The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs have captured the Conference USA West Division two out of the past three seasons. Even still, head coach Skip Holtz came up short in the Conference’s championship game in both those years. The Bulldogs have done it largely in part because of a potent offense.
This year, the quarterback position will be handed over to J’Mar Smith. He certainly has some big shoes to fill replacing Ryan Higgins. Even though the change was inevitable, the turnover hasn’t disrupted the offense’s rhythm during the last three seasons. That will need to be the case once again if the Bulldogs hope to find themselves challenging for another Conference USA championship.
The expectation on campus is that the defense will be able to make strides in their department this fall. Louisiana Tech will have most of their core players back but must improve on their 116th ranked pass defense. Head coach Skip Holtz continues to find ways to win football games. Whether this is a down year for the successful program or not
Head coach Skip Holtz continues to find ways to win football games. Whether this is a down year for the successful program or not is still to be decided on the field. Either way, I’m sure the Bulldogs will find a way to keep things exciting for their 20,000 plus home fans in 2017.
Offense
Louisiana Tech’s offense has put up some big numbers over the last three years. Statistically, they ranked 14th, 19th and second over that span. What intrigues me, is that the Bulldogs have started a new quarterback in all three of those seasons. Once again, that will be the challenge of head coach Skip Holtz.
Sophomore J’Mar Smith takes over for Ryan Higgins. Higgins was a machine in 2016. The accurate quarterback threw for over 4,600 yards with a whopping 41 scores and only eight picks. Obviously, Smith has his work cut out for him.
J’Mar Smith is more of a dual threat than Higgins, so expect the Bulldogs to incorporate more designed runs for the QB this season. Smith is more of a dual threat than Higgins, so expect the Bulldogs to incorporate more designed runs for the QB this season.
Unlike the quarterback spot, are no question marks in the Bulldog’s back field. The ground game is in great shape with 1,000-yard rusher Jarred Craft and breakaway threat Boston Scott back for their senior campaigns. Last season, Craft rumbled for almost 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. Scott wasn’t shabby either, running for 500 plus yards and six more scores.
Similiar to the signal-caller spot, Louisiana Tech lost two great receivers after 2016. Wide out Trent Taylor now plays for the San Francisco 49ers and Carlos Henderson is providing his services for the Broncos. Together in 2016, the two receivers piled-up 3,338 yards receiving and 31 touchdowns.
Now, Jared Craft will need to step up and take on the leading receiver roll. Last season, Craft found 42 balls for 340 yards and four trips to the end zone. Describing the loss of production at the wide out position is a complete understatement.
For J’Mar Smith’s protection, Louisiana Tech will provide three solid starters. Even with the three big-men back in the lineup, there still is a major concern on who fill in the at the center position.
Special teams have not been a problem since Jonathon Barnes has been kicking the ball. Barnes is the two-time Two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist has been money. We will be seeing him on Sundays in 2018. The outstanding foot was 77-78 in extra points and was 22-27 in field goals with a long of 54.
Defense
As good as the offensive numbers have been over the past three seasons, the defensive side has struggled. that was the case once again in 2016, as the Bulldogs were 97th in the nation in scoring defense and 116th against the pass. In fact, Louisiana Tech has been in the top 60 in total defense just once in coach Skip Holtz’s career.
In 2017, Louisiana Tech will get half of their starters on defense back. Fortunately, many of the newer guys got plenty of reps in last season. Undoubtedly, the best player on defense is end Jaylon Ferguson.
Jaylon Ferguson was a first-team All-Conference USA selection. The gifted player set the school’s single-season sack record last season with 14.5. Senior Deldrick Canty, an honorable mention All-C-USA player as a junior, shores up the other side. Both should provide some punch in the trenches.
Line backer Russell Farris is the only returning starter behind the front four. The Bulldogs do have Brandon Durman and DaMarion King to help out in the tackling department. All three are experienced and should hold their own against the Conference USA weaker running squads.
In the Bulldog’s secondary, Secdrick Cooper could turn out to be an all-league safety, but the questions are at the corners. Sophomore L’Jarius Sneed won one job halfway through last season, but the other spot is anyones guess.
Prediction
The Bulldogs have a 19–5 record in conference play over the last three campaigns. They also have won the Conference USA West division twice during that span. Getting back to the Conference USA title game will be quite the challenge with all of the losses on the offensive side of the ball.
Putting up plenty of points certainly hasn’t been an issue for Louisiana Tech and head coach Skip Holtz. What has been the problem is fielding a defense that actually can stop opposing offenses from scoring at will on the Bulldogs.
However, there is room for optimism on the defensive side with a strong line led by Mr. Ferguson. Also, besides a road game versus the Hilltoppers, the schedule sets up nicely for the Bulldogs.
Odds makers have their team total at 8.5 and you have to pay for it at -130. Again, I’m staying away from that until the Bulldogs prove to me they reloaded at the quarterback spot. They also have them at 11 to 2 (+550) to win the Conference. I’m not going to go near that for the same reasons as mentioned above.
Schedule
Sept. 2: Northwestern State
Sept. 9: Mississippi State
Sept. 16: at Western Kentucky
Sept. 23: at South Carolina
Sept. 30: South Alabama
Oct. 7: at UAB
Oct. 14: OPEN DATE
Oct. 21: Southern Miss
Oct. 28: at Rice
Nov. 4: North Texas
Nov. 11: Florida Atlantic
Nov. 18: at UTEP
Nov. 25: UTSA
The getmoresports.com NCAA College Football Throwdown Podcast will be returning to the air on August 24th. We will be highlighting the first five games on August 26th of the 2017 NCAA College Football season. That will be the first of three installments leading into the first week of the season. We also we will be covering our expectations for the Heisman Trophy front runners as well as predictions for conference winners and team totals.
Our second NCAA College Football Throwdown is penciled in for August 29th. In that installment, we will be discussing all the games that will be played on August 31st and the 1st of September.
Our third segment will officially be airing on August 31st. In this edition of the NCAA College Football Throwdown, we will be covering all the relevant games for Sept 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
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Join us for all three opening episodes and improve your college football knowledge while increasing the size of your sports book betting account. Come join us and help everyone make it rain. #moneytreesgrow Also, feel free to download the getmoresports app from the Google Play Store. It makes finding all your sporting information easy and available with just a touch of an icon on your mobile device.
