Go see Cal

Justice Hansen was hacking away at TopGolf — a quarterback’s dream — when he caught, out of the corner of his eye, the stuff of football nightmares.

Wednesday’s Cheez-It Bowl in Phoenix featured nine combined interceptions, the most in any bowl game since 1982. TCU beat Cal 10-7 in overtime in a game that set modern football back a decade or three.

Hansen, Arkansas State’s star quarterback, said he caught bits and pieces of the game while golfing, and texted with his brother about the game. The lesson?

“Bowl season is just really sort of a monster,” he said.

Hansen wasn’t the only one watching on TV. Nevada coach Jay Norvell discussed the pitiful performance with his team, part of what he said is an ongoing discussion about how other teams play. The Wolf Pack also discussed the false start call that cost Memphis the Birmingham Bowl and Duke’s romp over Temple in Thursday’s Independence Bowl.

Asked for the key to Saturday’s bowl game, Norvell smirked.

“Don’t throw nine interceptions,” he said.

The big number

9

Number of wins Arkansas State will have if it can defeat Nevada on Saturday. Just 30 college football programs finished with nine or more victories in 2017.

“It’s a lot harder than people want to give you credit for, winning nine” coach Blake Anderson said. “There may be 30, 35 teams in all of Division I that are able to do that this year. We’d like to be in that group.”

Say hey, Jay

Norvell talked extemporaneously for a half-hour during Friday’s news conference, in part to fill time while his players hustled to make it following practice.

Nevada’s coach was a natural. A few of his gems:

On his program’s philosophy: “We talk about planting trees you’ll never see.”

On Saturday’s game: “I think it’s a great challenge for us. Our kids just finished finals; this is our final as a football team.”

On working for Al Davis with the Oakland Raiders: “He used to park his sedan by the door so, you know, he was the last one to leave the building. You always felt his presence. You could always smell Coach Davis coming down the hallway because of his cologne and his perfume.”

Even Steven

Saturday’s game will be evenly matched, and it’s not just coach-speak.

Nevada averages 32.3 points per game, just a half-point more than the Red Wolves. A-State averages 24 more yards per game than Nevada, and holds the ball for exactly 1 minute 1 second more per game, on average. A-State allows just 1.6 fewer yards per game on defense. Both teams have 32 sacks.

And then there’s the name: Nevada is the Wolf Pack. Arkansas State is the Red Wolves.

“When I saw the matchup … I just thought this was one of the really great matchups of the bowl season,” Norvell said. “ I really think we’re very similar. Many of our strengths, offensively and defensively, are the same.”

He wrote the book

Nevada head coach Jay Norvell on writing the book “Complete Wide Receiver” and how he decided to become an author: “Everybody has a book in them.” pic.twitter.com/FETMuDdDTF

— Arizona Daily Star (@TucsonStar) December 28, 2018

Norvell wrote the book on wide receivers. You can look it up — and the coach wouldn’t mind if you bought it, too.

Nevada’s coach wrote “Complete Wide Receiver” in 2012, while he was the co-offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. Norvell talked Friday about the challenges of putting pen to paper; he woke up at 4 a.m. every morning during two straight offseasons to finish the 217-page tome. He now gives it away to his players.

Norvell initially resisted the overture from Human Kinetics, which he now calls “one of the great creators of athletic manuscripts in the world.” A quick retort from his wife — ‘When is anybody ever going to ask you to write a book again?” — changed his mind.

“And I looked at her, and I go, ‘as usual, you’re right,’” he said. “I believe everybody has a book in them. It’s just a matter of getting an opportunity to write it.”

He said it

Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson on playing in the @novaAZBOWL: pic.twitter.com/3eXWAfhzUL

— Arizona Daily Star (@TucsonStar) December 28, 2018

“Not bad when you can wake up with the mountains in the backdrop every day and practice with them looking over your shoulder.”

— Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson, on his impressions of Tucson

Another big number

42

Projected temperature, in degrees, at kickoff Saturday morning. The good news? There is zero chance of rain and the temperature is expected to peak at 50 degrees by halftime.