It's finally time! What can Louisiana Tech do to bring home a W against Southeastern tomorrow night?
Congratulations! You’ve made it through another college football offseason. A lot has happened since the last time the Bulldogs hit the field, but one thing hasn’t changed: When Louisiana Tech is playing, we here at BleedTechBlue will have you covered.
While Ben’s been knocking it out of the park all off-season long, I’ve been resting. Contemplating. Meditating… so that when my time comes, I would be ready to return to the gridiron with all the force of a Kenneth Dixon 99-yard Touchdown run.
And my time has come. It’s the Friday before gameday, and we all know what that means. For a coach, there are many things that go into a game plan. There are the Xs, the Os, which packages to trot out there in your FCS opener… but no matter what, there are a certain number of elements that create the difference between winning and losing. No matter the opponent, the setting, the level of play… there are…
THREE KEYS TO VICTORY
#1: Clean Slate
After a long off-season and Fall Camp, it’s time to finally get out there under the lights and see what our boys have. In the transfer portal era, the first game of the season has quickly become a proxy for an NFL preseason game – you might see a lot of players you’ve never heard of, some new guys might become instant fan favorites, and you’d better bring a printed copy of the roster if you want to know who’s who and what’s what!
The good news is that it’s the first game for both teams. So while Tech may have some rust to shake off and some first game jitters among the plethora of newcomers… so will the Lions. And SELA does have a lot of new faces, at least on the offensive side of the ball. Their returning leading rusher from last season, Rodeo Graham Jr., rushed the ball just 42 times last year for 222 yards. Their longtime QB Eli Sawyer? Gone. Now it looks like tomorrow night’s game in Ruston is the Final Exam for SELA’s summer quarterbacking class.
To win this game, Louisiana Tech’s newcomers – especially on offense – will need to settle in quickly. The Bulldog D will need to keep Southeastern’s offense from getting into rhythm while our offense finds their own.
#2 Running Game Dominance
Despite all the talk of inexperience above, there are two position groups that really don’t fit that mold: the Running Backs and the Linebackers.
Tech returns with their top two rushers from last season in Amani Givens and Omiri Wiggins, while also adding some exciting new players that will be chomping at the bit to make a name for themselves. Look for Tech to try to establish the run early in Tony Franklin’s return to the Joe. They will need to watch out for preseason FCS All-American DT Kaleb Proctor and All Southland Conference LB KK Reno, but they will need to find success on the ground to have any luck in this game.
On the other side of the ball, the Dogs return Linebackers Kolbe Fields (enough said, right?), Sifa Leota, and Mekhi Mason, while also fielding some names you will absolutely remember after this first game. I’m looking for former Ruston Bearcat standout Jadon Mayfield to have a huge game to start his RS Freshman campaign with Louisiana Tech. Bottle up the Lions’ new running backs and don’t give their new QB any room to get comfortable!
#3 Create an Identity
Even though we’re entering Year 4 of the Sonny Cumbie era, there’s a lot of question marks around the Bulldogs. Mainly – what type of team do they want to be?
Veteran OC Tony Franklin returns to Ruston tomorrow – but does he bring his air-it-out, fast-paced offense? And will it truly be Franklin’s offense, or will we see some of the hallmarks of the first three years of Sonny Cumbie’s offense?
New DC Luke Olson is fresh off a CUSA title at Jax State last season – can he continue the momentum created by the conference’s best Defense in 2024? Jeremiah Johnson is gone, but many of his key players remain. What will the defense look like when the lights are on and the ball is in play?
The great news about this one is that we don’t have to wait much longer to find out! If the Dogs can come out and create an identity on both sides of the ball tomorrow night, look for them to win BIG.
Evan is a contributor at go tech pls dont die, a weekly podcast, Twitter, and blog that covers Louisiana Tech sports in a not-so-serious way.
Category: General Sports
