through the second quarter. In a 30 mph swirling wind, Davis drilled the kick right down the middle for his team’s first points.
Wenning led the Cardinals right back on their next possession, keeping the march alive twice with third-down conversions. The drive lasted 6:09 but stalled inside the Red Wolves’ 10-yard line, and Ball State settled for a 26-yard Scott Secor field goal to push the margin to 10-3.
Arkansas State answered with under a minute left before halftime. The Red Wolves converted on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to tie the game at 10-10. Running back Sirgregory Thornton took the handoff, and the 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior bullied his way into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.
NOTES: The Red Wolves, who moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (then Division I-A) in 1992, are guaranteed their third straight winning season. Before 2011, they finished above .500 just once in the previous 19 seasons … Ball State only played one game in the last 53 days prior to Sunday’s contest. The Cardinals had a bye week prior to their Nov. 29 regular-season finale against Miami (Ohio) … The Godaddy.com Bowl marked the first meeting between the schools.
