Football is back, and for the first time since 2017, the Bulldogs will have a chance to ease into the season with a game against an FCS opponent. But while Tech is much happier to face Nicholls in a season opener than an SEC or conference opponent, the Colonels are not a team to be underestimated.

Let’s start with Nicholls’ accolades. The conference's preseason poll picks the Colonels to repeat as Southland Conference champions. Their impressive roster includes two running backs, a tight end, an offensive lineman, three defensive linemen, two linebackers, two defensive backs, and a punter on the first-team All-Southland list. That’s 12 of the 28 first-team spots!

Just missing out on that group is Quarterback Pat McQuaide, who did make the All-Conference second-team list despite some struggles a year ago. The biggest of those struggles was taking care of the ball:

In the two games Nicholls played against FBS teams last year, McQuaide's performance was even less stellar. Against TCU and Tulane, he managed just one touchdown and threw five interceptions - the same number of picks Tech’s defense recorded over the entire season.

New Tech Defensive Coordinator Jeremiah Johnson has a tough job ahead, but the season opener provides a prime opportunity to showcase improvements. The Bulldog defense, which struggled with interceptions last year, must make significant strides.

But even if the secondary shows progress, Nicholls may exploit another of Tech’s past weaknesses—run defense.

After all, the Colonels ran the ball quite a bit in 2023:

Leading that charge was Collin Guggenheim, who already ranks 4th all-time at Nicholls with 2,439 rushing yards across his three seasons in Thibodaux. And while his sophomore campaign suffered a bit of a slump in 2022, he bounced back last year enough to rank 35th in FCS football with 75.7 yards per game and 22nd in rushing touchdowns, scoring eleven in as many games.

Guggenheim’s counterpart is Jaylon Spears, another first-team All-Southland running back. Spears, in addition to taking 28% of the team's carries a year ago, excelled as a kick returner, ranking 18th in FCS with a 25.1-yard average.

But where Spears shines is out of the backfield - his 6.55 rushing yards per carry rank 15th in FCS. And Spears is elusive enough that he’s a weapon in the short passing game as well. His 3 receiving touchdowns in 2023 were for 88, 29, and 73 yards, but each were short completions that Spears turned into long runs into the endzone.

But against FBS teams last year (Tulane and TCU), Guggenheim and Spears only combined for 129 rushing yards on 38 carries without a single trip to the endzone.

That said, TCU and Tulane were far more effective against the run last season than the Bulldogs (with Tulane allowing 3.6 yards per carry and TCU 4.1 yards). Tech allowed 5.7 yards per carry - the second-worst mark in FBS.

The key for the Bulldogs will be an improved run defense. If Tech can contain Nicholls’ running game, they’ll force bad passes (and hopefully intercept them this time). But the question remains: Will the new-look Bulldog defense under Johnson step up and demonstrate FBS-caliber performance, or will this opener signal a long and challenging season ahead?

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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.