Arkansas State football has real shot at Sun Belt title in 2020

Arkansas State football will compete once again with Appalachian State and Louisiana as one of the top Sun Belt teams in 2020.

It seems like year in and year out, there’s serious contenders for the conference title game for each league. In the Sun Belt, one of those teams has been Arkansas State for the past nine years. In each of those nine seasons, the Red Wolves have been to a bowl game and competed for the Sun Belt title.

Last season, the Red Wolves had an 8-5 record (5-3 in Sun Belt play) and beat the FIU Panthers 34-26 in the Camellia Bowl. This was the ninth consecutive season that the Red Wolves finished with a winning record with the last six coming under head coach Blake Anderson. He has been a coach whose name has been popping up as a potential head coach at a Power Five program.

Anderson has a 47-30 record with the Red Wolves and has led his them to at least a share of the Sun Belt championship twice. Still, he has chosen to remain with the program in good times and bad. It was just weeks before the 2019 season when Anderson’s wife, Wendy, died of breast cancer. Many programs have supported the Anderson family but none more than the Red Wolves.

This strong bond with the team has helped the Red Wolves overcome obstacles to remain one of the top teams in the Sun Belt. This season, they have a good situation going with their offense but have some serious questions on the defensive side of the ball.

Anderson and his team know the potential of a decline in wins and productivity. The loss of spring practice has left more concern due to their unavailability to establish starters in key positions. The Red Wolves have been a second-place team in the West division due to the presence of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.

If Arkansas State wants to shock some teams and win the West, it will have to use the remaining offseason to get find solutions to key problems.