The death of the Louisiana Tech offense may have been greatly exaggerated.

In a standout performance few could have seen coming, Tech recorded a season-high 329 passing yards on a season-low 28 passing attempts. That efficiency also carried over to the running game, where eleven different Bulldogs combined for 222 yards on the ground. Not only was that also a season-high, it was the most rushing yards against an FBS opponent since 2019.

While it's tempting to chalk up this offensive turnaround to the opponent Tech faced, in many ways, Tech’s next opponent may be the perfect team for Tech to continue its groove.

The main concern for the Bulldogs against New Mexico State is the Aggies’ pass defense. Since Evan Bullock took the reins as quarterback, Tech's completion percentage has steadily climbed. But while Bullock completed an impressive 75% of his passes against MTSU, he may not have as much success against NMSU:

Given New Mexico State's stellar pass defense, it’s no surprise that opponents are less inclined to pass against them. With a 36% opponent pass rate, NMSU has faced the 2nd fewest pass plays in college football.

Well, teams also don’t want to pass much against New Mexico State because of just how easy it is to run on the Aggies:

For context, Tech's 4.9 yards per carry against MTSU aligns closely with what the Blue Raiders have allowed this season. With New Mexico State struggling even more against the run, Tech may find even greater success on the ground.

Ultimately, the rest of Tech’s season hinges on the crucial question of whether or not last week’s game against MTSU was a fluke. Will the Bulldogs regress to look more like the team that only managed 308 rushing yards across the first four games?

Fortunately, Tech may not need to light up the scoreboard to secure a win. The Aggies have only averaged 18.5 points per game, the 14th fewest in college football. But with a road game on a short week, Tech might need the run game to put the Aggies away.

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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.