Butch Jones, the former Tennessee head coach, is leading Arkansas State now, and his team was playing in the Camellia Bowl against Northern Illinois Saturday. With the bowl season officially upon us, we the college football fans are all winners.

Arkansas State was trailing Northern Illinois, 21-19, with 1:10 left in the game and had to attempt an onside kick. The Red Wolves recovered it, but were called for an offside penalty that replay showed was extremely close. Jones didn’t react well to the call and provided college fans with a meltdown for the ages.

This offsides call is what had Butch Jones bright red..

Thoughts?pic.twitter.com/oMq8S8HzF1

— Barstool Sun Belt (@barstoolsunbelt) December 23, 2023

That was all but the game as Northern Illinois went on to win, 21-19. With the loss, Arkansas State fell to 6-7 on the season, but the program is moving in the right direction under Jones.

In his first season at Arkansas State, the Red Wolves finished with a 2-10 record. Last year, the team improved by one game, finishing with 3-9. However, this year, they took the next step and were able to make a bowl game.

Arkansas State is his first head coaching job since he was the head coach at Tennessee. During his time there, he finished with a record of 34-27 in five seasons as the head man in Knoxville.

Mark Kern