I’ve never experienced a more robust gust of wind than I did in Frisco, Texas. I live in tornado country, but this was the first time I physically experienced the unsettling sensation of being lifted off the ground by Mother Nature – the drunkest uncle at the wedding party.

“What the hell was that?” yelled my brother, Rex Steele, staggering. Like me, he was taking it personally. Texas was laying hands on us, possibly intending to interfere with our lunch plans. But not only was lunch eventually procured, that wind gust proved to be my only qualm against the XBox Bowl.

This was XBox’s first foray into Bowl Game sponsorship, but their rookie status was not on display Thursday night. The pros at Microsoft brought the merch, the entertainment, and enough bells and whistles to hope that XBox’s interest in the game is permanent. Master Chief handed out the trophy! I don’t even play XBox, but Master Chief! (Plus a couple other Xbox-universe characters I’m too square to place. And a banana.)

There was a game as well. Admittedly, Missouri State’s enthusiasm delivered to me a jolt of anxiety. The Bears were out on the field far earlier than the Red Wolves, cheerfully tossing medicine balls and running drills. This was Missouri State’s first time bowling, and everyone from the fans to the band appeared to have found a stim shot in their nachos.

“They seem pretty excited to be here,” observed Dad. I grabbed a couple Coors to drown my doubts and waited for the Red Wolves to make an appearance. Where were they? I thought about that gust of wind that nearly whisked me to Plano. Maybe it had blown my team away! The concerns were unwarranted. The Red Wolves bounded onto the field and began their warm ups.

We had some pretty sweet tickets on the 50 yard line. I bought a soft pretzel that was, to my delight, not as hard as a fossil and waited for the game begin. The Ford Center is a cozy venue, so the 7,782 people in official attendance felt larger and louder than the actual numbers. Master Chief tossed the coin! Missouri State, perhaps watching too much A-State game tape from the first six weeks of the season, elected to receive first. The Red Wolves rewarded that decision with a punishing three and out, followed by a crisp, five-play drive ending with a Jaylen Raynor-to-Jaylen Bonelli touchdown.

On the next Red Wolves possession, Raynor connected on a bomb to Corey Rucker for a fantastic 70-yard touchdown. What appeared to be a pending blowout was briefly curbed when Missouri State’s big quarterback Jacob Luke found Dash Luke for a 39-yard TD. It was a breakdown of secondary coverage for the Red Wolves, which would rear its ugly head again in the fourth quarter.

The Red Wolves would score the next 17 points on a 54-yard field goal from Clune Van Andel, a 25 yard rushing TD from Devin Spencer, and a short end zone catch from Chauncey Cobb. By the end of the third quarter, it was 31-7 and all the fizz had fizzled from the bubbly Bears. I ordered a highball from the bar and eased into my chair of celebration. Finally! A Red Wolves game where the outcome would not be determined by the game’s last play! I treated everyone in my vicinity to a rousing round of high-fives.

Clark hit Ramone Greene for a score early in the fourth, then converted the 2-pointer (which they felt they needed for reasons not known to me). A 32-yard field goal from Van Andel restored the Red Wolves’ good cheer, but then Clark connected with Luke again, this time for a 47-yard score. Arkansas State dismay deepened when Van Andel missed a 24-yard field goal. Suddenly, the Bears were of good cheer again, a condition amplified when Luke led a 4-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a Jmariyae Robinson touchdown.

However, time was on A-State’s side, and the Red Wolves would hold on to a 34-28 victory. Corey Rucker’s 166 yard performance officially broke an Omar Bayless team record for all-time receiving yards, Jaylen Raynor threw a trio of touchdown passes, and Demarcus Hendricks contributed two of the defense’s eight sacks. They victory pulled A-State out of .500 territory (7-6) and gave Butch Jones his second bowl victory for Arkansas State. The score also undergirded my theory that Coach Jones is incapable of winning a game by more than one score.

Walking back to the hotel, the evening was surprisingly calm – the Texas winds had died down, and the only bluster was the boasts and brags of A-State fans returning from the field of victory. It was a night that many Red Wolves fans may regret missing in person. To be among admirable Red Wolves is one of life’s finer pleasures. I look forward to seeing you all at the 2026 home opener.

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