College Football

Loophole in Rule Will Send Rich Rodriguez to Bowl Game After All

Published

5 months ago

November 26, 2023

It took benefiting from a loophole in the rules, but Rich Rodriguez will be coaching a team in a bowl game again.

Due to a lack of the necessary amount of teams reaching bowl eligibility, Jacksonville State (along with JMU) will now be able to end their seasons in a bowl game. This comes after both schools were recently denied a waiver request for immediate eligibility.

The 82 bowl teams are officially set, including James Madison & Jacksonville State. Sun Belt leads way w/record 12 bowl teams. ACC has 11, while Big 12, Big Ten & SEC 9 each. Minnesota only 5-7 team needed. Official pairings next Sunday. Complete list ⤵️https://t.co/Ow24zfm7Cc
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 26, 2023

The rules normally do not allow programs to be bowl eligible in their first season as members of the FBS.

This news came hours after Rodriguez led the Gamecocks to another comeback win. JSU finished the regular season at 8-4.

The last time Rodriguez coached in a bowl game was in 2017 with Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl. His last bowl victory came back in 2015 in the New Mexico Bowl.

When Rodriguez was hired to guide Jacksonville State into this new FBS era in 2021, it was his first time being a head coach since his departure from Arizona in 2017. After the Wildcats, Rodriguez spent a season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss and then held the same role at Louisiana-Monroe the following season.

Rodriguez, a West Virginia native, currently holds a 180-124-2 overall coaching record. He obviously experience most of his success while leading the Mountaineers from 2001-2007. At WVU, Rodriguez won four Big East titles, was named conference Coach of the Year twice. He added a third Coach of the Year honor in the Pac-12 in 2014 with Arizona.

Last November, WVSN’s Mike Asti asked WVU legend Rasheed Marshall if he would ever want Rich Rodriguez to return as head coach of the Mountaineers during an episode of their past “All Three Phases” podcast.