Let's talk about punting.

It's a fairly large understatement to say that Tech has struggled with punting these last couple of seasons. In fact, if we look at 2019 and 2020 combined, the Bulldogs have (unsurprisingly) been one of the worst punting teams in the nation:

And while TCU has been marginally better at punting the football, the Horned Frogs are still in the bottom half of college football in yards per punt this year:

But the real reason I’ve brought up punting is not because of the quality of the punts by either school, but rather the quantity.

It may not surprise many that a Skip Holtz led team punts the ball often. But while Tech is a top 25 team in punts per game, TCU is ranked even higher:

Remember last year’s Independence Bowl victory over Miami that ended with more punts than points? We might see a similar thing on Saturday in a stadium home to a different Tech bowl win.

And while all that punting sounds boring (and it kind of is), at least both the Bulldogs and Horned Frogs have been successful returning those punts this year. Tech and TCU rank in the top 15 nationally in yards per return:

But while Tech and TCU have struggled over the course of the season to move the ball down the field (as evidenced by all the punting), the teams are polar opposites when they start to put a drive together.

When driving inside their opponent’s 40-yard line, TCU is a bottom 20 team at putting points up on the board, while Tech is a top 20 team:

So while we may see a punt-a-palooza in Fort Worth on Saturday, expect to see Tech capitalize more often when they get in striking range.

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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.