Louisiana Tech Seeks Bowl Eligibility

In a battle of contrasting styles, Saturday's  matchup between Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky could be a high scoring affair. The Bulldogs will try to get their ground game back on track while the Hilltoppers will throw early and often.

Western Kentucky passes for 410 yards a game and is fourth in the country with 45.6 points per game. The Hilltoppers have not scored less than 34 points this season, including a 66 point outburst in a win over Old Dominion last week.

Quarterback Brandon Doughty has already thrown 24 touchdown passes this season. The Hilltoppers will score early and often; WKU has scored over 19 points per game in the last three weeks - IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

The exact opposite of hot starts is Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs are averaging just 4.5 points in the first half of their last two games. The Bulldogs have been able to overcome those slow starts by creating turnovers.

Relying on the defense might not work this week for Tech. While the Bulldogs are 58th in the country in passing yards allowed, they are only 91st in red zone defense. If WKU gets plenty of chances inside the 20, they could put up more points than Tech can overcome.

Tech is tied for 20th in turnover margin, but WKU is a respectable 43rd and Doughty has only thrown four interceptions. The Bulldogs must find a way to get turnovers if they are going to win.

On the other side of the ball, Head Coach Skip Holtz will try to pound the ball and keep Doughty on the sideline. WKU is 124th in Total Defense (549 yards per game) and 116th against the run. The Hilltoppers are only 101st in Time of Possession.

If Holtz can control the clock with Kenneth Dixon and keep his defense off the field, he will have a much better chance to win. Dixon only had 41 yards rushing last week against Southern Miss and he will try to take advantage of Western Kentucky's porous defense.

Who will be able to impose their will on the other team this Saturday? Can the Bulldogs turn the Hilltoppers over and pound them into submission? Or will Doughty and company jump out to a big lead and never look back?

This game has all the makings of a Halloween style nightmare for one team. Will Tech fans get sick to the stomach by watching Doughty carve them up like a Jack-O-Lantern? Will Kenneth Dixon haunt the Hilltoppers defense at night?

Show up or tune in; this is going to be a show. For one team on Saturday this is going to be a horror film with lots of gore.