Astate Bowl Game.

[ke2743]

Where does everything think they are going?

[Seminole Indian]

Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, seems to be the most likely destination, but nothing is certain.

[Seminole Indian]

Because the SBC now has six bowl eligible teams, and only five bowl tie-ins,( and apparently Toledo does not want a rematch with A-State if they end up in Montgomery) , Orlando is thought to be a possibility, and A-State could end up in a bowl without a SBC tie-in.

Don't think A-State fans are enthusiastic about playing UCF in Orlando, or a rematch with Toledo, but really not much enthusiasm about anything involving their football program right now.

[Nosboar Accubond]

Regardless they need to be thrilled with any bowl they get given how they started the year...

[Seminole Indian]

I don't think the fans bases of either of the States FBS programs are happy campers right now, although both ended up about where the pre-season prognosticators said they would.

Actually in the case of A-State they were expected to finish behind AppSt according to almost all the experts, and ended up sharing the title with them.

Think that 0-4 start, and then losing the outright title when their winning TD, called by the referees on the field, was overruled, put a damper on their enthusiasm.

[Seminole Indian]

Think it is trending toward Orlando.

[GolfNut57]

The Red Wolves are headed to Orlando to play UCF in what is basically a home game for the Knights. Add to it the spice of Anderson already being quoted that their primary emphasis on this game is to ensure the players "have fun" He stated if it happens winning would be nice but they want to just enjoy the trip first.

This is the exact same attitude that led to the team going 0-4 in OOC this year. Needless to say a lot of ASU fans are not happy with his cavalier attitude about trying to win the bowl game. I look forward to the day Blake Anderson is hired away from ASU.

[Seminole Indian]

I saw where he said that, and I'm beginning to think he is going out of his way to antagonize their fans base.

Either that are he is not very smart.

IMO he should have realized there could be a downside when he was saying, based on the talent on this team, it was "Dallas or Bust". When it came up bust how  did he expect their fans to react?

[Seminole Indian]

Because this is basically a home game for UCF, I expect they will be favored, but it looks like a very good match-up, that should make for an entertaining game.

Like A-State they appear to be better on defense than offense.

Not sure of the injury situation for either team but A-State had a couple of key defenders go out against Texas State. Anderson has not made a statement about the status of star NG Waylon Robertson (6-2, 341) or DE  Chase Robison (6-4, 245). A-State has some capable backups at both positions but losing Robertson would be a big loss.

[GolfNut57]

Early line has ASU +7 and both players are fine. They will be ready for the bowl game.

[Seminole Indian]

The Red Wolves are headed to Orlando to play UCF in what is basically a home game for the Knights. Add to it the spice of Anderson already being quoted that their primary emphasis on this game is to ensure the players "have fun" He stated if it happens winning would be nice but they want to just enjoy the trip first.

This is the exact same attitude that led to the team going 0-4 in OOC this year. Needless to say a lot of ASU fans are not happy with his cavalier attitude about trying to win the bowl game. I look forward to the day Blake Anderson is hired away from ASU.

That seems to be the majority opinion, and  apparently Anderson is aware of feelings of their fan base.

"Sources tell FootballScoop Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson's reps have been working to get Anderson in the mix at Baylor (where Anderson began his playing career). "

http://footballscoop.com/The-Scoop/

[GolfNut57]

That seems to be the majority opinion, and  apparently Anderson is aware of feelings of their fan base.

"Sources tell FootballScoop Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson's reps have been working to get Anderson in the mix at Baylor (where Anderson began his playing career). "

http://footballscoop.com/The-Scoop/

Sources are NOW saying Baylor is in negotiations with Anderson. Hope that is true.

[Seminole Indian]

Sources are NOW saying Baylor is in negotiations with Anderson. Hope that is true.

Again you appear to be in sync with the majority of their fans.

Their biggest concern seems to be they can't confirm Anderson to Baylor is true yet.

If he does get the job, A-State may very well will become the hottest gig in G5, and above many P5's, for ambitious coaches looking to moving up, if it is not already that.

[holeinthewall]

Art Briles

[HogCzar1]

Again you appear to be in sync with the majority of their fans.

Their biggest concern seems to be they can't confirm Anderson to Baylor is true yet.

If he does get the job, A-State may very well will become the hottest gig in G5, and above many P5's, for ambitious coaches looking to moving up, if it is not already that.

I am curious to know how many P5 coaching jobs would be considered less of a gig than the ASU job? Which ones?

[Seminole Indian]

I am curious to know how many P5 coaching jobs would be considered less of a gig than the ASU job? Which ones?

As far as for coaches that have ambitions, and the resume, to land a job at a top 25 program, my list would be a long one, say more than half of the P5's, as long as they think the stay will be short.

