Each week, we take a look into the weekend's matchup and try to pinpoint three things Louisiana Tech needs to do to win on Saturday.This week, the Dogs head over to San Antonio to take on the streaky Road Runners of UTSA. How can the Dogs get the upper hand in the Alamodome?

1) Feel the Rhythm

Last week, the Bulldogs could not get anything going when they had the ball. To win football games--stay with me here--you need to move the chains and score more points. This week, it will be very important for the Dogs to come out hot and get Jaqwis Dancy and Israel Tucker involved in the offense early. That needs to happen to take some pressure off of J’Mar and the offensive line, who will face a tough test yet again against a stingy defensive line. So far this year, UTSA has recorded 17 sacks and over 60 QB pressures. After watching UAB tear up Tech’s lines last week, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind adding a few more to those totals. Running the ball effectively will help alleviate some of that pressure and keep the ball moving down the field.

2) Nothing in Life is Free

Much like UAB last week, UTSA is not a team that’s equipped to gash you offensively. UAB didn’t have much success against the Bulldog defense until late in the second half, when the tired Dogs finally gave up some big plays to let the Blazers get some separation on the scoreboard. Luckily for Tech, the Road Runners are even worse offensively. They’re currently averaging 102 rushing yards and just under 150 passing yards per game. That’s good for 122nd and 119th in the country, respectively. Both of those averages are under what Tech is allowing this year. The 'Runners can’t sustain drives either. They rank dead last in the S&P+ offensive explosiveness ratings (a measure that incorporates a team’s points per play and success rate on any given play). To win this game, the Dogs need to keep UTSA in their place. Nothing in life is free, so don’t give anything away to the Road Runners.

3) Get Back to Where You Once Belonged

The Dogs suffered a major setback last weekend at home in Ruston. One week ago today, Tech fans everywhere rejoiced in the idea that we would be West division champions after easily running the gambit the rest of the way through conference play. Sure, we’d only won one game...by two points...while relying on one of the most unlikely plays in a blocked field goal to seal the victory... But fine, we were the champs of the week. Then the Blazers came to town, and much like the dragon in a mythological tale, they burned our hopes and dreams to the ground. This week, Coach Holtz and the gang need to get back to their game. The Dogs need to come out with a gameplan that exploits the Road Runners' weaknesses and plays to our strengths. Players on both sides of the ball must have confidence in themselves to make plays. If Tech can find anything resembling the rhythm they had against North Texas in that second quarter, they’ll win by 40 points. If they can’t, they may still win, but not by much. It’s time for the Dogs to play a full game. They can dominate UTSA, but will they?

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