Three Keys to Victory: LSU
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will take their undefeated record on the road to Death Valley tomorrow night, looking to shock the college football world.
LSU is coming off their first season-opening win in a while after defeating Clemson on the road at the other Death Valley last Saturday night. The Tigers feel they’ve got national title aspirations – what can Tech do to turn those dreams into nightmares?
1) Find your offensive identity
Last weekend against Southeastern, Louisiana Tech’s first half offense looked just about as anemic as I’ve ever seen it. Hand off after hand off went nowhere, and new signal caller Trey Kukuk struggled to find any consistency or momentum through the air.
Chalk it up to first game jitters, players adjusting to their new starting roles, or shaking the rust off in playcalling… the results were not pretty. The first six drives of Tech’s season resulted in a jaw dropping 39 yards gained (0.56 yards per play). Here’s some free advice for ya: you’re going to need more than 0.5 yards per play to win games!
To win this game, Tech will need to do a whole lot more when they have the football. Coach Franklin will need to be very inventive about how he protects Kukuk – whether it’s with extra blockers, rolling out, or creating quick reads – if we don’t find a way to create some time, it’s going to be a long night.
The Bulldogs will need to have some playmakers step up in game two. Usually I’d say “to build off the momentum in week one”… but there’s not really much to build from. Clay Thevenin looked good in his debut, but none of the other playmakers stand out. If Tech wants to win this game, there’s going to have to be a guy or two ready to be a household name come Sunday morning!
2) Don’t believe the hype
A reporter asked Mekhi Mason and Clay Thevenin how they feel going into a matchup against the #3 Tigers this weekend. Mason coolly responded, “It’s football. We all put on pads, we all have the same amount of time on the clock”. I love that.
There’s a lot of noise around this game – “the line is XYZ”, “Tech hasn’t beaten LSU since 1904!” yada yada. For the guys on the field, it’s got to be just another game of football.
Focus on yourselves and what you can do to improve from last week, and you might just have a chance. You never know – it’s just football!
3) Defense wins Championships a random game in September
Tech’s defense has played 123 straight minutes of scoreless (regular season) football. Since Arkansas scored a touchdown with 3 minutes to play in Fayetteville last November, Tech has blanked Kennesaw State and Southeastern.
In the middle of all that, they transitioned to a new Defensive Coordinator and lost a bowl game by a considerable margin… but still. Two straight shutouts in the regular season is pretty damn impressive. Now, to beat a team like LSU, the Bulldogs will have to be outstanding on defense.
Last week, the Linebacking trio of Mason, Fields, and Leota proved that they are excellent. Do they belong in conversations about being the best in the sport? If they have anything close to a repeat performance this week, I think that’s a given. Tech will need someone in the front of Olson’s 3-3-5 to step up and pressure Heisman hopeful Garrett Nussmeier, they’ll need to play lights out in the defensive backfield, and most of all… they’ll need to generate takeaways (and probably score some points themselves) to win this game.
Evan is a contributor at go tech pls dont die, a weekly podcast, Twitter, and blog that covers Louisiana Tech sports in a not-so-serious way.
