Each week, I'll look into the weekend's matchup and try to pinpoint three things Louisiana Tech needs to do to win on Saturday. This week, Tech returns to Ruston for its second-ever meeting with the Southern Jaguars at 6:00 PM. What do the Bulldogs need to do to defend the Joe and come out with a victory?

1) Under pressure

Southern’s sophomore quarterback John Lampley is a dual-threat quarterback who can make some moves and try to throw outside the pocket. During last Saturday’s pummeling at TCU, Lampley had a nice 16 yard run that ended up being Southern’s longest run of the game. He followed that play up with a long TD throw for Southern's only points of the day. Despite his ability to make some plays, Southern ended up on the wrong end of a 55 to 7 scoring margin, largely because of the offense’s inability to get going. TCU’s defense brought a lot of pressure against the Jags, and Lampley was forced to make some less-than-desirable decisions that led to a final statline of 5-for-14, 101 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Tech’s defense isn’t TCU’s, but I expect Blake Baker to dial up some pressure early in the game to keep Lampley guessing all night. Tech’s defensive line should be able to dominate the line of scrimmage on Saturday night and let the DBs have a field day with some lame duck passes.

2) We Want J’Mar….to be consistent

Let’s face it, J’Mar didn’t look great on Saturday down in Mobile. He seemed rattled all evening, missing wide open targets, making guys dive for what should have been an easy pitch and catch, and throwing three interceptions. Before Ben yells at me, I thought that at times J'Mar looked great (He led Tech's final scoring drive late in the fourth with poise and confidence). So at times he looked decent, but he never truly got comfortable in the pocket. J’Mar needs to use this game to settle in and find his stride in 2018. Last week, Southern allowed 10 different receivers to catch passes, and TCU’s starting QB ended the game with a 71 percent completion rate and three touchdowns. I think all of us would be ecstatic with that statline for J’Mar on Saturday night against the Jaguars. With a solid performance tomorrow, J’Mar can build confidence heading into the bye week.

3) Running of the Bulldogs

I would argue that there were two very bright spots last week against South Alabama. The first was Tech’s play at cornerback, and the second was the running game. Jaqwis Dancy led the Bulldogs with 144 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns, and Israel Tucker added 82 yards on 19 carries. Skip Holtz said in his Tuesday press conference that he hopes Tech can be a “run-first offense” this year. With playmakers like Dancy at the helm, that should be an attainable goal. Making matters better, last week Southern allowed 235 yards on the ground. The Jaguars' defensive strength is in the secondary, so look for Tech to have a big advantage in the running game against a weaker front seven. I’ll call my shot right now: Dancy and Tucker will both have over 100 yards, with one being over 150. If that happens, Tech will enjoy a huge home victory.

Evan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to follow @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.