Louisiana Tech defeated UTEP 31-24 inside Joe Aillet Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Three Things We Learned:

Ferguson Reigns: Jaylon Ferguson dominated the UTEP offensive line throughout the afternoon collecting 3.5 sacks. The stud defensive end had two sacks on UTEP’s final drive which ultimately prevailed Tech to victory. For the season, Ferguson has 9.5 sacks in seven games.

Third Down Woes Strike Again: Louisiana Tech converted only 1/10 third downs against the Miners. The Bulldogs were behind the chains all day, and it lead to the offense being stuck in neutral for much of the day. In fact, Tech only faced two third downs of five yards or fewer. The consistency on first down must show up next week at Florida Atlantic.

Crowd Trouble: It’s clear at this point, whether Tech is playing a formidable opponent or not, Tech is not going to have a true home-field advantage in 2018. To have 18,579 fans show up on a beautiful Fall afternoon for Homecoming is not acceptable. To make matters worse, half of the student section left at halftime. Tech fans, you must do better. This 5-2 Bulldog football team deserves it.

Two Questions Going Forward:

Will the offense fully figure it out at any point in 2018? Bulldog fans are fully aware of how good this Tech offense can be when it’s clicking on all cylinders. At the same time, the offense can be brutally bad when it is not in rhythm. Getting in sync for a full four quarters is what we are all waiting for.

Will Jaylon Ferguson set the NCAA all-time record for sacks in a career? Ferguson needs one sack to set the Tech record, but only 5.5 sacks to set the all-time record. With five regular season games remaining, it is certainly something to keep an eye on. Louisiana Tech will never see a pass rusher of Ferguson’s caliber again. He is truly a once in a lifetime type player.

One Prediction for Next Week: After struggling offensively against UTEP, I fully expect Tech to bounce back against FAU next week. We’ve seen it time and time again. When this offense gets on a bigger stage, they seem to play at their best.

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