Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Arkansas State's days of collecting checks and losses on the road will be coming to an end if Coach Gus Malzahn gets his wish.

ASU opens at No. 5 Oregon on Saturday and plays at No. 17 Nebraska on Sept. 15. Each game will offer paydays in the neighborhood of $1 million, money that will help fund the Red Wolves’ athletic department. Winning is possible, but not probable.

While the payouts are nice, Malzahn said he plans to be more “strategic” with scheduling in the future. Games with big-name opponents are fine, but loading up on road games at elite schools isn’t something he prefers.

Malzahn described the stretch against Oregon, Memphis (Sept. 8) and Nebraska as the toughest consecutive three games in college football.

“In the future, you’ll see us schedule a money game and at the same time there will be games that are a little more strategic than this year,” Malzahn said.

What exactly is “strategic” scheduling?

Malzahn didn’t get into specifics, but finding beatable BCS conference opponents would likely be a preference. Home-and-home games like the ones the Red Wolves have had with Louisville, Southern Miss and Army in recent seasons would also be ideal.

ASU opens at Auburn in 2013. That provides another $1 million payday, but the reliance on those games is a habit that Malzahn hopes to break in the future.

Guarantee games haven’t often been more than guaranteed losses for the Red Wolves since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1992. Sure, there’s a paycheck to help the bottom line, but there’s also a price to pay for teams that are traveling long distances to be little more than fodder for big-name schools.

ASU has known that price well in the past. Physically the games take their toll. Big losses can also impact a team’s psyche.

While the Red Wolves have closed the gap in recent years — they won 18-14 at Texas A&M in 2008 and played No. 13 Virginia Tech to within 26-6 last season — lessening the burden on the team and providing more attractive games for fans is a better scenario for the program from Malzahn’s vantage point.

Boise State’s scheduling philosophy is the model. Malzahn noted the Broncos several times when asked about what he’d like to do with the schedule in the future.

“We’ll do a better job of strategically scheduling in the future. At the same time, it is what it is this year,” Malzahn said. “We know our schedule and we’re going to do the best we possibly can.”