Arkansas State opened the 2025 football season with an impressive 42–24 win over Southeast Missouri at Centennial Bank Stadium, fueled by a balanced offense and a stout defensive effort.
Junior quarterback Jaylen Raynor led the Red Wolves, completing 26 of 32 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns, moving him into sixth place on A-State’s all-time passing yardage list. The offense piled up 492 total yards, spreading production throughout the roster.
Raynor connected with Corey Rucker (9 yards), Jaylen Bonelli (10 yards), and Ja’Quez Cross (4 yards) for touchdown passes. On the ground, Cross, Kenyon Clay, and Devin Spencer each scored, with Spencer leading the team with 42 rushing yards on three carries, highlighted by a 43-yard touchdown—his first career score.
Chauncey Cobb set career highs, catching five passes for 85 yards to lead all receivers.
Defensively, true freshman linebacker Nigel Nelson made an immediate impact with a team-high 10 tackles. Cody Sigler added 1.5 sacks, Drew Collins had one sack, and Ethan Hassler contributed 0.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries.
After trading scores early, Arkansas State seized control with 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, going into halftime up 28-10. Raynor added two more touchdown passes after the break, pushing the lead to 42-10 before SEMO scored twice late.
With the win, Arkansas State moves to 1-0 and now prepares for a historic meeting against the Arkansas Razorbacks next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock—the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
