Late tomorrow afternoon, the Bulldogs head up to Ohio for a meeting with the Bowling Green State Falcons. Each week, I'll take a look at the opponent and offer some last second advice on how to win the game. Hopefully the coaches are reading!
1) Strong Linebacker play
It's no secret that Bowling Green wants to run the football, and they want to run it a lot. The Falcons started the season by running 60 times against Morgan State, and would've run more against Kansas State if they could've done anything against them. When you watch tape on Bowling Green, you see that they not only want to run it, but they also want to have an uptempo offense. That kind of attack adds up to tired defensive linemen for Tech. What we'll need most to stop the Falcons' attack is strong play from the linebacking corps. Willie Baker will need to be more of a presence, setting the edge to prevent BG's running backs from breaking outside. Connor Taylor, Collin Scott, and James Jackson currently lead the team in tackles, and they'll need to continue that against an offense that wants to put a hat on a hat. Guys are going to have to make solo tackles, be in the right position, and play with sound fundamentals for Tech to stop the rushing attack tomorrow evening.
2) Play to our strengths
All week, we've heard complaints about the way Tech's coaching staff called the second half against Grambling (Hell, if you listened to the go tech pls don't die podcast this week, you got to hear ME complain about it!). Coach Holtz even admitted that he "tried to burn the clock, in hindsight it was a mistake. I should have stayed wide open offensively." My plea to the team and coaching staff this week is to fulfill that promise. In two games so far, we haven't seen Tech really hone in on its offensive strengths: a star-studded wideout group and a senior QB that can sling it. Fans, put aside your personal feelings about J'Mar for a second and hear me out... Even with the play calling last week, J'Mar is completing 67% of his throws and has looked better than ever before while doing it. His deep passes to Stanley and Hebert last week were absolute dimes. Let the man sling the ball! I know in my heart that Isaiah Graham is good, but let us see it on the field!
3) Possess the ball
Okay, so enough talk about the second half of the Grambling game.... just kidding. Part of the reason Tech should have lost the game last week was due to the fact that the offense just couldn't give the defense a long enough break from the heat. I was highly critical of the defense after the game, but then I looked at the drive chart. Tech's offensive possessions in the second half took: 4:07, 2:06, 2:16, 2:51, 2:16. That's not good enough! Although it won't be hotter than hell in Ohio tomorrow, you can't leave your defense out to dry like that. Tech's got to come up with a way to string together some first downs to give the defense a rest, especially given that the Falcons run an uptempo ground attack.
Evan is also a contributor to go tech pls don't die, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to check out @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter for more!
