With college football about to commence, The Oregonian will take a look at each opponent for the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers.

Today: Arkansas State (at Oregon on Sept. 1)

2011 recap: The Red Wolves finished a perfect 8-0 season in the Sun Belt Conference last fall and notched a 10-3 overall record. The team's three losses came at the hands of Illinois, Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. It was a major improvement from 2010, in which the team finished 4-8.

2012 question: Can Arkansas State build off a successful year, or are the Red Wolves set to return to the sub-.500 ranks? With senior quarterback Ryan Aplin, who threw for 3,588 and 19 touchdowns last season, readying for his third season at the helm of the offense, Arkansas State looks poised another standout year. But will the Red Wolves scare the Ducks?

Offense: The dual-threat, 6-foot-1, 200-pound Aplin will lead the Red Wolves offensive attack. Heading into the season, he has been named to the Davey O'Brien Watch List and the Manning Watch List. He was also pegged as the preseason Sun Belt offensive player of the year. As a junior, Aplin completed 63.9 percent of his passes and was named the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. He also led the Red Wolves in rushing with 588 yards and 10 touchdowns. He will enter his senior season with 16 school records to his credit, including eight season, five single-game and three career marks.

Defense: Senior linebacker Nathan Herrold and senior defensive back Chaz Scales, both pegged as preseason All-Sun Belt Conference performers, will lead the Red Wolves defense this season. Herrold recorded 74 tackles and Scales had seven pass deflections last season.

Prognosis: Former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who helped lead the Tigers to a national championship over the Ducks in 2011, took over as head coach of Arkansas State in the offseason. Former Auburn Tiger running back Michael Dyer came with his coach and transferred to Arkansas State, but was dismissed in July. If Aplin had Dyer lining up in the backfield behind him on Sept. 1, Arkansas State would not quite be the softball team Oregon would want to open up against. But with him out of the picture, it's hard to image the Red Wolves scaring the Ducks in Autzen Stadium.

Head coach: Gus Malzahn, first season

Note: ESPN plans to televise the Oregon vs. Arkansas State game.

Links:

CBS preview

ASU team website