The Arkansas State Red Wolves are on the Ohio State football schedule. Here's a preview

The Ohio State football team will turn its attention from Notre Dame in Week 1 to a mid-major program that has fallen on tough times the last two seasons.

The Buckeyes host their first of two non-Power 5 teams on the schedule when they host Arkansas State, coached by Butch Jones, at noon on Sept. 10 in Columbus.

At one point, Arkansas State was one of college football’s better non-Power 5 programs. The Red Wolves had winning seasons from 2011-2019, including back-to-back 10-3 seasons in 2011 and 2012. But 2020 was the program’s first losing season since 2010 and 2021 saw the Red Wolves dip to 2-10.

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Members of the Sun Belt Conference, Arkansas State has played in 10 bowl games since 2005, including nine straight from 2011-2019.

Ohio State has dominated the non-Power 5 programs in its history. The last time Ohio State lost to a team outside the Power 5 conferences was Air Force in 1990 in the Liberty Bowl. The Buckeyes lost 23-11. 

Last year, Ohio State didn’t play a non-Power 5 team until Week 3, when the Buckeyes overcame a slow start and smaller crowd at Ohio Stadium to beat Tulsa 41-20.

That game followed Ohio State’s biggest non-conference contest of the season, a 35-28 loss to Oregon at home. 

Here’s what to know about Ohio State’s game against Arkansas State.

Arkansas State's head coach is Butch Jones, the former Cincinnati coach

Butch Jones' first season at Arkansas State was not great. He went 2-10 in in 2021.

Jones is no stranger to Ohio. He once replaced Brian Kelly as head coach of Cincinnati in 2010. That's notable because he also replaced Kelly at Central Michigan when Kelly became, wait for it, the Cincinnati coach in 2006.

Jones didn't replace Kelly when he left  Notre Dame for LSU. That would be Ohio State alum Marcus Freeman. 

Jones left Cincinnati after going 23-14 in three seasons to take the Tennessee job. As head coach of the Vols, Jones was never able to take the program back to its heights in the 1990s and went 34-27 and 14-24 in the SEC. He was fired following a 4-6 season in 2017.

Jones had several roles with Alabama under coach Nick Saban before being hired by Arkansas State in December 2020.

Arkansas State Red Wolves coaches have found success at other programs

To say Arkansas State has been a good stepping stone job for several coaches is accurate.

Before Jones was hired, Blake Anderson coached the program from 2014-2020 and went 51-37.

Before Anderson, who coached seven seasons before leaving for Utah State, the program had three different coaches in three years not counting three interim coaches. Hugh Freeze coached the Red Wolves in 2011 and left for Ole Miss.

He was replaced by Gus Malzahn, Auburn's offensive coordinator at the time, but he returned as Auburn's head coach after one season.

Arkansas State then hired Bryan Harsin, then the Texas offensive coordinator, but Harsin became the head coach of his alma mater, Boise State, following the 2013 season.

Harsin replaced Malzahn as head coach of Auburn in 2021.

What did Arkansas State football do in 2021?

Not much.

The Red Wolves went 2-10 and 1-7 in conference play.

The program lost 52-3 against Washington, their biggest non-conference game of the season, and finished year with a two-game losing streak.

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Has Ohio State football ever played Arkansas State?

This is the first time Ohio State will play Arkansas State. It's also the first time Ohio State has played a team coached by Jones.

Jones was on the coaching staff for Alabama's 2020 National Championship team that beat Ohio State in the final game. But Jones had taken the Arkansas State job a month before.

Red Wolves rely on a passing game, but lost key WR to the transfer portal

Corey Rucker caught 59 passes, nine touchdowns and had 826 yards receiving last year, but he transferred to South Carolina in the offseason. The loss will put more pressure on quarterback James Blackman.

Transfer portal: Ohio State football transfer portal tracker: Who entered and where are they going?

Blackman transferred to Arkansas State from Florida State, where he played from 2017-2020, and played in six games, starting five, before an injury cut his season short in 2021. He had 1,344 passing yards before his injury.

TreVeyon Henderson could have a big day for Ohio State vs. Arkansas State

Arkansas State's defense was dead-last in college football against the run. The Red Wolves allowed 506 yards per game. That bodes well for Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson, who is looking to improve upon his 1,248-yard rushing season as a freshman.

Henderson's first game against a non-Power 5 team was historic. He broke Archie Griffin's freshman single-game rushing record with 277 yards.

Kivon Bennett is one to watch for the Arkansas State defense

Kivon Bennett, a Tennessee transfer, had eight sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss in 2021. The 6-foot-2 inch, 236-pound defensive lineman could test a revamped Ohio State offensive line in Week 2.

How much money is Ohio State paying to play Arkansas State?

Ohio State is paying the Red Wolves a reported $1.8 million for this game.

What other Power 5 programs does Arkansas State football play?

Good news for Arkansas State: Ohio State is the only Power 5 program the Red Wolves play. The Red Wolves face rival Memphis the following week on Sept. 17.

Ohio State football schedule 2022

• Week 1: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3, in Columbus, Ohio

• Week 2: Ohio State vs. Arkansas State, Sept. 10, in Columbus, Ohio

• Week 3: Ohio State vs. Toledo, Sept. 17, in Columbus, Ohio

• Week 4: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Sept. 24, Columbus, Ohio

• Week 5: Ohio State vs. Rutgers, Oct. 1, Columbus Ohio

• Week 6: Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Oct. 8, East Lansing, Mich.

• Week 7: Ohio State vs. Iowa, Oct. 22, Columbus, Ohio

• Week 8: Ohio State vs. Penn State, Oct. 29, State College, Pa.

• Week 9: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, Nov. 5, Evanston, Ill.

• Week 10: Ohio State vs Indiana, Nov. 12, Columbus, Ohio

• Week 11: Ohio State vs. Maryland, Nov. 19, College Park, MD.

• Week 12: Ohio State vs. Michigan, at noon Nov. 26, Columbus, Ohio

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football to play Arkansas State after Notre Dame game