The Louisiana Tech passing game can be exciting to watch when it goes well. If you're able to look past the 11 interceptions thrown in 4 games, large chunk plays to Griffin Hebert or Smoke Harris have provided sparks of enthusiasm in a season without much joy so far.
The Bulldog offense has been the definition of boom or bust. It's a boom when Parker McNeil finds Tre Harris for a 40-yard touchdown. But it's a bust when the same Parker McNeil finds a defender's hands instead.
Interceptions haven’t been the only issue with this passing game. Whether due to drops or bad decisions, Tech’s 55% completion percentage is near the worst in college football.
But not quite the worst:
This isn’t a fluke, UTEP QB Gavin Hardison has struggled with completing a large share of passes his entire career. Parker McNeil doesn’t have as many games to look back on, but so far through the 2022 season, these quarterbacks look pretty similar.
And for both teams, where the passing game really shines is the big play:
We’ve seen it from Tech all year, and the Miners are the same. Overall, the passing game isn’t great, but some deep shots can make up for the other inadequacies.
But as exciting as both pass games are, the run games are equally as boring:
Tech (well, mostly Marquis Crosby) had some long rushes against Stephen F Austin. But outside of that game, Tech’s run game has been held in check. In the three other contests, Tech only has one rush longer than 12 yards.
UTEP, meanwhile, broke off some long runs this past Saturday against Charlotte, but in the previous two games (a win against Boise State and a loss to New Mexico), the longest run play went for 14 yards.
What the Miners are able to do is completely commit to running the ball. Against Boise State, UTEP ran the ball 54 times for 199 yards. In Charlotte, it was 45 rushes for 252 yards. Across the two games, 80% of all offensive plays were rushes.
And that’s a concern when you’re as bad as Tech is at defending the run:
With the Bulldogs favored by two points, Vegas must believe the Tech run defense will come out of the bye week greatly improved. This is a winnable game, but the defense will need to stand tall and not get worn down by a persistent rushing attack.
Oh, and limiting interceptions to keep the Tech defense on the sidelines may help too.
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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.
