At stake is a birth to the GoDaddy Bowl and this time the Red Wolves will finally have their coach, Blake Anderson up until the end.
Apparently the Red Wolves have had a history of coaches suddenly departing the scene after being in charge during the regular season. But now the Red Wolves knew better. When they hired Blake Anderson last December 19, 2013, they made sure that he think twice before deserting the team just like three prior coaches.
In 2011, Hugh Freeze guided the Red Wolves to a 10-2 record but left before the bowl game to take the Mississippi job. The next year, Gus Malzahn's team earned another trip to Mobile, but he bolted for Auburn prior to the bowl The last was Bryan Harshin who bolted to coach Boise State, his alma mater.
So this time around, the Red Wolves will go through it all intact and try to win the bowl for the third consecutive year.
"Our team has persevered and worked extremely hard this season to put itself in this position, so we want to take full advantage of this opportunity and finish our season strong" says the little known coach.
All eyes will be on Fredi Knighten, Michael Gordon and Johnston White, who were pretty instrumental in their team's 68-35 rout of New Mexico State.
Toledo on the other hand makes a return of its own. Their stint at the moment comes however after being out of it last year. That cut their own string of three straight appearances.
"We've got to do a really good job of keeping the excitement of the season going," coach Matt Campbell said.
However that could all hinge if his players are 100% fit and healthy. Logan Woodside, Greg Mancz and Kareem Hunt have been bitten by injuries and coach Campbell is hopeful that they have been given enough time to heal before Sunday. The Rockets are the 4 point favorite against the Red Wolves.
The game between Toledo and Arkansas St. will kick off at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN this January 4, 2015. You can also watch it live online here.
