ASU’s bowl picture clear as mud
JONESBORO — It’s clear how Arkansas State wants to end its season.
It wants to take part in a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season.
Whether the Red Wolves get to one is as much of a mystery heading into today’s regular-season finale as it has been over the last month of the season.
ASU (6-5, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference) will host New Mexico State (2-9, 1-6) at 2 p.m. today at Centennial Bank Stadium sitting in the same position it’s been in the past two weeks. It’s one of four bowl-eligible teams in the conference, which has direct tie-ins to three bowls.
The Sun Belt has been able to place teams into bowls it does not have agreements with before, but it might be difficult this year, considering there are 72 bowl-eligible teams for 76 spots and 17 teams could get there with one more victory.
Add to that the fact that the College Football Playoff has delayed accurate predictions regarding the bowl picture, and it’s understandable why ASU Coach Blake Anderson hasn’t strayed from the message he’s shared for the past month. He’ll let Athletic Director Terry Mohajir work out the details while he and the Red Wolves concentrate on game day.
“Can’t control it,” Anderson said. “Terry is going to do his job. We’ve go to do our job Saturday. Go out and be the best we can Saturday, and hope that the people that are making those decisions are smart enough to realize that we’re a team that you’d want to have.”
Mohajir helped ASU get into the GoDaddy Bowl last season over Western Kentucky, even after ASU lost to Western Kentucky in the final game. Mohajir said things could be a bit harder to gauge this year.
“If there is an opportunity for a Sun Belt team to go to another outside of our contract bowls, I’m not sure,” Mohajir said. “It all depends on what the playoff committee does and also where teams are.”
Just what that will take isn’t clear, but some players think today’s result could play a part.
“Got to win,” senior center Tyler Greve said. “We want any shot to play in the postseason, we have to win, and we need to win very well. We’re going to go out guns blazing. We’ve got something to prove.”
New Mexico State enters today having lost eight consecutive games, including five by two touchdowns or more, but ASU’s biggest challenge might be staying fresh and healthy.
Cornerback Rocky Hayes is the latest ASU player to be lost to an injury after sustaining a collarbone injury in a Nov. 20 loss at Texas State. His absence means more snaps for freshman Blaise Taylor for a defense that is already playing with a thin roster.
“That’s a part of football late in the season,” Anderson said. “They’re playing more reps than they probably would. If we had more depth, we’d be able to substitute a little bit more. Guys had to play extended, guys had to play through injury.”
Anderson is hoping that even with a late-season slide and injuries that he and his staff have put in place the first steps toward building an identity and a philosophy in their first season. Even with a depleted roster, Anderson said he believes his most basic tenets have taken hold, which include playing hard and operating an offense at a fast tempo.
“I’ve never had to come in and tell a group that they didn’t play hard. That was a big focal point,” he said. “If we can figure out a way to be 7-5 … satisfied? No. But pleased with the start? Yeah. It is a good foundation on what we can build.”
It’d be even better for Anderson if ASU can get a victory for a group of fifthyear seniors who have led it through its greatest run since moving to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in 1992, despite playing for five coaches in five seasons.
“We’re trying to win to play for a bowl game,” safety Sterling Young said. “It’s unfortunate that we have three conference losses, but just go play one more game and finish it from there. Then it’s more of a celebration playing in four straight bowls.”