2014 GoDaddy Bowl
The 2014 GoDaddy Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on January 5, 2014, at the Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The fifteenth edition of the GoDaddy Bowl, it featured the Ball State Cardinals from the Mid-American Conference and the Arkansas State Red Wolves, co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. The game began at 8:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was sponsored by web hosting service company Go Daddy. Arkansas State defeated Ball State by a score of 23–20.
The Cardinals, who earned a 10–2 record during the season, made their second appearance in the bowl, while the Red Wolves, who earned a 7–5 record during the season, made their third consecutive appearance in the bowl. The pregame buildup focused on the teams' respective strong offenses. For Ball State, the passing game centered on quarterback Keith Wenning connecting with wide receiver Willie Snead. In tandem with the rushing attack fueled by a strong offensive line, one writer asserted that they would enjoy "easy pickings" against a mediocre Arkansas State defense. Unlike the Ball State offense, Arkansas State's offense focused predominantly on the rushing attack, to which both dual-threat quarterback Adam Kennedy and running back Michael Gordon contributed. Ball State's defense was average in terms of points allowed, but poor in terms of yards allowed. Ball State was a 9.5 point favorite to win the game, and was the predicted winner among most sportswriters.
Ball State jumped out to an early lead via a Wenning to Snead touchdown, and led at the end of the first quarter 7–0. After the first quarter, due to Kennedy's ineffectiveness, Fredi Knighten took over at quarterback for Arkansas State, and in the second quarter, helped the team score 10 points while Ball State scored only 3 – at half time, the teams were tied at 10. Arkansas State made two field goals in the third quarter, thus entering the fourth with a six-point lead. However, Ball State scored via a field goal early in the quarter, and a touchdown with less than two minutes to play to retake the lead. Arkansas State promptly responded via a touchdown pass. Although Ball State was able to move the ball into field goal range as time waned, their field goal try was blocked, and ultimately Arkansas State held onto win the game, 23–20.
Teams
The game featured the Ball State Cardinals against the Arkansas State Red Wolves.Ball State Cardinals
The Cardinals continued their recent winning ways in 2013, finishing the season with a 7–1 conference and 10–2 overall record, good for second place in the MAC's West Division. They won their first two games before losing to North Texas. After that, they won seven consecutive games before losing in their only game against a ranked opponent, Northern Illinois on November 13. They won their final game, at which point bowl director Jerry Silverstein extended an invitation to play in the game. This will be Ball State's second GoDaddy Bowl; they had previously appeared in the 2009 game, losing to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane by a score of 45–13.Arkansas State Red Wolves
The Red Wolves continued their recent winning ways in 2013, finishing the season with a 5–2 conference and a 7–5 overall record. After losing to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for the team's fifth loss of the season, bowl director Jerry Silverstein extended an invitation to play in the game. This was the Red Wolves' third consecutive GoDaddy Bowl, making them the team with the most appearances in the game's history. The Red Wolves had previously lost the 2012 game to the Northern Illinois Huskies by a score of 38–20, and then won the 2013 game over the 25th ranked Kent State Golden Flashes by a score of 17–13. The Red Wolves began their season defeating Arkansas–Pine Bluff in a rout before being demoralized by Auburn. After winning a close game the following week against Troy in their conference opener, they lost two consecutive non-conference games. They split their next two games, but subsequently won four consecutive games before falling to Western Kentucky and being invited to the bowl.Shortly after the end of the regular season, Red Wolves head coach Bryan Harsin left to take the head coaching position at Boise State, a program where he had served as an assistant from 2001 to 2010. Red Wolves defensive coordinator John Thompson was named as interim head coach for the bowl game. This is his second consecutive GoDaddy Bowl as interim head coach, as he served in that capacity for the 2013 game after Gus Malzahn left to become head coach at Auburn.
