Louisiana Tech at Boise State

Written by Matthew Martz

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will travel to No. 2 Boise State in a rare Tuesday night college football match up that initially looks like just another sacrificial offering on the dreaded blue turf of Bronco Stadium. It is the first ever Tuesday night game in school history. BSU will have to maintain its perfect record if they want a legitimate shot at a BCS title game, and I expect that they will not take the Bulldogs lightly.

Louisiana Tech has dropped eight in a row to the Broncos, including a 45-35 defeat last season, while Boise State has won its last four home matchups with Louisiana Tech by a 184-41 margin.

The latest college football odds show the Broncos as -38 over the Bulldogs.

The Broncos extended its longest active win streak to 20 by blasting the San Jose State Spartans 48-0 less than two weeks ago, and should be well rested after its bye week.

They have outscored their opponents 285- 74 and have also taken their first two conference games by a combined 107-0.

Quarterback Kellen Moore has had a stellar year, completing 105 of 151 passing attempts for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns. The junior phenom completed all but two of his 16 passes against the Spartans for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns, before taking a seat on the bench at halftime.

The Broncos amassed 535 yards in that contest with the ground attack piling up 213 yards from nine different ball carriers, while ten different receivers pulled in 322 passing yards.

So how does a team like LA Tech stand a chance?

Well for starters, the Bulldogs are no slouch. Tech comes into Tuesday’s contest on a two game winning streak following a 48-35 shootout victory over Idaho.

Displaying their own luster of dominance, the Bulldogs tallied 683 yards and 32 first downs in that game while QB Ross Jenkins put up career high stats as he passed to nine different receivers 44 times, competing 33 for a whopping 422 yards and a trio of TD passes.

Even the ground game, that’s not normally know for its huge contributions got into the act, tallying up 261 yards as RB Lennon Greer (23-179) added a pair of rushing TDs to the final count.

However, defensively is where BSU and LA Tech contrast.

The Bulldogs defense had trouble containing the Vandals offense, yielding 533 total yards. Not surprising, considering this unit is near the bottom nationally at defending the pass (297) and total yards (449).

The Broncos on the other hand, were far more impressive, surrendering just 80 total yards to San Jose coming from -12 rushing yards and just 92 through the air. Par for the course for a team that is leading the FBS in total defense with 210.2 yards per game, and ranked second nationally in scoring defense (12.3).

Matt’s Free Prediction: Boise State -38 – Although it hasn’t necessarily translated to the scoreboard, Louisiana Tech has not always been an easy victim for Boise State over the last several years. In fact, they have arguably played them tougher than any other team in the WAC. However, their defense will need to outperform itself in this one, which I am just not confident in staking claim in. While I am positive Boise State will win this SU, I am not sure if it will be by 38 points. The serious gambler could take the Bulldogs and the points in this one.

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