Arkansas State Much to Work On After Welcoming STU to D1A

10.16.2025College Men

Arkansas State came away with a nicely-taken 45-14 victory over new D1A team St. Thomas in Florida.

The Red Wolves traveled all the way to South Florida to welcome the Bobcats into D1A.

For Head Coach Dominic Shaw the entire experience was a chance for him to shake up his side early in the season.

Out of it came a god result for the Red Wolves, and some key takeaways.

“We lost the ball 19 times in contact,” lamented the Coach. “And we gave up 12 penalties. So yes the outcome was good but the process wasn’t.”

What Shaw got was plenty of fodder for his analysis.

For the experienced players including captain and flyhalf Warrick Day, and No. 8 Aaron van Dyk, this was a chance to see how they all work together against a team they don’t know.

“St. Thomas do a lot of things well but we felt there were some things we could do,” said Shaw. “We were very good in the scrum. But a lot of this was making the trip and dealing with some of the difficulties.”

It’s an opening salvo for a Arkansas State team that will jump into conference play in a couple of weeks with Davenport, McKendree, Lindenwood, and a Fall Classic match, all on the road, this fall.

For St. Thomas, this is the start of a new odyssey. They have St. Bonaventure and Mount St. Mary's on their schedule and also have a Fall Classic game planned.

But they're just getting started.

CRAA Fall Classic Returns to Spartanburg in December

Arkansas State Much to Work On After Welcoming STU to D1A

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