STONY BROOK, N.Y. – After a pair of conference games to open the season, Stony Brook football will travel west to play a Football Bowl Subdivision foe in Arkansas State at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Saturday night.
 
Stony Brook (0-2, 0-2 CAA) vs. Arkansas State (0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
 
WHERE: Jonesboro, Ark.
VENUE: Centennial Bank Stadium
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Sports
 
SERIES HISTORY
… OVERALL – 0-0
… AT STONY BROOK – 0-0
… AT ARKANSAS STATE – 0-0
 
OPENING KICK

• Stony Brook football finishes up the road trip with a trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas for its first-ever meeting with the Arkansas State Redwolves on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Seawolves will play their only FBS opponent on the schedule, with A-State being out of the Sun Belt Conference.
• Arkansas State represents the only program that Stony Brook will see for the first time in 2023.
• Stony Brook will look to pick up its first road win of the season and snap an eight-game road losing streak, having last won away from Long Island on Nov. 6, 2021 at Maine.
• The Seawolves will play their third straight night game to open the season, and will begin a stretch of nine straight Saturday games without a bye to close the regular season. Week 1 vs. Delaware was played on a Thursday while Week 2 at Rhode Island was contested on a Friday.
• Stony Brook has played an FBS opponent in every year since 2010, with the exception of the 2020 COVID-affected season. Arkansas State will represent SBU's first matchup against a school from the Sun Belt Conference under Chuck Priore.

 
DEFENSE STARTS STRONG UP FRONT

• Stony Brook's front seven has started strong, stuffing the stat sheet with 15.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks thus far this season.
• The Seawolves' 8.0 sacks and 4.0 per game rank second in the CAA thus far.
• The 2023 defense became the first to record at least four sacks in back-to-back games since the 2019 team did so in Weeks 4 and 5.
• Seven of eight defensive linemen that saw the field against Rhode Island recorded at least 0.5 TFLs.
• Andy Nwaoko (2.0) and Anthony Williams (0.5) each picked up first career sacks against URI.

 
HOLDING THE LINE

• Conversely, Stony Brook is tied for the best sack numbers in the league on offense, allowing just 1.0 sacks per game.
• After averaging 105.7 rushing yards last year, Stony Brook has averaged 136.5 through two games, a 30.8 yard improvement.
• The Seawolves' Week 2 lineup featured three offensive lineman that are listed as redshirt freshmen.

 
YOUNG WIDEOUTS SHOW PROMISE

• Redshirt freshman Jayce Freeman and fellow classmate Anthony Johnson have had strong opening games at wide receiver.
• Johnson has 85 yards through two games to lead the Seawolves while Freeman has matched his jersey number with 80 through two games.
• Freeman and Johnson have accounted for 15 of SBU's 31 receptions (48.4%) and 165 of SBU's 302 receiving yards (54.6%).
• Redshirt junior Jayden Cook has hauled in eight receptions for 65 yards and Stony Brook's lone receiving score.

 
CHIMIENTI FINDING HIS WAY IN THE SECONDARY

• Nick Chimienti got his 2023 season started strong, with two interceptions against Delaware in the second quarter.
• The Week 1 performance marked the first multi-interception game for a Stony Brook individual since Randy Pringle in 2021 and the 17th such instance in program history.
• Chimienti followed that up with a PBU and a pair of tackles against URI, adding to his five total tackles against Delaware.

 
VS. FBS OPPONENTS UNDER PRIORE

• Stony Brook has beaten one FBS opponent before in a 23-3 win at Army in 2012.
• SBU has played within two scores of four other FBS opponents since 2012 and came within three points of upsetting Buffalo in 2013 and UConn in 2014, with the Buffalo game being decided in five overtimes.
• After Saturday's matchup at Arkansas State, Stony Brook will have played opponents from the following conferences - American Athletic Conference (4 times), MAC (3 – with one cancellation mid-game), Mountain West (2), Big East (1), PAC-12 (1), Sun Belt (1), and two FBS Independents.