Pregame buildup
Entering the game, Ball State was a 9.5 point favorite, and thus not surprisingly, they were favored to win by college football analysts, including all six of CBS Sports' analysts. One sports blog ranked the game as the game providing the "worst" entertainment value of the 2013–14 bowl season, however the game was predicted to be a shootout.Ball State offense vs. Arkansas State defense
Matchup
The passing attack was predicted to have "easy pickings", particularly with the Keith Wenning to Willie Snead connection that had eclipsed 100 yards in all but three games, against Arkansas State's secondary, which struggled against the pass. Compounding the potential offensive success of Ball State was their strong offensive line play, against which Arkansas State would need to sack the quarterback, a category in which they ranked 63rd-best in the country.Ball State offense
Coordinated by Rick Skrosky, who was in his third year, Ball State's offense ranked ninth in the country by averaging 333 passing yards per game, 78th in the country with 153.3 rushing yards per game, and 14th in the country with 40.1 points per game. "Stellar senior quarterback" Keith Wenning led the Cardinals' offense, and passed for a total of 3,933 yards for 34 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions, predominantly to two 1,000 yard receivers – junior Willie Snead, who caught 97 passes for 1,429 yards and 14 touchdowns, and sophomore Jordan Williams, who caught 68 passes for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns. Supplementing that duo was senior Jamill Smith, who caught 63 passes for 855 yards and 8 touchdowns, as well as fellow senior Zane Fakes, an academic All-American tight end, who caught 37 passes for 382 yards and 2 touchdowns. The receiving corps was plagued by injuries, with three receivers confirmed out for the game, as well as one questionable. Jahwan Edwards led the rushing attack with 964 yards and 13 touchdowns. Underclassmen Horactio Banks, who was out for the bowl game due to a knee injury, and Teddy Williamson rushed for 595 and 213 yards respectively. Junior kicker Scott Secor made 17 of his 21 field goal attempts, including a long of 47 yards, and made 58 of his 60 extra point attempts. After losing four of its five starters entering the season, Ball State's offensive line entered the year with right guard Jordan Hansel its only returnee; Hansel won first team All-MAC honors and center Jacob Richard achieved third team All-MAC honors.Arkansas State defense
The Red Wolves' defense was led by defensive coordinator/linebackers coach John Thompson, who was in his second year with the program. They finished in the middle of the pack in both the NCAA and the conference in defensive statistical categories relating to yardage and points allowed. Anchored by nose tackle Ryan Carrethers, an NFL Draft prospect whose tackle totals moved him even higher up the radar, the Arkansas State defensive line also featured redshirt sophomore defensive end Chris Stone, who led the defense with 9.5 TFL and added three sacks, and fifth-year senior Amos Draper. The linebacking corps was not a focal point of the defense – only two of the defense's top 15 tacklers were linebackers – the leader was undersized junior Qushaun Lee, who led the defense with 119 tackles and added 6 TFL, and also contributing was freshman Xavier Woosdon, who recorded 22 total tackles. Making up for the lack of linebackers were a plethora of defensive backs who played key roles on the unit, including three of the top six tacklers – junior Sterling Young, and sophomores Chris Humes, and Rocky Hayes. Other key contributors included junior Artez Brown, freshman Money Hunter, and junior Andrew Tryon.Arkansas State offense vs. Ball State defense
Matchup
A key to this matchup was for Ball State to force Arkansas State quarterback Adam Kennedy to be one-dimensional, limiting his ability to run the football, and thus forcing him to pass, attacking the Cardinals' defensive strong point, their secondary. For Arkansas State, establishing a rushing attack early and utilizing it often was paramount, as Ball State did not defend against the run particularly well during the regular season, however at the same time, Arkansas State needed to limit turnovers as they had all season ; creating them was a strength for Ball State.Arkansas State offense
Led by co-coordinators Eliah Drinkwitz and Bush Hamdan, Arkansas State's offense excelled in the running game, and averaged 206 rushing yards per game, which was second in the Sun Belt, but struggled in the passing game, averaging just 208 yards per game, which was sixth in the conference; the aggregate mediocrity of their offense manifested itself by averaging 29.7 points per game, fourth in the conference. Their offense was led by dual-threat quarterback Adam Kennedy, a transfer from Utah State who was in his first year as a Red Wolf. The senior totaled 2,349 passing yards, and added 514 rushing yards, second among Sun Belt quarterbacks and tied for ninth overall in the conference; he scored 15 total touchdowns. Leading Arkansas State's rushing attack, however, was sophomore Michael Gordon, a small back with a stature, who amassed 717 yards and ten touchdowns. Also leading the running game were seniors David Oku and Sirgregory Thornton, who contributed 511 and 340 yards respectively. Augmenting the aforementioned were sophomores backup quarterback Fredi Knighten, who rushed for 247 yards, and wide receiver J. D. McKissic, who rushed 118 yards.Leading the receiving game were senior big-play threat Julian Jones, who caught 51 passes for 630 yards and 4 touchdowns, and possession safety valve McKissic, who caught 73 receptions for 590 yards and 4 touchdowns. Augmenting the aforementioned duo were senior Allen Muse, third on the team in receiving yards, and sophomore tight end Darion Griswold, fourth on the team in receiving. Gordon, Oku, and senior receiver R.J. Fleming also contributed in the receiving game. Senior Brian Davis handled the kicking game, and went 44/45 on extra points, and 12/14 kicking field goals for a total of 80 points. The Wolves' offensive line struggled to protect the quarterback despite returning the majority of the unit from the 2012 season, but did manage to open holes for the running game. Starters on the offensive line included sophomore center Bryce Giddens, a preseason all-conference honoree, senior tackle Aaron Williams and freshman tackle Colton Jackson, as well as upperclassmen guards Alan Wright and Steve Haunga.