Tech will have its hands full with Boise

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Highest-ranked foe ever to visit The Joe tonight



- It?ll be a tough task for the Louisiana Tech to find chinks in Boise State?s armor when the two teams face off at 7 p.m. tonight in Joe Aillet Stadium. There?s nothing the Broncos don?t do well.Boise State has the best scoring offense and defense in the WAC. They?re loaded with talent that the rest of the WAC can?t match -- the product of winning season after season. And they?re well-coached -- the Broncos always come ready to play.

Boise is off to an 8-0 start to the season, with a wins over No. 8 Oregon, Fresno State, and Tulsa. The Broncos are ranked No. 7 in the BCS standings (No. 5 AP/No. 5 USA Today) and are trying to pull in front of No. 6 TCU and earn an automatic BCS bowl berth. Tech is aiming to avoid a three-game losing streak, turn around a season that thus far has been a disappointment, and generally shock the college football world.

The Bulldogs (3-5, 2-3 WAC) have never hosted a team ranked this high.
?It?s a heck of an opportunity when you?ve got a top-five program coming in to your stadium,? Tech head coach Derek Dooley said. ?It is. I hope we can step up to the challenge and put on a great show, and it?s not going to be easy because these guys blow everybody out. I mean, that?s what they do. They don?t just beat you. They absolutely annihilate you.?

Tech was competitive in its first game against Boise during Dooley?s tenure, losing 45-31 in Ruston in 2007. The Broncos blew Tech out in Boise last season by a 38-3 margin, and have won seven straight in the series. Tech?s last victory over Boise was in 2001.

Dooley said the Broncos have only improved since he first faced them in 2007, thanks to recruiting that has improved each year. It starts with the defense. Boise has an All-American candidate leading their defense in cornerback Kyle Wilson, and has allowed just 13.6 points per game this season.

?It?s phenomenal,? Dooley said. ?There?s no program that can win like they?ve won without having great defense. What does the defense do? It keeps giving their offense chances: three and out, boom, punt, great field position.

?When you have a defense like that it allows you to be so much more aggressive on offense, because your consequences aren?t as great. You can run more trick plays, you can take more chances on special teams, and if you don?t make it you?re OK, because the best defense in the country is going to go out, and you?re going to get it back in three plays.?

Dooley said he?s not about to run a trick play on every snap, but also said the Tech offense might have to be a bit more creative this week. The old ?three yards and a cloud of dust? won?t be enough against Boise State.

?We?re going to have to put forth our best effort in all phases,? Dooley said, ?and we?ll see what happens.?

 

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Staggering injuries have domino effect on Tech


At this rate, it won't be long before Louisiana Tech is lining up with walk-ons and water boys.

The Bulldogs are dangerously thin in several position groups after being hit hard by the injury bug in the last few weeks. They're especially short on players in the secondary, at wide receiver, and at running back.

The most notable injuries are linebacker Adrien Cole (concussion), running back Daniel Porter (concussion) and wide receiver Phillip Livas (ankle). All three are questionable for Friday's 7 p.m. game against No. 7 Boise State. Defensive backs Chad Boyd and Terry Carter are also hurting. D.J. Morrow joins Porter as an injured running back, and linebacker Brian White has back issues. The offensive line hasn't been spared, as starting right tackle Cudahy Harmon has also been hurt.

All eight players missed time in Tech's 35-34 loss to Idaho on Saturday, and some didn't even dress for the game.

Head coach Derek Dooley said Tech was indeed discussing the prospect on playing walk-ons as the Idaho game unfolded. He said the injuries have been especially hard on the Bulldogs' special teams. Many of Tech's backups are special teamers, and now that they're also playing offense or defense, they don't have their energy for kick and return teams.

"Let me just give you an example of the domino effect," Dooley said. "You lose Porter, you lose D.J. Morrow, and now you take a guy like Myke Compton -- who was our special teams player of the year for two years -- and now he's exhausted. Now the second-teamers who were giving great effort on special teams are playing every down. Well, then who is playing special teams? You keep dipping."

The defensive secondary was also hurt by the lack of depth. Tech had to regularly shuffle defensive backs around, leaving players out of their natural positions and fatigued as the game wore on.

"You're constantly searching," Dooley said. "It's this domino effect."

