In Jonesboro, Arkansas, people are howling mad.

Their hometown team — no, not the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Arkansas State Red Wolves — did not get to host what was to be the highest-profile visitor in its football history.

The five Sun Belt Conference championships in the last six years and all the mid-week ESPN telecasts prepared A-State for this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime occasion. A national powerhouse was coming to the upper Delta. A five-time national champion was coming. The 16th-ranked team in the nation.

Before last Saturday, who around here could care that college football was starting. Covering Lamar, I selfishly didn’t want the Cardinals to play.

But I’m not a homer.

There was a common open date with North Texas; why didn’t the Mean Green offer to play Lamar on Oct. 7? Was the game really that important?

In Denton, heck, yeah, it was. It was the first week. No storm blew through North Texas. Season ticket holders were anxious.

In Beaumont and Port Arthur? Folks might have forgotten, unless they looked online.

If I were in Denton or Jonesboro, I might have thought differently, in the wake of a hurricane’s destruction.

A Lamar team spokesperson told me that North Texas “went out of its way” to provide Lamar necessary accommodations. The Cardinals stayed an extra night in the area and got to use North Texas’ dining facilities well after the Mean Green’s 59-14 shellacking. In no way did North Texas’ administration force Lamar to come.

Truthfully, Lamar, which is still trying to prove itself on the Division I level, wasn’t going to pass up a “money game,” or contests where a usually larger program pays money to a visiting team that doesn’t have as many resources, partly so the larger team never has to make a return trip. (In basketball, though, Cardinals vs. Mean Green would make for a great home-and-home series.)

Coach Mike Schultz took care of his Lamar team. His quarterback,
Darrel Colbert Jr., praised him for that.

And North Texas got its money’s worth.

Arkansas State didn’t. Boo-hoo.

The Hurricanes’ reason for not coming is quite simple: Why risk safety just to play a nonconference football game? Why send a whole team to little ol’ flat Jonesboro, where there’s neither a mountain nor a beach to be found, not knowing when it’s safe to travel back to South Beach?

I hear you, Miami. Not mad at you.

Give Miami some credit. Florida followed suit and canceled a home game against Northern Colorado.

South Florida at Connecticut was called off and will not be made up. That’s interesting because that was an American Athletic Conference East Division game.

Florida State now doesn’t have to pay Louisiana-Monroe to play in Tallahassee. Memphis at Central Florida has been put on ice.

But Florida Atlantic went to play Wisconsin. Let’s pray the Owls stay safe wherever they go.

Before Irma reminded us all-too-soon of the devastation of a hurricane and Miami’s brethren opted not to play, Miami’s decision not to go to Jonesboro was heavily scrutinized.

A team with multiple national championships chose not to visit a team that nearly beat Nebraska the previous Saturday. The pundits called the move suspect.

That’s a case of have and have-not. Miami has a reputation to protect.

Arkansas State provided options for Miami to play the game and keep the Hurricanes safe. Mind you, Miami contractually OWED A-State a game. A-State played in Miami three years ago and lost.

Lamar went to North Texas, and, no, that game didn’t have to be played.

Safety should always be top priority. Miami, Florida, UCF and USF exercised it.

But the Hurricanes shouldn’t be off the hook. At some point, and it doesn’t have to be this season, Miami should pay A-State a visit.

Only when the time is right.
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I.C. Murrell can be reached at 549-8541 or at ic.murrell@panews.com. On Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews