SCOUTING REPORT LA. TECH vs. LOUSIANA’S RAGIN CAJUNS
La. Tech Bulldogs
Tech’s obvious strength is its offense. QB Luke McCown is really good in their offense and is the team leader. If you give him time, he will pick you apart. Ryan Moats is the best of the backs, he is quick and elusive. The receiving core is deep and fast with guys like Davis, Franklin and Curry. The offensive line is big and young. They do have several good athletes on the line like Gonzalez and Brown. As a group their strength is pass blocking, but they are not the quickest bunch. As a group, they are not better then USC.
Advantage TECH.
On defense, Tech’s strength is the middle with the tackles Van Hoy and Street. They are better then the starting two at USC. The linebackers are solid with Nash, Hamilton and Jackson. As a group, they are good. The two safeties, M. Johnson and L. Johnson are the best of the secondary group. They both are very solid and will hit. Tech’s weakness is the corners of their defense. While do have a few good athletes, they do not have the speed or skill at DE and CB that the Cajuns faced at USC.
The Defenses are a wash.
On special teams, Josh Scobee is as good a FG kicker as you will find in college football. He has a great leg and is a clear advantage for Tech. The other parts of Tech’s Special teams are solid. Scobee gives Tech a big advantage in the FG part of special teams. But the Cajuns coverage and block schemes are better then Techs. No program, with the exception of Virginia Tech spends more time on special teams then Bustle. I wonder where he was taught the importance of special teams?
Keys to a Tech victory.
Keep McCown off the turf.
Stop the Cajun running game.
Change defenses and pressure the young Cajun QB to force turnovers.
Put Scobee in position to win the game if its close in the fourth quarter.
Louisiana’s Ragin Cajuns
The Cajun offense has RS FR. QB Jerry Babb at the helm. Babb was solid and made good decisions against USC. But the Cajuns did not win. Babb will see pressure and many different looks from the Tech defense. The key for Babb will be not to turn the ball over and run when necessary. Smothers has brought a new dimension to the Cajun backfield, speed. He is quick and he is hard to see behind the line. The offensive line did showed promise against USC, but they are still young and have not played enough together to jell. They are quick, but not as large as Tech’s line. The Cajuns have a few good receivers as well in Stamps, Lewis, Sampy and Bartel. They have good speed and block well down field.
The Cajuns defense is still a work in progress and can get better. The DL did a great job against USC and may get some extra depth this week with the return of DT Haynes. The Cajuns played eleven defensive linemen last week and they will need to rotate to stay fresh against Tech. The Cajuns have an advantage on the corners of their defense over Tech with speed. No, they are not Miami, but they do have two guys that run 4.6 at 240 plus pounds at DE. Look for Travis Bass to get the start at one DE this week. The Cajun
Linebackers are very solid with Brupbacher, Smith and C.C. Brown. The secondary is solid and will be tested this week against Tech’s receiving core. They will have to watch for the screens, outs and rubs that Tech likes to run anywhere on the field. Carter, Spann,
Fenton and Thomas will man the corners and have good speed. Lamy and Prater must play well also for the Cajuns to win.
The Cajun special team scored the only points in the USC game last week. The coverage teams must continue to play well and Autrey must be more consistent. Comiskey is solid, but he is no Josh Scobee. The coverage teams and kick blocking schemes give the Cajuns the advantage on special teams.
Keys to a Cajun victory.
Cajuns cannot have turnovers.
The Cajuns need to run the ball to keep Tech’s offense on the sideline.
The defense needs to pressure McCown and limit long plays.
Babb must play within himself again.
Special teams need to make several big plays.
Tech is favored in this game, as they should be right now. They still have more depth in their program and a big play offense. But make no mistake here; if the Cajuns can play at the level of last week, they have a chance to win this game. Warning, the Cajuns cannot turn the ball over, we are simply not good enough yet to beat any team while committing turnovers.
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Injury Update for Louisiana Tech Game
