MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Ryan Aplin’s productive passing career helped carry Arkansas State to two
Sun Belt Conference championships.For his final college game, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior didn’t have
to be the hero.Aplincompleted 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown and J.D.McKissic caught 11
passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, but it was abruising defense that was the biggest factor in
Arkansas State’s 17-13victory over No. 25 Kent State on Sunday in the GoDaddy.com Bowl."Youalways
hope to blow the other team out, but tonight was one of thosegrinds," Aplin said. "The saying
goes that defense wins championships,and they won it for us tonight. I’m their biggest
fan."ArkansasState’s offense was dominant during the last half of the regular season,averaging more
than 41 points during a seven-game winning streak. Butbig plays were hard to find on Sunday night, and
the Red Wolves (10-3)leaned hard on their defense to capture their first bowl win sincejoining the
Football Bowl Subdivision in 1992.It’s also the first time Arkansas State has beaten a nationally ranked
opponent.Thevictory didn’t come without some drama. Kent State (11-3) was drivinglate in the game when
quarterback Spencer Keith tried to scramble onfourth down and was stopped a few yards short of the
marker with 52seconds left. Linebacker Qushaun Lee made the shoestring tackle for theRed Wolves and
finished with a team-leading 13 stops."That was agood one," Arkansas State interim coach John
Thompson said. "Our guysstepped up with a minute to go. We really needed a play, and our guysmade
one. It wasn’t anything except for ballplayers. It was anythingspecial at all. We just made
plays."Darrell Hazell roamed theKent State sideline one more time in the Golden Flashes’ first bowl
gamesince 1972. He is leaving the program to take over at Purdue."It’shard not to come away with a
win," Hazell said. "I have some strongfeelings for the guys right down the hallway here. I’m
going to missthose guys."Arkansas State’s great defense is a sign the programmight keep up its
winning ways even without Aplin, who ends his careerwith nearly every school passing record. New coach
Bryan Harsin — who isknown for his work as the offensive coordinator at Texas and BoiseState — takes
over a program that has won 20 games over the past twoseasons.Thompson, a veteran defensive coordinator,
coached theRed Wolves on Sunday after Gus Malzahn left to take the Auburn job lastmonth. It was the
second straight season Arkansas State had to play itsbowl game without the coach that led it to a Sun
Belt championship —Hugh Freeze left for Mississippi in 2011 before last year’s GoDaddy.comBowl, which
the Red Wolves lost 38-20 to Northern Illinois.The results were much better this time — and the
defensive-minded Thompson was especially pleased with that side of the ball.KentState took a 7-0 lead on
Dri Archer’s 16-yard touchdown run and themargin could have been worse, but Arkansas State linebacker
NathanHerrold picked off a tipped pass in the end zone to end a promisingdrive for the Golden
Flashes.Arkansas State’s David Oku rushedfor a tying 10-yard touchdown with 5:40 remaining in the second
quarter,and then Aplin hit McKissic for a 31-yard touchdown minutes later tomake it 14-7.This wasn’t one
of Aplin’s more spectacular games, but he was consistent, made very few mistakes and had no
turnovers.Thatwas no small feat against Kent State, which led the nation with 38takeaways coming into
the game. The Golden Flashes couldn’t get oneagainst the Red Wolves."That was a huge part of our
game plan,"Aplin said. "We knew we couldn’t afford to give them momentum. Our guysdid a great
job taking care of the ball and giving our defense a chanceto help us win."Kent State responded
with a 42-yard field goal byFreddy Cortez just before halftime to pull within 14-10. The teamstraded
field goals in the third quarter, but neither team could score inthe fourth.The Golden Flashes put
together one last drive in thefinal minutes, with Keith completing a clutch 15-yard pass over themiddle
on fourth down with less than two minutes remaining. He washeaded for another fourth-down conversion
just four plays later, but wastripped up on a scramble deep in Arkansas State territory. The RedWolves
then began to celebrate on their sideline."I saw theirdefense drop back really fast, and I thought
I had enough room to getthe first down," Keith said. "But they were able to get me on
theankle."It was a disappointing end to an otherwise breakthroughseason for Kent State, which set a
school record with 11 victories,including a 10-game winning streak that lasted nearly three months.
Butthey dropped their last two games, including a 44-37 double-overtimeloss to Northern Illinois on Nov.
30 in the Mid-American Conferencechampionship.One reason Kent State was able to win so many gameswas a
dynamic rushing attack that averaged more than 250 yards per game.But the duo of Archer and Trayion
Durham didn’t have a particularlygood game against the Red Wolves.Archer, who missed much of thesecond
half with an apparent injury, led the Golden Flashes with 77yards rushing while Durham added 68. Keith
completed 17 of 33 passes for157 yards and one interception._____Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAPCopyright
2013 The Associated Press.