Rebuilding the Louisiana Tech football program from the ground floor up, first-year head coach Derek Dooley is taking things one step at a time.
The first step was becoming a competitive team. Then steps likes picking up their first conference win over New Mexico State on Oct. 13 became crucial. That wasn't only the first Western Athletic Conference win for the Bulldogs under Dooley, it was also their first WAC win at home under their new leader.
That's three steps, and now the Bulldogs are going for a fourth ? getting their first WAC road win in over two years.
Not since Dec. 5, 2005 have the Bulldogs hit the WAC road and returned to Ruston with a win. And as he continues working to lay a solid foundation for the 'Dogs to build on, Dooley says that's the next step to take.
"The challenge this week is winning on the road in the league," Dooley said. "Fresno State in '05 was the last road win in the WAC. That's something we want to change."
Tech won that 2005 game at Fresno State 40-28 as the road 'Dogs held off a Fresno State rally after leading 26-3 at the half.
Since then, Tech has fallen in five straight WAC road games, including a 17-6 loss at Fresno State this season. The Bulldogs have lost those five game by a combined score of 228-70, averaging out to 45.6 - 14 per game.
"Every game is important," senior cornerback Weldon Brown said. "We just have to win, just have to execute. We want that first road win, but Utah State wants their first win too."
The Aggies stand at 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the WAC, but Dooley and Co. aren't about to take them lightly. Utah State is 0-3 at home, falling 23-16 to UNLV, 23-20 to San Jose State and 31-28 last weekend to Nevada.
"They play well at home," Dooley said. "All three of their games have been decided by less than a touchdown. We're going to have to be prepared. They have a ridicously dangerous return guy."
That guy ? Utah State's Kevin Robinson ? has scored three times on returns this season, averging 21.4 yards on punts with a 70-yard return for a score and 29.8 yards on kickoffs with two touchdowns and a long return of 100 yards. Robinson is also the Aggies' leading receiver with 33 catches for 377 yards and two scores with a long of 77 yards.
Tech ranks seventh in WAC kickoff coverage stats, giving up 34.4 net yards per return.
Dooley says the Bulldogs need to focus on one thing in order to pull off the road win ? playing for an entire 60 minutes. That's something Dooley has been looking for over the course the season. And the lack thereof cost his Bulldogs dearly in last Saturday's 45-31 home loss to Boise State.
"We played a great game until there was about eight minutes to go," Dooley said. "From there on, we had three turnovers and a fourth down we didn't convert, and they scored two touchdowns. That was the difference in the game. During the last eight minutes of a game, execution is at an all-time premium. But we didn't execute.
"What we need now is the best we can get from all three phases of the game ? offense, defense and special teams ? for all four quarters. We haven't really done that yet. We're just going to have to put it all together and do it on the road."
Dooley said he doesn't think his Bulldogs are too far away from reaching that goal.
"The good news is that we're seeing signs of success in all phases," said Dooley. "Are we where we need to be? No way. But in the end, third downs and giving up big plays have been the story. If we can fix those things, we're much better."
# Louisiana Tech ranks last in WAC third-down conversions at 26.1 percent, but it isn't all bad for the Bulldogs. While Tech did give up an 83-yard pass in those final eight minutes against Boise State, one of the late turnovers came as true freshman receiver Joe Anderson fought a little too long and hard for extra yardage.
Brown said the Bulldogs hear what their coach is asking of them.
"We played a good game against Boise," Brown said. "The thing is we have to do it every quarter for the whole game. We have to execute from start to finish. No miscommunications is the key. We have to be in the film room and focus on executing more and more."
# Fifth-year senior quarterback Zac Champion returned as Tech's starter against Boise State after coming off the bench and directing the 'Dogs to a win the previous week. Champion hit on 24-of-42 passes for 255 yards with three interceptions and a 16-yard touchdown stike to Brian Jackson in the loss to the Broncos.
"I thought (Zac) did some nice things out there," Dooley said. "He threw a couple of bad interceptions. The first one he knows not to throw. On the second one, he just put a little too much air under it. But all-in-all he did some nice things."
So as Dooley and staff get the Bulldogs ready, it's back to working on what they believe can help Tech turn the corner and start adding notches to the win column ? playing that entire sixty minutes.
"I've been pleased with how we've competed," Dooley said. "I think we still get effected, and that bothers me. We got effected on defense against Boise. We play a great game and then that last eight minutes. We've been effected a lot this season.
"What I haven't seen is us getting out of it. I thought we were about to on defense. Every week is a new week, you don't know what's going through these guys' heads. But we have to find a way to not be affected. It's been two years since we've won on the road and we haven't really shown the ability yet.""
