A lot was learned about the 2022 Louisiana Tech football team on Saturday night in Missouri. Getting touchbacks on kickoffs is possible, the quarterback situation leaves a bit to be desired, and true freshman Cyrus Allen may be emerging before our eyes.

One thing I hope we didn’t learn on Saturday is just how bad our running game is.

Outside of the QB position, five different guys registered at least one rushing attempt in Columbia, but nobody had success. Greg Garner got the start, but only tallied 6 yards on 4 attempts. Marquis Crosby was the leading rusher on the night but only ran the ball 7 times for 23 yards. Charvis Thornton also had a single rush for 3 yards.

But if Tech wants to figure out their running game, there will not be a better chance than against Stephen F Austin.

The season is still young, but in the opener against Jacksonville State, SFA gave up 285 yards on the group on 46 tries. The next week against Alcorn State, the Lumberjacks gave up even more yards on even fewer attempts: 37 rushes for 290 yards.

This isn’t the rush defense we saw from Stephen F Austin last year. The 2021 Lumberjack football team ranked in the FCS Top 20 in rushing yards allowed per game and yards per rush. Even if the previous years, SFA had a rushing defense that was middle-of-the-FCS-pack.

Nothing compares to how poorly the start of the 2022 season has gone for Stephen F Austin:

With Tech raiding the defensive coordinator and several defensive players from Nacogdoches, the Lumberjack rush defense has simply not been able to recover.

But the question that remains is: will Tech want to run the ball?

Well after Thursday's game had been decided, Coach Cumbie continued to dial up pass plays against the Tigers. In the second half, Tech only ran the ball four times. Granted, the Bulldogs only averaged half a yard per rush in the game. But will Tech always be so quick to abandon the run?

We entered the 2022 season with an abundance of questions and still have many left to answer. Is what we saw Saturday night indicative of what we’ll see for the rest of the season? Or will Greg Garner and Marquis Crosby be able to show out against a defense that shouldn’t be able to stop them?

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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.