Tech faces steep road challenge in tonight's TV game

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If Louisiana Tech was overlooking Nevada before, an offensive explosion by the Wolf Pack against rival UNLV served as an attention grabber.


The final score was 63-28, and it wasn't that close. Nevada, which entered the game at 0-3, ran the ball 55 times for a stagggering 559 yards -- most for a single game in school history.

"Just when you think people start to question who they were, they showed it against UNLV," Tech coach Derek Dooley said. "They're the same Nevada that can absolutely annihilate you on offense. They have an aggressive defense that's very distributive and creates a lot of negative plays."

Nevada and Louisiana Tech, two programs that have finished with identical records in each of the past two seasons, meet tonight at Mackay Stadium in Reno. The ESPN game kicks at 8 p.m. local time.

Look for more of the same from the run-oriented Nevada, going up against a Tech rush defense that ranks seventh in the Western Athletic Conference with 187 yards a game. The Wolf Pack's Running back Mack Ball was named WAC offensive player of the week after piling up 184 yards and five scores on just 15 carries last Saturday.

"So, they've got their groove back," Dooley said. "It's going to be a great challenge."

Tech's coming off its own bounce-back win over Hawaii, a program that Dooley had never bested. The Bulldogs held the nation's sixth-ranked offense to minus-7 yards rushing, while recording seven sacks. Hawaii failed to score a touchdown for the first time in 53 games.

Tech also found some consistency in its rushing attack, as Daniel Porter helped the team to 352 yards on the ground.



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TECH WILL WIN IF: Its defense can continue to build on last week's utter dismantling of Hawaii, one of the WAC's known quantities on offense.

TECH WILL LOSE IF: It continues to play better in the friendly confines that it does away from Ruston. Tech has won two straight at home, but lost both times on the road.

 

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Nevada gets better Bulldogs team in league opener


What might seem like logical progression sometimes just doesn't add up. At least that's the case in this football equation, said Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley.


One, the Bulldogs contained Nevada's explosive run game last season, but gave up a career-high 397 passing yards and four touchdowns to Colin Kaepernick as the Wolf Pack rallied from a 31-14 deficit to win, 35-31, in Ruston, La.

Two, Louisiana Tech completely shut down the Western Athletic Conference's best passing attack in a 27-6 victory over Hawaii on Sept. 30. The Warriors, who were behind almost the entire game, threw the ball 45 times for 308 yards, but never found the end zone, got sacked seven times and had two passes intercepted.

It might stand to reason, then, that the Bulldogs are in a better position to keep Kaepernick from beating them with his arm when the teams meet tonight at Mackay Stadium.

That's where the logic falls apart, Dooley said. In essence, Louisiana Tech was better-suited for success against Hawaii's passing attack because the Warriors are such a one-dimensional team (just nine designed rushing attempts against Louisiana Tech).

"It's very different," Dooley said. "We were fortunate against Hawaii. The defensive line could just pin their ears back and come. Nevada's totally different. If you don't stop the run, you can totally forget about tracking the quarterback. And he's a phenomenal football player. You have to slow the run game down and contain the quarterback."

Senior D'Anthony Smith, perhaps the best defensive tackle in the WAC, concurred.

"Nevada's a totally different team than Hawaii," he said. "You know (Hawaii is) going to come out and pass. With (Nevada's) Pistol formation, they can run and pass. It gives us a little confidence, but we know what we're up against on Friday."

The Bulldogs (2-2, 1-0) could use some confidence when it comes to the Wolf Pack (1-3, 0-0). Nevada has won four straight in the series, and the last two were particularly disheartening. In 2007, Nevada's 49-10 win in Reno kept Louisiana Tech out of a bowl game.


The Bulldogs, though, have steadily improved since Ross Jenkins took over at quarterback midway through last season. Louisiana Tech is 8-4 since then, and while Jenkins has been the piece that put them over the top, it's a strong rushing game and talented defense that form the Bulldogs' foundation.


Daniel Porter is the latest in a strong line of running backs, following on the heels of Ryan Moats and Patrick Jackson. Porter, a senior, had 1,164 yards rushing last season and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He got off to a slow start this season, but had 25 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the Hawaii win.

Porter had apologized to Dooley prior to the Hawaii game for not being at his best.

"I was really proud of Daniel, and I told the team that," Dooley said. "And not just because of the numbers he had, but for a young man to come to the coach and say, 'You know what? I hadn't been performing the way I can perform the first three games,' and not to blame the offensive line, not blame the coaches, not blame anything else, but to look in the mirror and say, 'What do I need to do differently?' He had a great mental approach all week, and he was determined to do his part. And I was really proud of him. You become proud of the man, not the player, because if he takes on issues in life like this he's going to be fine."

Much like Nevada, Tech prefers a power running game.

"We've got to attack the ball," Nevada defensive end Dontay Moch, the national leader in tackles for loss (2.75 per game), said. "We've got to stuff every hole so they can't run and have to resort to the pass, and then stuff that."

The Bulldogs' weakness on offense last season, wide receiver play, still is not a strength. Of the nine touchdown passes they had in 2008, only three went to wide receivers. So far this season, only one of the three touchdown passes has gone to a receiver, and that was Houston Tuminello, who quit the team last week. Tight end Dennis Morris has the other two. Running backs account for 18 of the team's 71 receptions.


Tech, though, does have a major weapon at receiver, 5-foot-8 Phillip Livas. He was a first-team All-WAC return specialist last season, and teams have worked hard to not punt the ball in his direction -- he has just two punt returns, one of which went for an 85-yard touchdown.
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On offense, the Bulldogs find ways to get him the ball. Along with his 12 receptions, he has eight carries for a 9.2-yard average.

"He puts the 'E' in 'explosive,'" Nevada defensive coordinator Nigel Burton said.

The Bulldogs returned all five starters on the offensive line, but Dooley said the unit needs to be a little better at pass protection. Tech has allowed nine sacks.

The Bulldogs lost two good linebackers -- Quin Harris and Brannon Jackson -- and both cornerbacks -- Weldon Brown and Stevon Howze -- from a year ago, but they have some NFL talent on defense, most notably Smith and safety Antonio Baker. Cornerback Deon Young already has three interceptions.

Tech utilized the same "spy" technique that Boise State used last year in slowing down Nevada's read-option offense.

"We're assuming we'll see a similar defense that they showed us last year, the same defense Boise used last year, trying to stop our run game, our option game," said Kaepernick, who is coming off his best game of the season, a 63-28 win over UNLV. "When that happens, we've got to be able to throw the ball, and last year we were able to.

"They're well coached, very disciplined and they play hard. They're aggressive with everything they do. But I think we're a pretty good offense, too, so I think it will be a pretty good battle."