The first step was becoming a competitive team. Then steps likes picking up their first conference win over New Mexico State on Oct. 13 became crucial. That wasn't only the first Western Athletic Conference win for the Bulldogs under Dooley, it was also their first WAC win at home under their new leader.
That's three steps, and now the Bulldogs are going for a fourth ? getting their first WAC road win in over two years.
Not since Dec. 5, 2005 have the Bulldogs hit the WAC road and returned to Ruston with a win. And as he continues working to lay a solid foundation for the 'Dogs to build on, Dooley says that's the next step to take.
"The challenge this week is winning on the road in the league," Dooley said. "Fresno State in '05 was the last road win in the WAC. That's something we want to change."
Tech won that 2005 game at Fresno State 40-28 as the road 'Dogs held off a Fresno State rally after leading 26-3 at the half.
Since then, Tech has fallen in five straight WAC road games, including a 17-6 loss at Fresno State this season. The Bulldogs have lost those five game by a combined score of 228-70, averaging out to 45.6 - 14 per game.
"Every game is important," senior cornerback Weldon Brown said. "We just have to win, just have to execute. We want that first road win, but Utah State wants their first win too."
The Aggies stand at 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the WAC, but Dooley and Co. aren't about to take them lightly. Utah State is 0-3 at home, falling 23-16 to UNLV, 23-20 to San Jose State and 31-28 last weekend to Nevada.
"They play well at home," Dooley said. "All three of their games have been decided by less than a touchdown. We're going to have to be prepared. They have a ridicously dangerous return guy."
That guy ? Utah State's Kevin Robinson ? has scored three times on returns this season, averging 21.4 yards on punts with a 70-yard return for a score and 29.8 yards on kickoffs with two touchdowns and a long return of 100 yards. Robinson is also the Aggies' leading receiver with 33 catches for 377 yards and two scores with a long of 77 yards.
Tech ranks seventh in WAC kickoff coverage stats, giving up 34.4 net yards per return.
Dooley says the Bulldogs need to focus on one thing in order to pull off the road win ? playing for an entire 60 minutes. That's something Dooley has been looking for over the course the season. And the lack thereof cost his Bulldogs dearly in last Saturday's 45-31 home loss to Boise State.
"We played a great game until there was about eight minutes to go," Dooley said. "From there on, we had three turnovers and a fourth down we didn't convert, and they scored two touchdowns. That was the difference in the game. During the last eight minutes of a game, execution is at an all-time premium. But we didn't execute.
"What we need now is the best we can get from all three phases of the game ? offense, defense and special teams ? for all four quarters. We haven't really done that yet. We're just going to have to put it all together and do it on the road."
Dooley said he doesn't think his Bulldogs are too far away from reaching that goal.
"The good news is that we're seeing signs of success in all phases," said Dooley. "Are we where we need to be? No way. But in the end, third downs and giving up big plays have been the story. If we can fix those things, we're much better."
# Louisiana Tech ranks last in WAC third-down conversions at 26.1 percent, but it isn't all bad for the Bulldogs. While Tech did give up an 83-yard pass in those final eight minutes against Boise State, one of the late turnovers came as true freshman receiver Joe Anderson fought a little too long and hard for extra yardage.
Brown said the Bulldogs hear what their coach is asking of them.
"We played a good game against Boise," Brown said. "The thing is we have to do it every quarter for the whole game. We have to execute from start to finish. No miscommunications is the key. We have to be in the film room and focus on executing more and more."
# Fifth-year senior quarterback Zac Champion returned as Tech's starter against Boise State after coming off the bench and directing the 'Dogs to a win the previous week. Champion hit on 24-of-42 passes for 255 yards with three interceptions and a 16-yard touchdown stike to Brian Jackson in the loss to the Broncos.
"I thought (Zac) did some nice things out there," Dooley said. "He threw a couple of bad interceptions. The first one he knows not to throw. On the second one, he just put a little too much air under it. But all-in-all he did some nice things."
So as Dooley and staff get the Bulldogs ready, it's back to working on what they believe can help Tech turn the corner and start adding notches to the win column ? playing that entire sixty minutes.
"I've been pleased with how we've competed," Dooley said. "I think we still get effected, and that bothers me. We got effected on defense against Boise. We play a great game and then that last eight minutes. We've been effected a lot this season.
"What I haven't seen is us getting out of it. I thought we were about to on defense. Every week is a new week, you don't know what's going through these guys' heads. But we have to find a way to not be affected. It's been two years since we've won on the road and we haven't really shown the ability yet.""
