Bulldogs ready to take
to the ground
Louisiana Tech has beaten Alabama, Oklahoma State and Michigan State in the past five years. Pretty impressive, and a good track record when you have the likes of Miami, Tennessee and Auburn on your upcoming schedule.
Here's the difference: When the Bulldogs pulled off those upsets, they had either Tim Rattay or Luke McCown at quarterback, and the 2004 signal-caller will throw his first Division I pass next Monday against Nevada on national television.
Rattay and McCown ended their careers as two of the most prolific passers in NCAA history.
This year, the Bulldogs may try to run the ball more, considering they have the Western Athletic Conference's leading ground-gainer of 2003 in Ryan Moats.
Moats rushed for 1,300 yards as a sophomore, second most in school history. He had 10 touchdowns on 199 carries.
Although he runs out of a one-back offense, Moats has plenty of good blocking, as all five starters return on an offensive line that generated 431 yards per game last fall. Junior left guard Aaron Lips is considered a prime NFL prospect.
In addition to Lips, tackles Adrian Gonzalez and Lester Brown, guard Jordan Lang and center Marcus Stewart weigh more than 300 pounds each.
"We have some good size up front," coach Jack Bicknell said. "Obviously, run blocking will be critical this year. They have to open some holes and they have to protect our quarterback."
Seniors Tramissian Davis and Erick Franklin are the top returning pass-catchers, but sophomore Jonathan Holland has been playing for Davis, who has an injury. The biggest question is who will throw to them.
As of yesterday, Bicknell had not chosen new starters at quarterback, kicker and punter -- three positions where he has to replace four-year starters.
Juniors Matt Kubik and Donald Allen are the top quarterback candidates. Even if Bicknell names a starter this week, both will likely play on Labor Day against the Wolf Pack.
"In one regard, it's good that we have more than one guy who can play the position," Bicknell said after Thursday's practice. "The one thing I want to make sure I do with the two of them is be completely honest as to what I'm planning on doing in those first few games."
Kicker Josh Scobee and punter Dustin Upton also need to be replaced after owning their positions since 2001. Three freshmen are auditioning for each spot.
There are fewer questions on defense, where eight starters return, including solid seniors tackle Chris Van Hoy and linebacker Byron Santiago. Van Hoy moves to the nose, since new defensive coordinator Tim Rose is implementing a 3-4 alignment. Santiago led LaTech with 107 tackles, despite starting only five games last year. He plays the strongside outside 'backer spot.
Senior cornerback Corey Brazil is the only returning starter in the secondary.
Bicknell knows his schedule appears suicidal, playing three national powerhouses on the road in the first six games.
"The easy part is at Miami," he said with a laugh. "If we survive that, we'll see what happens in the second half (of the season).
"It's a tough out-of-conference schedule, but people fail to realize some of the best teams in the WAC, like Fresno, Boise and Hawaii, have done that, and they've beaten some of the best teams in the country," he said. "Before we started doing it, not a whole lot of people knew about us. Us going to Michigan State and winning on ESPN did a lot for us. To me that does so much for our program, especially when I go recruit."
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Basic offense: Multiple One-Back
Basic Defense: 4-3
2003 Record: 5-7 (3-5 WAC)
2003 results
Date Opponent Result Aug. 28 Miami L, 48-9 Sept. 6 at La-Lafayette W, 34-3 Sept. 13 at Michigan State W, 20-19 Sept. 20 at Fresno State L, 16-6 Oct. 4 Boise State L, 43-37 Oct. 11 at Texas-El Paso W, 38-35 Oct. 18 Hawaii L, 44-41 Oct. 25 at Nevada W, 42-34 Nov. 1 at LSU L, 49-10 Nov. 8 Southern Methodist W, 41-6 Nov. 15 at Tulsa L, 48-18 Nov. 29 Rice L, 49-14 Lettermen Ret./Lost: 54/19
Starters Ret./Lost: 16/9
Head coach: Jack Bicknell (27-32)
2004 schedule
Date Opponent Sept. 6 Nevada Sept. 11 Lousiana-Lafayette Sept. 18 at Miami Sept. 25 at Tennessee Oct. 2 Fresno State Oct. 9 at Auburn Oct. 16 at Southern Methodist Oct. 23 Texas-El Paso Nov. 6 at Hawaii Nov. 13 Tulsa Nov. 20 at Boise State Nov. 27 at Rice