Livas is the fourth receiver Tech has lost this season. Richie Casey's season was over after an injury in training camp, and Houston Tuminello and Adrian Linwood left the team for personal reasons in recent weeks. Even if Livas recovers from the ankle injury, he's still dealing with turf toe.Tech may eventually have the depth to withstand so many injuries. But it won't be this season. Dooley and his staff just have to keep patching the team together.

"The solution is time and recruiting classes, and building a deeper team," Dooley said.

 

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Avery, Martin to get bulk of work at tailback


For the first time all year, Boise State expects to have a three-tailback rotation for Friday's game at Louisiana Tech.

However, junior Jeremy Avery and sophomore Doug Martin will get the bulk of the carries as long as they are able. Martin is returning from a pulled hip flexor that limited him in the past two games.

Freshman Matt Kaiserman, who was highly productive in his first two college games while Martin was ailing, will be used for select plays.

The rotation could change based on performance, but coaches don't want to spread the carries too thin. Avery, the starter, always gets the first couple of series.

"All three of those guys are going to get their carries in the game," running backs coach Keith Bhonapha said. "We'll see how it gets rolling."

Avery leads the team with 636 rushing yards and is tops among the trio with a 5.7-yard average. He also leads the running backs with 15 catches for 126 yards.

Martin, who moved to tailback in the fourth game of the season after D.J. Harper (284 yards) was injured, has rushed for 363 yards and five touchdowns. He averages 5.3 yards per carry.

Kaiserman, who missed the first six games with a concussion, has rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown. He averages 5.1 yards per carry.

Harper averaged 6.5 yards per carry before he was injured.

That's four tailbacks who have each posted a 100-yard game and who all have averaged more than 5 yards per carry.

The tailbacks continue to have the right attitude about sharing time, Bhonapha said.

"I tell them, 'Don't concentrate on the plays you're not in, concentrate on the plays you are in,' " he said.

Martin expects to get his usual workload Friday. Coaches had hoped he would be in that role last week, too, and he wasn't able to go.

"Injuries, they always are frustrating," Martin said. "It takes time for these things to heal."

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Junior safety Jason Robinson, who started games as a freshman, has become a productive role player for the Broncos. He's a big part of the special-teams units and he rotates into the game at nickel.

In the past two weeks, he has caught a pass on a fake punt against Hawaii and forced a key fumble against San Jose State.

"He's not a headline guy, so to speak, in the media," Petersen said, "but he is a headline guy in this locker room and on our team - energy wise, leadership wise, with the example he sets. ... When he gets his chances, he produces. That's what it's all about."

 

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Boise State defensive line shines


The Broncos? starting four on the defensive front has developed into a dominant group ? ends Ryan Winterswyk and Shea McClellin and tackles Billy Winn and Chase Baker.

They have combined for 23 tackles for loss, including 11.5 sacks, and six pass breakups.

The group is the main reason the Broncos have held seven of the eight opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards.

?They?ve all showed up at different points of the year with a big play here or there,? defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said.

It's still a young group. Winterswyk is the only junior among the starters. The other three are sophomores who got some experience last year.

"Everybody just kind of gets it now," Baker said. "We understand what we need to do. We understand our assignments."

The group will face its biggest test in the run game since Fresno State, which embarrassed the Broncos defense with 320 rushing yards. Like Fresno, Louisiana Tech is a downhill running team.

And like Fresno, the Bulldogs' have a terrific tailback who can bust tackles and produce long runs. Daniel Porter was an All-WAC first-teamer last year. On one play against the Broncos, he broke six tackles.

Porter is questionable this week after suffering a concussion last week at Idaho.

"It will definitely give us a second chance to show that we can stop a running team," Baker said. "Hopefully we still get Daniel Porter because he gives us the big challenge. ... We definitely want their best shot."

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Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley said Wednesday that Porter and wide receiver/returner Phillip Livas will be game-day decisions.

Livas and All-WAC safety Antonio Baker haven't practiced in about a month because of lingering injuries, Dooley said. They have rehabbed during the week and played on game day, but they haven't been as effective as usual.

Dooley expects Boise State to do what many teams don't ? kick the ball to Livas, who has six return touchdowns in his career.

"I'm sure Boise will kick to him because they're as good on special teams as anybody in the country," Dooley said. "I'm sure they don't fear anybody."