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Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech - September 23, 6:00 PM @ Kyle Field Texas A&M has the #1 ranked pass defense in America. Louisiana Tech loves to throw the football.....Something must give. At first glance, you'd think pass-happy Louisiana Tech would severely test the A&M defense, especially after considering how poorly A&M played defensively just last weekend, but the Bulldogs have a few problems to work out of their own; they've had to replace their two-year starting quarterback Matt Kubik, four-year starting left guard Aaron Lips and three-year starting center Marcus Stewart. Seven starters return, but the nucleus is gone. Junior Zac Champion, who had only 8 career pass attempts prior to this season, is 25 of 49 (51%) for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Senior WR Johnathan Holland is Champion's #1 target. Holland averages almost 100 yards receiving per game and his 10 receptions for 193 yards more than doubles fellow wide outs Eric Newman and Josh Wheeler. La. Tech gained 238 yards through the air in an opening week loss @ #23 Nebraska, but Champion was only 13-32 with 1 interception and was sacked twice in the process. After suffering an early 21-7 first quarter deficit against week 2 opponent Nichols State, Louisiana Tech chose to alter their approach and rushed the ball on 42 of their 64 total plays. When the Bulldogs elect to run, Patrick Jackson is the primary threat. Jackson has 167 yards on 32 attempts - a 5.0/carry average - over Tech's first two contests. So, what can we expect to see out of the Bulldogs this weekend? Do they try and exploit what appears a suspect rush defense of A&M, or do they test - what to this point - has been the #1 ranked pass defense in the country? After Army, this may be an understatement to most Aggies, but don't think for a minute that this Louisiana Tech offense is not capable of moving the ball and producing points. They may be inexperienced in some key areas, but have always had enough athletes and been able to historically produce problems for some of the nation's top defensive teams throughout the years. When Louisiana Tech has the ball: While most might think Tech is going to air it out, I think the Bulldogs will attempt to be balanced. That may come as a slight surprise to some because in the past Louisiana Tech would travel to difficult venues and throw the ball 50 times a game and never blink. Head coach Jack Bicknell might prefer to still do that, but with an inexperienced quarterback in enemy territory - in only his third start - I believe he'll choose to try and mix it up in an attempt to keep the Aggie defense off-balance. In fact, that's exactly what the Bulldogs have done throughout the first two games this year, running 53% of the time. That doesn't mean they won't throw, especially if they think there is a weakness they can exploit, but I don't see them putting it up 60 times in this game. Another interesting consideration here is that the size advantage A&M has enjoyed for the first three games of '06 won't be an advantage in this one; Tyler Miller (Waco, TX.) measures 6'7" and 309 pounds, David Accardo (Katy, TX.) tips the scales at 6'5" 316 and right guard Marcus Lindsey is a whopping 6'7" and 386 pounds. Look for this to be stout test for A&M's defense and for the abilities of this Tech offense to be a good tune-up for Texas Tech. Advantage: EVEN. Key match-ups: The A&M defensive line against the Tech offensive line; WR Johnathan Holland against A&M's cornerbacks. On defense, Louisiana Tech has only two starters returning. Two of the top three tacklers thus far are new faces. True freshman DB Antonio Baker is second on the team with 17 tackles and JUCO transfer Marquis McBeath is tied for third with 16. The real problem for Tech on this side of the ball is that five of the top six defensive linemen from a solid '05 unit have since graduated. Nose tackle Josh Muse, currently 6th on the team in tackles, is the lone holdover with any valuable experience. As you might expect, the Bulldog 3-4 is led by linebackers Quin Harris (21 tackles), Brannon Jackson (16 tackles) and Robert Crosby (15 tackles). When the Aggies have the ball: This would appear to be the largest mismatch on paper, but I'd caution that a majority of the yards given up by Louisiana Tech were against Nebraska (on the road) in the first game of the year. The Bulldogs rank #99 in total defense and have given up an average of 196.5 yards/game (NCAA #106) on the ground. Thanks in large part to the Huskers' 49 points, Tech currently ranks #110 in scoring defense. Louisiana Tech also yielded 224 total yards (141 rushing) to the option attack of Nichols State in week 2. The Aggies should have a huge advantage on this side of the ball as they are bigger, stronger, faster and significantly more experienced across the board. Advantage: TEXAS A&M. Key Match-ups: The veteran A&M offensive line against the inexperienced Louisiana Tech defensive line; A&M TE's against the Tech secondary. Special Teams - Other Intangibles: A&M punter Justin Brantley averages 49.9 yards per punt on seven attempts while Louisiana Tech punter, Chris Keagle, averages only 32.4 on 10 attempts. Louisiana Tech returns WAC leading scorer, kicker Danny Horwedel, while the Aggies used two - Matt Szymanski and Lane Neumann - against Army. A&M holds a sizeable advantage with both the punt and kick return units; the Aggies rank #11 in kick returns vs. Louisiana Tech's ranking of #90; punt returns show A&M with a rank of #16 vs. Tech's #33. Advantage: TEXAS A&M PREDICTION: Assuming no turnovers, the Aggies should have no trouble moving the football on the Bulldog defense. However, Louisiana Tech's offense will provide a serious test for A&M defensively. The big advantage for the Aggies is that Tech lost their starting quarterback of a year ago and may be hesitant to air it out as much as they have in the past. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds, but the Aggies hold most of the advantages, especially with the game being in Kyle Field. Texas A&M 38 - Louisiana Tech 17 Louisiana Tech Football Texas A&M Football |