Ball State vs. Arkansas State, 2014 GoDaddy Bowl: Red Wolves survive wild ending

Arkansas State treated us to this rarest of beasts in the GoDaddy Bowl: the hidden player trick. Or, ugh, “Hide the Midget,” as the play is actually called. It’s awesome either way.

Let’s try to think of some more appropriate names for this play, shall we?

John Thompson’s win percentage at Arkansas State. For the second straight year, the ASU defensive coordinator served as interim head coach in the GoDaddy Bowl, and for the second straight year, his Red Wolves took down a top MAC team.

Arkansas State’s average starting field position. It seemed like the Red Wolves were going with the wind all night in Mobile, and it helped that when BSU failed, it failed quickly. Twice in the first half, ASU took over in Ball State territory after punts, and in the third quarter the Red Wolves stopped a fake punt at the BSU 30. Throw in an interception that was returned to the BSU 8 (the Cardinals picked off Knighten three plays later), and ASU started in BSU territory four times; Ball State, meanwhile, only twice started beyond its 25; the Cardinals’ average starting field position was their own 20.

On a chilly, windy night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Arkansas State pulled out a 23-20 stunner over Ball State to win the 2014 GoDaddy Bowl.

Ball State had one final chance to tie the game, but Scott Secor’s 38-yard field goal was blocked as the clock struck zero.

Things have gotten a little weird in Mobile ever since Alabama lost in the Sugar Bowl. This is what’s passing for game-day attire at Sunday night’s GoDaddy Bowl.

(Photo via @CorkGaines)

Traditions are part of what make college football so unique. (A more fleshed out list: tradition, marching bands, bowl games, making small cities like Tuscaloosa feel like the most important places in the country, creepy-looking bouncy inflatable mascots, and Ed Orgeron.) And in recent years, a new tradition has begun.

Before each Monday night BCS title game, we get a Sunday night GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, pitting a MAC team against an Arkansas State squad led by an interim coach. This is the third year in a row for this; hell, it’s the second year in a row that ASU defensive coordinator John Thompson has been the interim of choice. Granted, traditions have changed a bit -- it’s now just the GoDaddy Bowl -- but there are more than a few familiar elements here.

The prelude to the national championship game is not a BCS game, but instead a matchup between two solid non-power conference schools. Ball State and Arkansas State will square off in the GoDaddy Bowl, with television coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Cardinals lost an early non-conference game against North Texas, slightly tempering expectations for a run at Northern Illinois for the division crown. Seven straight wins later, including a blowout victory against Virginia, Ball State found itself playing Northern Illinois in a de facto division title game. Northern Illinois won, 48-27, and the Cardinals finished the year 10-2 without an appearance in the conference championship game.

The favorites in the past 11 GoDaddy Bowl are 8-1-2 against the spread. That trend would mean bad news for Arkansas State and great news for Ball State bettors if it continues in 2014. When the two teams take the field at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Jan. 5, Ball State will be a 9-point favorite.

Ball State will be looking for the first bowl win in program history with an 0-6 straight-up record in six all-time bowl appearances. Fueled by one of the top passing attacks in the nation, the Cardinals (10-2 SU, 8-4 ATS, 8-4 OU) were one of college football’s biggest money makers this season at 8-4 against the spread. They finished ninth in the nation in passing yards with 333.3 per game and 12th in the nation in scoring with 40.1 points per game. The defense gave up its share of yards, but held opponents to a respectable 24.8 points per game.

Former Boise State assistant coach Bryan Harsin will leave Arkansas State to return to the Broncos, according to Coaching Search’s Pete Roussel and others, confirming a report that Harsin was on the way out. He’ll take over for Chris Petersen, who left for the Washington job.

This continues both ASU’s run of having its coached poached elsewhere and Boise State’s tradition of hiring from within (even if “within” means former assistants). Harsin’s 7-5 in one year as a head coach.