It probably isn't very surprising to hear that Tech tends to avoid going for it a lot on fourth down. The Bulldogs did go for it twice this weekend against Southern Miss, but it's not something Skip Holtz's Bulldogs do very often.
This year, Tech has averaged 1.2 fourth down conversion attempts per game, the 100th most in FBS football. And that's about what we've come to expect from the conservative playcaller: In the Holtz era at Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs have only ranked as high as 77th in most fourth down conversion attempts. In 2016, Tech had the second fewest attempts, averaging 0.6 fourth down tries per game.
But when Tech travels to El Paso this weekend to take on the 1-5 UTEP Miners, Tech fans may get to see what a good fourth down team looks like.
UTEP has attempted more fourth downs than Tech this year, but not as many as others on this year’s football schedule:
The main reason why teams like Bowling Green and UMass rank so high is due to fourth down desperation. Teams that are often down by multiple scores late in games will try to convert on fourth down just to have a shot at winning.
And the Miners, at 1-5 on the year, are no different. In fact, they rank 22nd nationally in fourth down attempts per game.
But what has separated the Miners from these other bad teams is the success they've had on those fourth downs attempts. UTEP ranks 4th in college football with a fourth down conversion percentage of 90.91%. Compared to the other teams Tech faces this year, UTEP’s fourth down success seems insane:
Most teams that Tech faces convert about half of their fourth down tries. The only opponent that comes close to UTEP's fourth down percentage is Southern Miss at 75%, and that's with a third fewer attempts.
But outside of fourth downs, UTEP is simply not a good football team. On offense, they rank 125th in points per game and 126th in yards per play. On defense, it's 94th in points per game and 117th in yards per play. But with a team that's this good at executing on fourth down, anywhere on the field could be fourth down territory for the Miners.
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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.
