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Louisiana Tech Had Us All Fooled
Nobody saw it coming, except Tech coach Skip Holtz and his team. Yes, there were a few fans that were confident in a blowout, but every school has those fans. Those fans think their team is going to blow out everyone on the schedule. Holtz had his team ready and he showed us a few things that we weren't expecting.
The first key to the game was whether the Cajuns' offensive line could dominate and they certainly did so early in the game. Alonzo Harris and Terrance Broadway carved up the Bulldogs in the running game and they marched down to tie the game 7-7 after Kenneth Dixon's 99-yard scoring run. At that point, Tech hadn't had much success running their offense while the Cajuns had put together two long drives. In the second half, two things led to UL-Lafayette becoming one dimensional. First, Tech made the adjustment at halftime and kept Broadway from carving them up with the keeper on the zone read. Second, Tech scored a couple of times and Broadway was forced to throw more than he wanted. This allowed the Bulldogs to rush more and the defensive line was able to get a few hits on the senior quarterback.
Speaking of Broadway's passing attack, he was 19-31 for 150 yards. While the Cajuns were able to run successfully early, they never were able to build off of it with the pass. In the second half, Houston Bates got in the backfield and forced a few quick throws. Broadway never got comfortable back there and it showed.
Kenneth Dixon was held in check early by the ULL defense, but the 99-yard touchdown run obviously got him going. The junior back had 10 carries for 53 yards, not counting his 99-yard and his 32-yard touchdown runs. The Bulldogs were able to pass the ball well enough that Dixon didn't need to carry the ball more than 12 times.
Cody Sokol was the surprise in the game. He finished 14-17 against Oklahoma but this could be explained away since the game was out of hand. In Lafayette, he was 22-33 for 295 yards and two touchdowns. The senior transfer has developed a pretty good rhythm with Hunter Lee, Paul Turner, Sterling Griffin, and Trent Taylor. Holtz needed an efficient quarterback to complement his rushing attack and Sokol fits the bill. After struggling the entire 2013 season on offense, Louisiana Tech looks like they have the pieces in place to compete in Conference USA.