Butch Jones returned to his native state as his Arkansas State squad paid a visit to the Big House. Twice, with 4th and 1 in the first half relatively deep in Michigan territory, he opted for a field goal attempt.
When one is a 22-point underdog, it is difficult to imagine that the road to an upset is paved by field goals. Maybe Jones was enamored because he had a stellar field goal kicker. OOPS! Past tense. He had a stellar field goal kicker, Dominic Zvada, in 2023. Perhaps Jones had a brain cramp. No doubt Zvada was in the Big House but he was sporting a Maize & Blue uniform. That damn transfer portal struck again!
Perhaps fittingly, Arkansas State’s first field goal attempt doinked off the goal post. The Red Wolves wound up 1 for 3 on field goal attempts in the first half. Why would Jones, the Prince of Platitudes, play it so safe? Was his long game a respectable loss? Would he have viewed it as a triumph if Arkansas State covered the spread?
One would think that a Michigan native such as Jones would be encouraged to roll the dice in an effort to pull off a major upset. After all, Michigan looked very ordianary against Texas. No dice for Jones. However, he could at least be satisfied that his squad did cover the spread in backdoor fashion as the Red Wolves scored 2 late TD’s.