Tech finishes out the home season with hated foe Southern Miss. The Dogs have won two straight over the Golden Eagles dating back to 2019. What can Tech do to make it three in a row - a feat that has never been accomplished in the long rivalry?
Continue the offensive momentum
After some brutal performances in October, the Bulldog offense has finally turned a corner - just in time for Thanksgiving! I'm certainly thankful that although the bowl streak is almost certainly dead, the team is making it fun to watch football in the Joe again! After scoring just 16.5 points per game in October, Tech came out guns blazing against UAB and Charlotte, averaging 40! That's... a lot better, not to mention more fun to watch. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles have only scored 44 points in their last five games, and that trend doesn't look like it's changing any time soon. If Tech can score literally 18 points, they would beat the USM team that showed up the past five weeks.
Don't Fall for Gimmicks
USM's Quarterback situation is... well... let's just say I wouldn't be surprised for ol' Dusty Dickerson to show up from the bullpen (yes, you read that right) on Saturday. But seriously... the Eagles have played TEN people at QB this season and have been completely devastated by injury. Frank Gore Jr., the running back, started last week against UTSA... then HE went down with injury. Basically, if you want to get injured, be QB for USM this season. If Gore is able to go, look for him to build on his three pass attempts from last week (final stat line: 2/3, 33 yards). He will probably split time with Freshman WR Antavious Willis, who was 2/4 for 19 yards last week. Even HC Will Hall doesn't know who'll be back there... USM didn't even list a QB on their roster this week! Regardless, Tech cannot afford to be so focused on the run that they allow a deep bomb from a freshman running back. Stay focused and do your job on every play, and we should be alright.
Mistake-Free Football
Last week, USM had their closest game in quite some time when they... uhhh... took UTSA to the fourth quarter in a tie ball game? That can't be right, can it? How??? Maybe we should be scared?
Not so fast, my friend. UTSA held the Buzzards to just 189 yards and really seemed to dominate their awful offense. The problem was that the Runners made some horrible mistakes that put USM in a position to score - in spite of themselves. A fumbled kickoff led to an 18 yard touchdown "drive", and a pick 6 accounted for 7 more points. The only "good" drive USM had in the game was an 11 play, 49 yard field goal near the end of the second quarter. Still, if not for two fumbles of their own, the Eagles might have cost us a lot of access bowl mon..... oops, I mean had the upset of the century in CUSA! Tech cannot afford to make those same errors - our defense isn't as good, and our offense is randomly awful from time to time. Play clean, win big.
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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, play the gtpdd Contest and CUSA Pick'Em, and listen to the gtpdd Podcast!
