It’s been mentioned in every game recap, highlight package, or casual conversation about the football game Saturday night at Joe Aillet Stadium, but it’s worth repeating:
Tech only allowed Florida International to gain four yards through the air.
And yes, it’s FIU. Completely shutting down the passing game of one of Conference USA’s proverbial punching bags is an accomplishment that can easily be diminished.
But that same FIU team (with the same coach and quarterback) dropped 321 yards on the Bulldogs a year ago. It’s not like completely thwarting the Panther passing attack was a given going into Saturday’s match.
It also wasn’t through a lack of trying on FIU’s part. They wanted to pass. They tried to pass. But they just weren’t able to.
Of course, we shouldn’t expect to see the Tech D allow single-digit passing yard figures all season long. Especially since this week, the Bulldogs will convene with one of the best passing attacks in college football a year ago - SMU:
But as the graph on the right shows, it’s also worth remembering the Tech pass defense wasn’t actually bad a year ago. They were just average. And with nearly all of the defense returning, don’t be surprised if "average" becomes "good" like we saw on Saturday.
Especially since SMU is replacing QB Tanner Mordecai with mostly untested Preston Stone and leading receiver WR Rashee Rice is off to the NFL. This SMU passing game may take a meaningful step back in 2023.
But it’s the run defense we truly need to worry about, as we saw on the third play from scrimmage on Saturday. FIU rushed for 178 yards on the night, which sounds (and is) pretty bad, but that would have been an above-average performance a season ago:
Running the ball isn’t what the Mustangs particularly want to do, but when their passing offense was as good as it was in 2022, it wasn’t too hard to catch defenses sleeping with an occasional run. And unlike the passing attack, there wasn’t too much attrition in the running back room. Leading rusher Tyler Lavine is back and Jaylan Knighton was added from Miami.
This matchup - the FIU rushing offense versus the Tech rushing defense - will be what decides if this is a blowout similar to what Vegas is predicting, or a relatively close game ripe for an upset.
If the Bulldog passing defense can come close to what we saw against FIU while the run defense is even only average, this game may be closer than what many think.
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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.
