The Dogs head back to Ruston tomorrow afternoon for a SPOOKY showdown with UAB. The Blazers have had Tech's number since 2017, but Tech hasn't lost three straight games since the 2013 season no one talks about. Something's gotta give at the Joe, what's it gonna be?
1) CTRL-C, CTRL-V
Oops, did that not work? I've harped on the offensive line play incessantly here on BleedTechBlue, over on Twitter, on the go tech podcast... so I'll keep this short and sweet. If the OL plays decently, we've got a shot to win this game and every other game on the schedule. If they don't, I recommend we cancel all remaining games and just play ULM 5 or 6 times.
2) Adjustment
For everyone that watched last week's game, it was pretty clear that Tech played better in the first half than the second. The Offensive Line actually gave Luke Anthony at least some time to throw, and the offense was able to move the ball at least a little bit. Before halftime against UTSA, Tech ran 47 plays and picked up 222 yards of offense, for an average of 4.7 yards per play. They also possessed the ball for 17:47 of the 30:00 first half. I'll take that all day! But after the opponent made some halftime adjustments, Tech's numbers once again plummeted. We ran 23 plays for 49 yards (2.1 yards per play), and only possessed the ball for 9:51. That's not going to be a recipe for success, especially when you didn't score touchdowns in the first half. Tech is going to have to roll with the punches and make some proactive halftime adjustments of their own to win this game.
3) Be Bold
Usually I try to make the three keys post focus on the opponent, but to be honest I don't think it matters who the opponent is these days. Tech's got a lot going on internally that needs to be sorted out if we're going to win. For this last "key" I'd like to just ask the coaching staff to make bold decisions, and make them early. Maybe you go for it on 4th and goal instead of settling for 3 field goals from inside the 10 in the first half. Maybe you put Aaron Allen in at the start of the 4th quarter after the third quarter offense gains *checks notes* TWO total yards. Maybe you run some trick plays, some bamboozles, some hoodwinks. It is Halloween, after all! If we're going to go down, I'd like to at least be excited by it and not staring at the TV, up 26-13, saying "Wow we're definitely going to lose this game."
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Evan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to check out @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.
