2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl Preview

Date: January 6, 2013 9:00 PM ET
Stadium: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
Payout: $750,000 per team
Played: 1999-present
Former Names: Mobile Alabama Bowl (1999-2000), GMAC Bowl (2001-2010)
Broadcasters: Mark Jones, Brock Huard
Sideline Reporter: Jessica Mendoza

Kent State: After a 11-1 season and a 8-0 regular season in the MAC, a double overtime loss to Northern Illinois in the MAC title game kept Kent State out of a BCS bowl. Kent State's backfield tandem of Dri Archer and Trayion Durham accounted for 2,600 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, while the Golden Flashes' defense was second in the FBS in interceptions. The Golden Flashes are in unfamiliar territory as they play in their first bowl game in 40 years.

Arkansas State: Winning is costly for Sun Belt champion Arkansas State. In 2011, the program won 10 games and head coach Hugh Freeze departed after just one season on the job. This year the program won 9 wins and it lost another first-year coach, Gus Malzahn. The Red Wolves started the season 2-3, before winning their last 7 games. Arkansas State has the nation's 17th-ranked offense. The Red Wolves lost the GoDaddy.com bowl last season to Northern Illinois.

	Kent State			Arkansas State
Overall Record	11-2		Overall Record	9-3
Conference Record	8-0		Conference Record	7-1
Bowl Record	0-1		Bowl Record	0-2
Last Bowl Win	N/A		Last Bowl Win	N/A

All Time Series: 0-0
Line: Arkansas State by 3.5

Firings and Resignations Critique, Part 1

Tim Brewster   15-30 (6-21)

Minnesota

Fired 10/17/10

Firing Brewster was the right decision. His conference record was .222 and nonconference record was .500. His marquee loss was to the South Dakota Coyotes during Week 2 of the 2010 season. Brewster was able to get Minnesota to the Insight Bowl twice (2008, 2009) during his 3 ½ years, but both games ended in losses. Minnesota is a tough assignment but not a place where it’s impossible to win and recruit. The university has a new stadium, is located in a large metro area, has no in-state competition for recruits, and has a large alumni base. With hard work, strong leadership, and some luck, the Golden Gophers could find their way into the Top 25 in the next few years.

Todd Dodge   6-37 (3-23)

North Texas

Fired 10/20/10

When Dodge took over the program at North Texas, the program was coming off of two dismal seasons. Dodge never was able to make much improvement only winning 3 conference games in his 3 ½ years at North Texas. The Mean Green never finished better than 2-10 under his direction. During the 2010 season, North Texas was plagued heavily by injuries early in the season and never had a chance to rebound. The Mean Green had ten starters injured (nine season-ending) after their third game. Dodge has proven to be an elite high school coach, but the high school level and college level are two different beasts.

Dan Hawkins   19-39 (10-27)

Colorado

Fired 11/9/10

Dan Hawkins tenure started out rotten and ended rotten. In his first game as head coach, the Buffs lost to FCS Montana State. He was never able to guide the program to a better-than-.500 season. Hawkins had a .074 winning percentage in games not played at Folsom Field or Invesco Field at Mile High. The last straw was on November 6^th when Colorado blew a 28 point lead in the fourth quarter over Kansas. The Jayhawks won 52-45. This was the biggest meltdown in the history of Buffaloes football. The writing was on the wall that Dan Hawkins could not bring Colorado back to its 1990 glory days. The university should have taken out the trash after the 2009 season.

Doug Martin   29-53 (21-35)

Kent State

Resigned 11/21/10

Doug Martin resigned after seven seasons leading the Golden Flashes. A 29-53 may look bad on paper, but when considering the support the football program gets from the university and the fact that Martin has the best winning percentage at Kent State since Glen Mason coached the Golden Flashes in 1986 and 1987, Martin was doing a pretty good job with the resources he had. The football team shares a weight room with all of the other athletic teams. Kent State’s football program has the smallest recruiting budget in the MAC. Doug Martin was the lowest-paid head coach out of all FBS programs in 2010. Martin’s best record in his seven seasons was 6-6 in 2006. Consider that four of Doug Martin’s seven seasons had five wins. Since 1972, the Golden Flashes have won five games in a season just 12 times. I’m not sure Darrell Hazell will be able to do much better at one of the toughest coaching assignments in the FBS.

Stan Parrish   6-19 (5-11)

Ball State

Fired 11/22/10

Stan Parrish was rightfully fired after going 6-19 as head coach at Ball State. Parrish was Brady Hoke’s offensive coordinator before taking over as head coach when Brady Hoke darted to San Diego State. After Ball State’s amazing 12-2 2008 season, the Cardinals fell back to below average for Parrish’s two full seasons at the helm. The Cardinals went from double digits wins to double digit losses between the 2008 and 2009 seasons. While the job in Muncie is not an easy one, the Cardinals laid some eggs under Parrish: losing to a FCS school in 2009 and 2010, losing to an Eastern Michigan team that was on an 18-game losing streak.

