Arkansas State got a captivating, late-score win Thursday night in which the Red Wolves' offense set multiple school records.
Their defense continued to trend in the wrong direction, and on Friday, defensive coordinator David Duggan and defensive pass-game coordinator Ed Pinkham were terminated by the school on the heels of ASU's 59-52 win against Georgia State.
Red Wolves' head coach Blake Anderson after the game expressed displeasure with a defense that allowed more than 300 passing yards, 250-plus rushing yards, 25 first downs, seven touchdowns and a field goal before the offensive bailed out the home team.
"That was a wild one," said Anderson after the game that marked his 50th career win. "I've been in a few of those as a coordinator but not much as a head coach. We couldn't afford to go down 0-2 in league play; we had to find a way to get this one.
“Offense did a great job, defense really struggled but found a way to get a stop when they needed to. It was a team win."
Duggan was hired in January 2019 and while his defense last year ranked second in the SunBelt Conference with 19 takeaways, it allowed more than 34 points per game and had seen that number climb to 40 ppg through five games this season, including a conference-opening blowout-loss at surprising SunBelt team Coastal Carolina.
Nick Paremski, who had been the safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator, was elevated to the interim defensive coordinator role, per the school.