One of my favorite moments of the previous bowl season was seeing a photo of a plain white t-shirt on an old classmate’s Facebook page.
The friend, a supporter of their hometown University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, identified the photo as a “Louisiana Tech Bowl Shirt.”
As someone who once considered attending ULM, located about 50 miles south of my hometown, and never really being a fan of L-Tech, I found great humor in the post. Still do. I think Tech has the same bowl shirt this season.
As Monday’s press conference, where Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir and football coach Bryan Harsin spoke about the Arkansas State Red Wolves going to a bowl game for the third straight season, what happened to Tech was referenced.
“We got an opportunity and we grabbed it,’’ Mohajir said of the Monday morning offer from the GoDaddy Bowl. “We did not want to wind up like Louisiana Tech.”
There was another bowl in play, but they wanted to wait until all the conference title games were played.
A year ago, Louisiana Tech’s athletic director opted to play that game, turning down the bowl game in Shreveport and hoping for something better to come along.
It didn’t and that little ole school 30 miles to the east that Tech refuses to play jumped at the opportunity. It was a shining moment for the Warhawks.
We believe that Shreveport was the other bowl in play for A-State.
After what happened in Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, one of the most frustrating and gut-wrenching defeats in years, a lot of the Red Wolves’ faithful were low and felt some more bad-treatment was coming from the committees that select bowls. Afterall, Western Kentucky had defeated A-State 34-31 and they have the marketable BMFP as coach.
It was a game that was gift-wrapped for the Hilltoppers, who ran nine plays once they reached the ASU 8 in the closing minutes. They finally scored the winner.
Mohajir said he got on the phone with Sun Belt officials as soon as the A-State entourage hit the airport after the game Saturday night. And he stayed on the phone.
Monday morning, it was Mobile calling.
“This game is perfect for us and for where we want to be,” said Harsin.
It is perfect in that it could be the stepping stone the program needs. The program has survived the upheaval of coaches leaving and more. And in the wake of all that, the Red Wolves have produced three straight winning seasons and three bowl games under the direction of three head coaches. (And if things go right in Mobile when conference-leading ULL takes on South Alabama on Saturday, you can add a third straight conference title to the Red Wolves’ accomplishments.)
It is pretty impressive.
And a darn good sell to recruits.
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Jeff Reed is editor of astatenation.com.
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