Stat Attack | Southeastern Louisiana

This might sound familiar after Tech’s opener at Mississippi State, but Tech will yet again face a pass-heavy attack as the Bulldogs welcome FCS Southeastern LA to Ruston.

But while Mississippi State struggled to get the ball moving through the air in 2020 (and three-quarters of last week’s game), Southeastern’s passing game was stellar all year long:

Led by Arkansas transfer QB Cole Kelley, the Southeastern passing game allowed the offense to put up 40 points per game and lead the Lions to a #20 ranking in the FCS polls.

But the Lions weren’t allergic to running the ball. Like Tech, Southeastern averaged 34 attempts per game and also failed to reach 200 rushing yards in any one game. In all, this meant that SELA only averaged 3.4 rushing yards per game.

But it only took one game this year for the Lions to crack 200 yards on the ground. This weekend on the road at North Alabama, Southeastern ran the ball 35 times for 232 yards, a 6.6 yard per carry average.

Yes, the Tech defense should be substantially better than FCS North Alabama. And a one-game sample may not prove that Southeastern's run game is drastically improved. But just as we saw Mississippi State give the Tech pass defense a solid test, we may see what happens when the Bulldog defense faces a strong two-dimensional attack.

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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.