Most college football teams, at one point or another, have one of those days—when nothing seems to be going right, when the opponent has too much talent, when bowl eligibility seems completely out of reach.
Arkansas State had one such day Saturday afternoon, losing 73–0 to a No. 20 Oklahoma team looking to put a rough 2022 behind it. The Red Wolves, outmatched from the outset, were outgained 642–208 by their far superior Big 12 opposition.
The loss appeared to visibly frustrate Arkansas State coach Butch Jones, who dropped to 5–20 since taking the reins in Jonesboro in 2021. Cameras captured Jones upset on the sideline with just under five minutes to play, while safety Justin Parks sportingly consoled him with a pat on the back.
Justin Parks consoling his head coach Butch Jones during a tough afternoon ❤️ pic.twitter.com/88TZvgmywl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 2, 2023
Jones—an experienced leader with four conference championships under his belt at Central Michigan and Cincinnati—appeared loath to address the incident in detail after the game, but did express gratitude to Parks.
"There’s a lot of players on our defense who care. When we got here, we didn't have very many," Jones said. "We can gain something from this. We can become closer."
I asked Arkansas State head football coach Butch Jones about safety Justin Parks consoling him in the 4th quarter. https://t.co/NFuQxNikWj pic.twitter.com/sqCc4OISdd
— Chris Hudgison (@ChrisHudgison) September 2, 2023
