After five straight losses, it may only be human to start to think that Tech may not win another football game for the rest of the year. But after the Tech offense showed signs of life against a stout UAB defense, Tech welcomes one of the worst defenses in college football to Joe Aillet Stadium this Saturday:
The key to avoiding a sixth straight loss may boil down to the Tech's rushing attack. Freshman quarterback JD Head played admirably, but he was helped by running backs that combined to put up over 100 yards on the ground for the first time in conference play.
Tech’s best offensive performances this year came from out-of-conference (OOC) games, where each match ended with the Bulldogs topping 100 rushing yards. Neither the OOC contests nor the UAB game showcased an amazing rush offense, but it was good enough to get the job done offensively.
And if you have to try to run against any C-USA defense, Charlotte would not be a bad pick:
Charlotte’s inability to defend the run doesn't seem to have one root cause. The 49ers are second only to Rice in Line Yards allowed per rush, an advanced stat that tries to isolate the offensive line’s impact on a running play.
But even after a running back reaches the second level, the 49er defense is still atrocious. Charlotte's Second Level Yards and Open Field Yards allowed (advanced stats that are usually more indicative of how a running back performs after they get past the blocking of the offensive line) are dead last among Tech opponents. So it’s hard to point a finger at the problem in the Charlotte running defense because it all looks bad.
For the first time in a long time, the Tech offense actually looked decent, in a large part due to a rushing attack that could also be described as “decent.” The Bulldog offense may need to trend a bit towards good to get a win if the Tech defense struggles as bad as they did in Birmingham.
But when facing a defense like Charlotte’s, Skip Holtz should have no trouble establishing the run.
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Nathan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to check out @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.