On Friday morning, the Sun Belt descended Mount Sinai and delivered to the people the Sun Belt Football Schedule. As you might expect, athletic departments were kept busy churning out schedule graphics, Arkansas State included:
No Mid-Week Games for Arkansas State Again
For some, this is good news. College football is best played on Saturday, in my arrogant opinion. For others, however, this is seen as a passive aggressive insult. As our good friend Kara Richey noted, among the many Sun Belt teams who earned a Bowl game last season, the Red Wolves are the only program denied national exposure afforded by a mid-week game.
Doubly Home for the Openers and Closers
Red Wolves open the season with two games at home, and they close the season with two games at home. In between is an even set of back-and-forth’s so symetrical it almost seems generated by ChatGPT.
That OOC is Hodgson-Level Brutal
Head A-State men’s basketball coach Bryan Hodgson made his mark on the Red Wolves by scheduling an insanely difficult OOC. Looks like Coach Butch Jones will see if hardening the team in the crucible of stiff competition will pay the same hard-nosed dividends. After hosting historically pesky in-state rival UCA, Arkansas State next welcomes Tulsa, followed by visits to national champion Michigan and then to Iowa State, who finished fourth in the Big 12 last season. Mercifully, Jones receives a BYE before entering conference play against South Bama.
It’s Crunchy in the Center
Upon surviving the OOC, the Red Wolves get South Bama at home, Texas State in San Marcos, Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, and Troy in Jonesboro for Homecoming. That’s an essential slate of Sun Belt West matchups.
Who’s Not on the Schedule
Arkansas State avoids a number of eastern heavies – Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and JMU are all MIA. Instead, we get Georgia State (who lost their last five regular season games last season) and Old Dominion, who is weird.
Four of Arkansas State’s Six Conference Opponents Will Field New Head Coaches
The Sun Belt experienced significant turnover during the off season, and the Red Wolves will taste just about all of it. A-State takes on newbie head coaches at South Alabama (Major Applewhite), Troy (Gerad Parker), Georgia State (Dell McGee) and ULM (Bryant Vincent). As a bonus, Michigan will also be helmed by a new head coach, Sherrone Moore.
PHOTO CREDIT: Carla Wehmeyer – Arkansas State
Howlraiser 