After years of getting close, Arkansas State found out all it needed to do to defeat a Power 5 league opponent was to change its nickname.

In the first game ever as the Red Wolves, Arkansas State stunned 78,691 Texas A&M fans at Kyle Field stunned with an 18-14 victory over the Aggies.

A-State trailed 14-3 at the half and scored its only touchdown of the night on a 15-yard pass from Corey Leonard to Kevin Jones with 4:39 left.

Taking over at the ASU 20 with 9:30 left, Leonard led the Red Wolves 80 yards in 10 plays on a drive that took 4:51 seconds. Arnold rushed for 44 yards on the drive and Leonard hit Jabari McLennan for 15 yards and a first down at the A&M 21 on fourth-and-13 from the Aggie 36 to keep the possession going.

Josh Arauco’s fourth field goal of the night, this one from 37 yards, made it an 18-14 game with 1:35 left. The field goal was set up by a fumble recovery by A-State senior linebacker Ben Owens.

Owens later sealed the game with an interception on the Aggies’ final possession. He was named the National Defensive Player of the Week for effort.

Texas A&M had won its last 20 home openers, and the loss was just the fourth defeat for the Aggies in their last 50 non-conference games at home.

“Our offensive and defensive coaches did a great job with adjustments to dominate in the second half. The environment was awesome. I want our team to build on this win.”said ASU Head Coach Steve Roberts

“We played against adversity and came back,” said Leonard. “Kyle Field was everything we thought it would be. Tonight just worked out well for us.”

Tailback Reggie Arnold rushed for 145 yards on 21 carries and Leonard added 86 yards rushing to go with 160 passing yards. Arauco was a perfect 4-for-4 (37, 28, 25, 37) in the game. The four field goals were a career high. McCl

Cornerback Dominique Williams led the Red Wolves with nine tackles, three of them for losses, and cornerback Daylan Walker had seven. Owens also had seven tackles, and a sack go along with a fumble recovery and the game-clinching interception. Safety Evan Van Dolah had six tackles.

GAME FACTS

--There were 8 players on the A-State roster who would play games in the NFL. In all, 11 would get a shot at playing in the league.

--A future NFL quarterback started at wide receiver for the Aggies, Ryan Tannehill, who caught five passes for 59 yards.

--A big night for Reggie Arnold and Corey Leonard. Arnold ran for 145 yards on 21 carries and Leonard ran for 86 on 17 carries and hit 15 of 28 passes for 160 yards.

--It was a controlled passing game. Six Red Wolves caught passes for 160 yards with the longest play just 19 yards. The biggest reception of the night came with 4:39 left on a 15-yard comptetion from Leonard to Kevin Jones.

--Josh Arracuo, one of just four Texans on the A-State roster, hit all four of his field goals, including a 37-yarder with 1:12 left to make the Aggies need a touchdown to pull off the victory. Arracuo had field goals of 37, 28 and 25 yards. For the season he hit 17 of 20.

--Linebacker Ben Owens had a huge night, recovering a fumble and the game-clinching interception with less than 30 second left.

--Red Wolves trailed 14-3 at halftime.

--Defensive back Dominique Williams led the Red Wolves with 9 tackles, three for loss and one was a quarterback sack.

--M.D. Jennings, who would later play for the Green Bay Packers, had an interception. In all the Aggies had 4 turnovers, a pair of fumbles to go with the interceptions.

--The A-State victory was no fluke. Red Wolves out-gained the Aggies 415 to 303, won first downs 23-18, time of possession 33:21 to 26:39 and had to overcome a penalty disadvantage (6) 60 yards to (1) 15.

--Aggies’ last two drives ended with a fumble and an interception, both by Ben Owens.

(ASU Sports Information contributed to this article)