Head coach challenges Washington State Cougars to replace Miami in Sun Bowl

Head coach Jake Dickert and the Washington State Cougars are looking for an opponent in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl after the Miami Hurricanes dropped out due to COVID-19 complications, and an unlikely candidate is vying for an invite: Stephen F. Austin.

A report first surfaced Sunday night that Miami was forced to drop out due to a slew of positive COVID-19 test results and related isolations and quarantines. Brett McMurphy added in his report that it’s “unknown” if a replacement will be found for the Cougars, who arrived in El Paso Sunday but could be turning back around to Pullman before the 12:00 p.m. scheduled kickoff on Dec. 31. In a subsequent interview, Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said he thinks they will not be able to find a replacement in time for the Dec. 31 matchup — but the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks are making their case, and making it publicly.

Stephen F. Austin, an FCS school playing in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), went 8-4 this season and lost a close, 35-28 game to Incarnate Ward in the first round of the FCS Playoffs. The Lumberjacks played one Power Five school this season — a Week 2 matchup with Texas Tech — and played them close, losing 28-22.

“I’m always looking for an excuse to visit the Lucchese boot factory in El Paso, Texas!” Stephen F. Austin head coach Colby Carthel said on Twitter of the famous bootmaker in Texas. “Stephen F Austin versus Washington State in the Sun Bowl! Let’s make this happen…”

McMurphy reported late Sunday night that the Sun Bowl is still looking for an opponent for Washington State, but Memphis, SMU and East Carolina — the three teams impacted by cancelled bowls — will not be in consideration, he said, despite the cancellation of their own bowl games, as they’ve declared their season complete. In response, Carthel once agin made the case for his Stephen F. Austin team to take the spot.

“Hey (Brett),” Carthel said on Twitter. “I coach an eight-win Division I football team out here in #bEASTtexas that is willing and able to play this game! Stephen F. Austin can play Washington State in the Sun Bowl on four days notice, no problem! Let’s make it happen…”

Washington State disappointed with Sun Bowl cancellation

Unsurprisingly, Washington State — which went 7-5, finishing second in the Pac-12 North, despite the midseason firing of its former head coach Nick Rolovich over the COVID-19 vaccine — is disappointed with how its season has ended. The Cougars overcame a rocky 1-3 start with Dickert coaching in the interim, and their 6-2 finish to the regular season helped Dickert earn the full-time head coaching job, as his interim label was recently removed.

“It is disappointing news that the University of Miami is unable to participate in the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl,” a statement from Washington State said. “We will work with the Pac-12 Conference and the Sun Bowl Association to hopefully find a replacement opponent for the game.”

The chances of finding a new opponent, at least at the time of cancellation, remain slim.

“I personally think it’s too late in the game unless it happened right now,” Olivas, the director fo the Sun Bowl, said. “Those teams that got canceled, they might be available right now. Any later than this, it would probably be impossible to get anybody but, to be honest with you, we’re counting on Miami and Washington State. As far as a backup plan — since where we are, we don’t have one because I think it’s too late to start looking for somebody and be a replacement team.”