2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech had a very successful season in 2012, but they lost their head coach after the season. Sonny Dykes left for California in the offseason, but Louisiana Tech was able to bring in another big name head coach. Skip Holtz did a great job at East Carolina before struggling at USF.
Louisiana Tech hopes that Holtz can bring success to their program like he did for many years at East Carolina.
Conference USA 2013 College Football Previews: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Team Link)
Head Coach: Skip Holtz
2012 Record: 9-3
Louisiana Tech Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: +2,000 (Part of Field)
Louisiana Tech Gambling Odds to win Conference USA West Division: +300
Louisiana Tech Gambling Odds to win Conference USA: +650
Louisiana Tech lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, and expectations aren’t as high in 2013. After all, this is a team that lost 30 lettermen after last season. Still, the Bulldogs have enough talent around to compete for a bowl bid. Somehow this team got snubbed and didn’t go to a bowl game in 2012 despite a 9-3 record.
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s College Picks in 2013!
This season they’ll fight for another chance at a bowl game.
Team Strengths:
The running back position is a major area of strength for Louisiana Tech. Kenneth Dixon and Tevin King are both sophomores, and they are both extremely talented. Dixon gained 1,194 rushing yards and had 27 rushing touchdowns a year ago. King injured his knee last year, and his health is a question mark.
If he is healthy, he’ll be another home run hitter in the backfield for the Bulldogs.
Scotty Young has big shoes to fill as Colby Cameron did a great job last year under center, but Young should do well for the Bulldogs. It will help a lot that he has plenty of talent on the outside to work with. D.J. Banks and Hunter Lee should be open often and they have been reliable pass catchers throughout their career. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Team Weaknesses:
Louisiana Tech’s group of linebackers is probably the worst in the entire conference. The Bulldogs are struggling to find suitable starters at this key spot. If you can’t find any play makers at the linebacker spot, chances are you are going to have a bad defense. The Bulldogs had a terrible defense last year, and it will likely be very bad again in 2013.
The secondary was torched on a weekly basis a year ago, and there is no help on the horizon. Le’Vander Liggins is pretty solid at one cornerback spot, but the rest of the secondary is a major question mark. This is a conference where everyone likes to throw the ball, and if you can’t slow them down you are going to lose plenty of games.
Though the offense has plenty of talent at the skill positions, the offensive line may be a problem. They have a much different look from last season, and they’ll need to adjust to a different system.
2013-2014 Louisiana Tech Football Prediction: 5-7
I think Louisiana Tech is in for a pretty dramatic drop off from a year ago. The defense will be just as bad as last year, and this team doesn’t have even close to the same amount of offensive firepower they had a year ago. It hurts losing Coach Dykes, and the Bulldogs team is just too young to contend this season.
2013 Bulldogs Schedule
8/31/13 12:30 PM ET @NCST
9/7/13 7:00 PM ET LAMAR
9/12/13 7:30 PM ET TULNE
9/21/13 TBD @KANS
9/28/13 3:30 PM ET ARMY
10/5/13 7:30 PM ET @UTEP
10/19/13 4:00 PM ET NOTEX
10/26/13 TBD @FLINT
11/9/13 7:00 PM ET SOMIS
11/16/13 7:00 PM ET @RICE
11/23/13 7:00 PM ET TULSA
11/30/13 TBD @TXSA
