Arkansas State left Troy, Ala., after midnight Thursday with the Sun Belt Conference lead in hand. The Red Wolves also had something else that seemed unlikely two months ago -- bowl eligibility.
The Red Wolves' 35-3 victory over Troy made them 6-4 overall, meaning for the sixth consecutive season they're eligible to be chosen for a bowl. The distinction is nice, but the future destination doesn't matter to Coach Blake Anderson, whose team plays at Louisiana-Lafayette at 11 a.m. on Saturday for a chance to win at least a share of the Sun Belt title.
Up next
Arkansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette
WHEN 11 a.m. Central Saturday
WHERE Cajun Field, Lafayette, La.
RECORDS Arkansas State 6-4, 6-0 Sun Belt Conference; Louisiana-Lafayette 4-6, 3-3
SERIES Louisiana-Lafayette leads 23-19-1
RADIO KASR-FM, 92.7, in Little Rock/Conway; KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro
TV American Sports Network
INTERNET ESPN3.com
"We just want to play in the postseason, and mainly we want to take care of the regular season and find a way to win the league," Anderson said Monday. "We'll finish up and go somewhere and have a blast where we go. And we definitely want to find a way to win one of them as well."
Where ASU, which played in the New Orleans Bowl last year and what was previously known as the GoDaddy Bowl four consecutive years before that, ends up is harder to peg this year than in previous seasons.
With the addition of the Arizona Bowl in Tucson, Ariz., as a primary partner, the Sun Belt has five tie-ins for the first time. The New Orleans Bowl has first pick of Sun Belt teams, followed by the Dollar General Bowl (formerly the GoDaddy Bowl) in Mobile, Ala.; the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.; the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.; and the Arizona Bowl.
ASU could end up in any of them, but nobody will know for sure until Dec. 4, the required date the bowls can make selections public while waiting for the selections for the College Football Playoff. Arizona Bowl Director Mike Feder told the Lewiston (Wash.) Tribune last week that the preference for his bowl is Idaho, but that would only happen if the Sun Belt gets five eligible teams.
With two weeks remaining, the Sun Belt could have six teams for five spots, or four teams leaving one spot open. ASU, Appalachian State and Troy are bowl eligible, while Louisiana-Lafayette can get there with victories over ASU and Louisiana-Monroe. South Alabama can earn eligibility with a victory over Idaho or New Mexico State.
"Maybe it's not completely true, but we just feel like [New Orleans] is where the conference championship team goes, and we just focus on winning the league and we'll let the bowls sort themselves out," Anderson said.
It's not, exactly.
The New Orleans Bowl gets first pick but is not required to take the champion. In 15 seasons, it has taken the champion, either shared or outright, 11 times. It has also shown an affinity for repeat selections. It took North Texas from the Sun Belt in its first four seasons, and Louisiana-Lafayette went each year in 2011-2014. So a repeat trip for ASU wouldn't be out of the question.
"Obviously, we're not adverse to it. given our history," Billy Ferrante, the executive director of the New Orleans Bowl, said Monday.
Ferrante added that last year's experience with ASU, which was in the bowl for the first time since 2005, "top to bottom for us was positive." He didn't attend ASU's victory over Troy on Thursday, but representatives from the bowl did make the trip, he said. Representatives from the Dollar General and Cure bowls were there, too.
"My reaction is Arkansas State looks pretty good," Ferrante said. "Obviously, it seemed to have created a turn in the championship race for the conference."
Troy (8-2, 5-1) is another strong candidate for the bowl, Ferrante said. The Trojans have played in the bowl three times, but not since 2010, the last year they were bowl eligible. Their turnaround under second year Coach Neal Brown could be attractive when it's time to select a team, Ferrante said.
"A motivated fan base and a very enthusiastic fan base is something that you look for," he said. "It was one of the things last year with Arkansas State. We had not had them in New Orleans and we knew that there was a desire to come here and wanted to have them here."
There's also Louisiana-Lafayette, which is not yet bowl eligible but could be if it beats ASU on Saturday and Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 3. The Ragin' Cajuns played in the New Orleans Bowl's four highest-attended games, including a record 54,728 in a 2013 victory over Tulane.
Attendance is one of the key considerations for bowls, Ferrante said, along with overall record, proximity and a potential matchup. The bowl should have a more clear idea by next week, he said.
"All those things represent a piece of what will make a picture of what it's going to be," he said. "But still, the pieces are a little blurry around the edges."
Sports on 11/22/2016