Robbie Caldwell   2-10 (1-7)

Vanderbilt         

Resigned 11/27/10

Vanderbilt head coach Bobby Johnson retired less than two months before the 2010 season, and the Commodores needed a head coach that knew the program ASAP. Robbie Caldwell was thrown into the fire. Caldwell went 2-10 like Johnson did in 2009. He decided to not stay. Perhaps, Caldwell could have had some success in the long term, but Vanderbilt made it clear they needed to get a flashy name to start some buzz in Commodore football again and turn the page on the Bobby Johnson. Vanderbilt is the toughest place to build a winning program in the SEC. It is likely Ron Franklin will not be able to do much better than Caldwell, but at least fresh leadership will attract recruits and reinvigorate the fan base.

Randy Shannon   28-22 (16-16)

Miami

Fired 11/27/10

Randy Shannon did not meet the high expectations that University of Miami has for its football team. The last five head coaches winning percentages at Miami were: .800 (Coker), .718 (Davis), .875 (Erickson), .852 (Johnson), and .719 (Schnellenberger). Randy Shannon’s: .560. Add to that the fact that the Hurricanes never won their division or a bowl game in Shannon’s four years. Four of the previous five Miami head coaches won national championships. Losing to Florida State, 45-17, falling to South Florida, 23-20 in overtime, and a loss to a rebuilding Virginia team made getting rid of Shannon necessary. However, Shannon did get players to attend classes and stay out of trouble. The moniker Thug U was nonexistent during the Shannon years. While Shannon did not have the winning percentage or resume of his predecessors, he bled Miami green and orange and acted like a father figure to many of his players. Miami has lost ground to other programs in recent years and Al Golden, a hire from outside the program, may not be the answer.

MAC Home Attendance Figures

	Akron			Ball State
InfoCision Stadium			Scheumann Stadium
S4 Syracuse	15,969		S2 SE Missouri State	10,753
S11 Gardner-Webb	10,046		S11 Liberty	9,110
O2 Northern Illinois	12,133		O9 Western Michigan	11,963
O23 Western Michigan	10,073		O16 Eastern Michigan	10,956
N17 Miami (OH)	7,671		N6 Akron	5,377
N26 Buffalo	5,216		N20 Northern Illinois	5,524
AVERAGE	10,185		AVERAGE	8,947
	Bowling Green			Buffalo
Perry Stadium			UB Stadium
S18 Marshall	20,515		S2 Rhode Island	16,273
O2 Buffalo	14,544		S18 UCF	14,312
O23 Kent State	14,279		O23 Temple	13,371
N10 Miami (OH)	12,073		O30 Miami (OH)	12,786
N26 Western Michigan	5,121		N12 Ball State	11,355
			N20 Eastern Michigan	9,786
AVERAGE	13,306		AVERAGE	12,981
	Central Michigan			Eastern Michigan
Kelly/Shorts Stadium			Rynearson Stadium
S2 Hampton	17,311		S4 Army	11,318
O2 Ball State	20,152		S18 Central Michigan	20,348
O16 Miami (OH)	24,761		O2 Ohio	16,753
O30 Bowling Green	17,659		O30 Toledo	25,860
N5 Western Michigan	22,355		N26 Northern Illinois	5,147
AVERAGE	20,448		AVERAGE	15,885
	Kent State			Miami (OH)
Dix Stadium			Yager Stadium
S2 Murray State	16,535		S11 Eastern Michigan	12,857
O9 Akron	24,221		S18 Colorado State	16,691
O30 Ball State	15,468		O2 Kent State	17,666
N6 Temple	15,125		O23 Ohio	17,144
N13 Army	17,222		N23 Temple	13,235
N26 Ohio	8,340
AVERAGE	16,152		AVERAGE	15,519
	Northern Illinois			Ohio
Huskie Stadium			Peden Stadium
S11 North Dakota	18,046		S4 Wofford	22,955
O9 Temple	14,011		S11 Toledo	19,455
O16 Buffalo	21,230		O9 Bowling Green	19,855
O23 Central Michigan	17,042		O16 Akron	21,645
N9 Toledo	18,472		O30 UL-Lafayette	15,255
			N4 Buffalo	15,112
AVERAGE	17,760		AVERAGE	19,046
	Temple			Toledo
Lincoln Financial Field			Glass Bowl
S3 Villanova	32,193		S3 Arizona	25,907
S9 Central Mcihigan	15,152		O2 Wyoming	20,843
S18 Connecticut	18,702		O16 Kent State	20,048
O16 Bowling Green	23,045		O23 Ball State	15,010
O30 Akron	17,563		N17 Bowling Green	22,071
N16 Ohio	16,433		N26 Central Michigan	12,121
AVERAGE	20,515		AVERAGE	19,333
	Western Michigan
Waldo Stadium
S11 Nicholls State	19,327
S18 Toledo	14,216
O2 Idaho	18,508
O30 Northern Illinois	12,578
N13 Eastern Michigan	12,136
N20 Kent State	8,763
AVERAGE	14,255

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Temple	20,515
Central Michigan	20,448
Toledo	19,333
Ohio	19,046
Northern Illinois	17,760
Kent State	16,152
Eastern Michigan	15,885
Miami (OH)	15,519
Western Michigan	14,255
Bowling Green	13,306
Buffalo	12,981
Akron	10,185
Ball State	8,947