This Saturday, something's gotta give. The Bulldogs head down to Miami to take on the mighty(?) Panthers of Florida International University. Both teams are, to put it nicely, in desperate need of a win to kick off CUSA play this week. How can the Dogs come out on top?

Road Warriors

In the current era of Tech football, the Bulldogs are almost guaranteed to lose on the road. With Coach Sonny Cumbie at the helm of the program, Tech has won just once on the road in fourteen tries. The only teams in FBS that are worse in that stretch: Akron (1-16 on the road). That's it. That's the list. We're tied with UAB and ULM though, so that's great! To put it bluntly: every time the Bulldogs come into someone else's house, it's a W for the home team.

So the first thing Tech's got to do is get it in their minds that they CAN win on the road (or at home, or really anywhere). You'd certainly hope that the 120 MEN in that locker room want to win every week, but I'm talking about believing. Know that you're better than your opponent, and go out and PROVE IT. I'm not talking "beat them by one point" (like Coach Cumbie said in his presser this week), I'm talking blow the absolute doors off them. Have that mentality, and we'll win going away.

We Run the Night

Every single week so far this season, one of the keys to victory has been to establish anything resembling a running game. Unfortunately for us fans, that hasn't happened yet. Tech is currently ranked 126th in rushing offense in the nation, averaging a horrific 76 yards per game (against three NOT GOOD run defenses, too!).

This week, bad meets evil when Tech will try its best to rush against the 119th ranked run defense. The Panthers are giving up over 200 yards on the ground per game! That includes the 188 they gave up to an FCS squad last weekend.

Tech MUST get something going on the ground to help whoever is playing QB. Obviously that could be a key to the game, too. But without a running game, the passing game ain't gonna work with Jack or Evan back there.

Hold me Closer, Bulldog Defense

This season we're 1-2. We had a pretty good shot last week of being 2-1, and honestly played pretty well against NCSU and had a chance to win that one, too. There have been some commonalities through three games: 1) the offense has struggled mightily to move the football with any consistency. 2) the defense has been very good and is the only reason we have one win and two striking-distance losses.

So, Bulldog Defense, I am once again asking you to donate your skills, abilities, and time to help drag the team towards a victory. The offense has to do something eventually, right?

FIU's passing game is a little better than we've seen the past few weeks, so I'm looking for the D Line to create more havoc and for the DBs to generate some turnovers when Keyone Jenkins goes down field. I'm not asking for a 4 yard passing performance a la 2023, but I'm asking us to play sound defense across the board so that we have a chance to win it at the end.

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Evan is also a part of go tech pls dont die, a zany LA Tech sports blog, Twitter, and podcast. Check us out!