Having had the opportunity to have gotten to know a number of up and coming a young coaches, I have found they have one thing in common, they are very calculating in their career moves.

Better to bite the bullet and take a lesser job for a short time where you can win , because winning is the ticket to the show, and they see so many good P5 coaches being passed over by coaches from the lower ranks.

A-State is lucky that it is considered one of the best stepping stones in college football.

This is what Anderson has to say about winning and Baylor per the ADG:

"If our name is out there, then we're probably winning enough games," he told the Democrat-Gazette. "If something comes up, that if our family, my wife and our staff and everybody needs to look at, we will."

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/dec/06/report-asu-coach-baylor-talk-20161206/?f=sports

[GolfNut57]

Art Briles......

should go to Arkansas and be the hogs new DC.

Just finishing your thought for you. 

[GolfNut57]

Having had the opportunity to have gotten to know number of up and coming a young coaches, I have found they have one thing in common, they are very calculating in their carrier moves.

They're going to Mexico???

[Seminole Indian]

They're going to Mexico???

Nope but I did work for them in Memphis.

[Seminole Indian]

Bet Anderson wishes he had approached the start of the season a little differently this year, because had his team performed as expected, he may have gotten his dream job.

"Bears athletics director Mack Rhoades also considered Arkansas State's Blake Anderson, SMU's Chad Morris and California's Sonny Dykes before deciding to hire Rhule."

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18219314/baylor-bears-hire-matt-rhule-football-coach

[HogCzar1]

As far as for coaches that have ambitions, and the resume, to land a job at a top 25 program, my list would be a long one, say more than half of the P5's, as long as they think the stay will be short.

Having had the opportunity to have gotten to know a number of up and coming a young coaches, I have found they have one thing in common, they are very calculating in their career moves.

Better to bite the bullet and take a lesser job for a short time where you can win , because winning is the ticket to the show, and they see so many good P5 coaches being passed over by coaches from the lower ranks.

A-State is lucky that it is considered one of the best stepping stones in college football.

This is what Anderson has to say about winning and Baylor per the ADG:

"If our name is out there, then we're probably winning enough games," he told the Democrat-Gazette. "If something comes up, that if our family, my wife and our staff and everybody needs to look at, we will."

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/dec/06/report-asu-coach-baylor-talk-20161206/?f=sports

Just for the sake of discussion, which SEC head coaching job would an up and coming coach turn down in favor of coaching at ASU?

A good recent example would be Vanderbilt. I don't think ASU pays more than Vandy, and few would argue that the Sun Belt is a better conference than the SEC. James Franklin was hired at Penn St. because of his performance against top teams while at Vandy as opposed to how many conference titles he won.

I understand the concept of winning games, but to a degree, that is relative. Most P5 schools are going to hire a proven coach who has shown the ability to upgrade a program. The coach from Western Michigan is an example. At this point, if ASU were to have to hire a new coach, then the new coach coming in would have to at least maintain the level the past 4 coaches have. Otherwise, he would have a very difficult time impressing a larger school. In addition, the Sun Belt has been extremely weak the past few years.  If that were to change, then it would be perhaps more of a challenge to maintain undefeated Sun Belt seasons than it has been the past few years.

Finally, I still don't think many up and coming coaches would reject a P5 offer of doubling of their salary in favor of coaching any G5 school.

[Seminole Indian]

My statements are made based strictly on actually getting to know some of the coaches that passed through Jonseboro a number of years ago that went on to big-time jobs. Most were on the career path to be assistants, and maybe a coordinator, not  head coaches of course.

Many showed up with nothing more than what was in their car, or with a young wife and kids with no place to stay, no money, in some cases hungry and everyone chipped in and helped them, so I agree that  most of them would have take any P5 Job over A-State.

Just not the guys that knew or thought they had a shot at job at a top school.

They were here for a purpose and almost everyone had better options when they came. Coming to Jonesboro was a  strategic move, that paid off for many (ie Tommy Tubberville, Mike Tomlin, Tom Allen, and to many that landed jobs as assistants and coordinators at top schools or in the NFL, to remember)

Many  of the up-and-comers were in Jonesboro  because of who the HC was. Wanted to tag along with or just have on their resume working with guys  like  Lacewell, Perkins, Hollis, Malzahn,  and now Anderson ( three of his assistants have already landed P5 Jobs)

Of course now days A-State is a hot spot for up-and-comers, or guys looking to bounce back.

Gus Malzahn, Bryan Harsin,  Bobby Petrino( who had agreed to take the A-State job), and now Anderson ( who would have most likely have landed the Baylor job if this season had gone as expected) know that winning is the fastest way to punch your ticket to the show, and winning  in Jonesboro is much easier than at most P5's , and would not have even considered being a HC at most P5's,at the time they chose A-State. They had a good idea of what the wanted, and how to get there.