This weekend, the Bulldogs look to break a two game losing streak to the Roadrunners from San Antonio. UTSA is high and mighty, unbeaten in conference play, while Tech has yet to win a road game under Sonny Cumbie. How can the Dogs beat the odds and ruin the Roadrunners' day?
1) Slow down Frank Harris
The key to winning this game is going to be: Can Tech's bottom of the barrel defense stop UTSA's top flight offense enough times to give us a shot at the end of the game? Currently, the Runners are 12th in total offense, 9th in passing offense, and 21st in scoring offense in the nation. They're led by Frank Harris (who feels like he's in his 8th season at the helm), who is building on his breakout 2021 with a 69% completion rate, 21 TDs to only 6 INTs, and nearly 3000 yards. He's mainly throwing the ball to three guys: Cephus, Clark, and Franklin. Unfortunately for them, Clark went out with a season-ending injury last weekend. That means Tech only has to cover two dudes with 120 receptions, 1500 yards, and 13 TDs between the two of them. Luckily, there are two DUDES on Tech's defense that *might* be up for the task. Willie Roberts and Myles Brooks, the "Island Boys". Is Tech's best defensive unit going to be able to stop UTSA's best offensive unit? That's the key to this entire game.
2) Ol' fashioned shoot out
Last year, it felt like the UTSA defense was the unit that led to so many of their victories. This season, it's the opposite. In terms of stats, the Roadrunners are pretty much in the bottom half (or bottom quarter) of most major categories. 116th in passing yards allowed, 110th in total D, 83rd in rushing yards. Hell, they're allowing 30.3 points per game! That should encourage fans of a Tech team that can definitely put up some points. The advanced stats show that UTSA's defense is especially bad against the pass. They're giving up 0.193 points per pass play, which is 113th nationally. Tech, meanwhile, is 50th in that category offensively. So to beat this UTSA team, you've got to get into a shootout with them, and you've got to be ready to take advantage of their defencies in the secondary with guys like Rashad Wisdom out for the season. Can McNeil sling it? Absolutely. We'll need him to sling the hell out of it to beat UTSA.
3) Stay healthy
When Parker McNeil went out with a shoulder injury against Rice, the entire game changed. The offense went from lighting up the Owl defense to constant 3 and outs. The Dogs eventually lost that game in overtime. The following week, Landry Lyddy got the nod and played pretty well! But star WR Tre Harris went out with an injury after the first series (a series where he had 3 catches for 49 yards, by the way). Tech really couldn't push the ball downfield for the rest of the game. We lost that game in overtime. I guess my point is that when your star guys stay healthy, you actually have a chance to run your offense and stay in games (see #2). I want to extend this to the playcalling and decisionmaking from the coaching staff - let's make sure that stays healthy, too! Don't shoot yourselves in the foot - take risks, but make sure the payoff is worth it!
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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 Fantasy, and listen to the gtpdd Podcast!
