Bulldog fans should hope ASU coach books road wins like he books hotels

Dillingham took a big swing and missed worse than a Stormtrooper with a blaster rifle.

I love comedy. Whether it’s a sitcom like Big Bang Theory, an animated show like Archer, anything Conan O’Brien does or just standup comedy, I can get lost in it for an entire afternoon.

I love it even more when non-comedians, like coaches, are funny. Most of the time coaches aren’t outright trying to be funny (ex: Playoffs?), but its great nonetheless.

So, let’s not be too hard on Dillingham. He at least tried to be funny and it does add a nice little bit of spice to the week.

But he forgot an important component of a good joke in these type of situations: there needs to be at least a nugget of truth. Doesn't have to be a lot, just enough so that when anyone hears it they don't immediately go, "that's not true."

What he said about the hotel situation in Starkville is so far from wrong, it’s not even laughable.

What is laughable is that Dillingham said they had to stay roughly 75-80 minutes away and that’s about how long it takes to travel from Starkville to the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Miss., which is the closest casino to Starkville.

Now that’s funny.

Look, I went to Delta State (that's in Cleveland, Miss, population roughly 10,000, for those in Arizona reading this) and spent more than 10 years working at newspapers in small towns, after growing up in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. I know the difference between big cities and small towns and there are opportunities for jokes.

Like, living in a big city, it took me 45 minutes to drive five miles. In a small town, it took me five minutes to travel 45 miles.

Or, you know a team is in trouble when its coach treats staying at a Courtyard by Marriott like a high-stakes gamble. (And that’s not even the closest hotel to Davis Wade Stadium.)

Frankly, I don’t know why Dillingham said what he said. It may just be who he is and that’s not a bad thing. Coaches with personalities are one of the better aspects of college sports.

But why would a coach of a top 10 team, going into a very hostile and difficult environment, playing a team already extremely motivated to avenge last year’s loss, give that team’s fans more motivation to turn Davis Wade Stadium into a cowbell-fueled sensory deprivation chamber?

Mississippi State didn’t need any more bulletin-board material, so why give it to them? It is a little bit of a head-scratching decision.

However, fans of the Bulldogs can pull some optimism from what Dillingham said.

Because if he gameplans the same way he searches for hotels, an upset is a whole lot more realistic.