Louisiana Tech @ Texas State preview
Bobcat Stadium
In its final test before taking on the class of the Western Athletic Conference, No. 20 Louisiana Tech has more than enough incentive to stay focused when it visits Texas State on Saturday. The Bulldogs, who face the only two teams with winning conference records over the next two weeks in Utah State and San Jose State, continued their record-breaking season last weekend with a 51-27 victory over Texas-San Antonio – the seventh time they have eclipsed 50 points and fifth consecutive game in which they posted more than 500 yards of total offense. In order to set up next week’s showdown with Utah State and maintain their BCS hopes with its 10th straight conference win, Louisiana Tech will try to make a statement against a Texas State team that has dropped four of five and is coming off a 38-7 loss at Utah State.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Longhorn Network. LINE: Louisiana Tech -20
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (8-1, 3-0 WAC): The Bulldogs continue to win by impressive margins thanks primarily to the nation’s third-best turnover differential (plus-1.89), allowing the country's third-ranked offense to shine. With two more touchdown runs, running back Kenneth Dixon – who leads the country with 20 rushing scores – will break the NCAA single-season mark of 21 by a freshman currently held by Marshall Faulk and Ryan Williams. Quarterback Colby Cameron is also on the verge of making history of his own as he is only five passing attempts from tying Russell Wilson’s NCAA record of 379 attempts without an interception.
ABOUT TEXAS STATE (3-5, 1-2): Not only do the Bobcats have their work cut out for them against the Louisiana Tech's prolific offense, but their WAC-worst passing attack appears ill-equipped to take advantage of the nation's second-worst pass defense in Louisiana Tech. Texas State has forced three turnovers in each of its last three games and would help itself immensely by continuing that trend in this game against the ball-hawking Bulldogs. Quarterback Shaun Rutherford ranks 24th nationally in completion percentage, but has only thrown for more than 200 yards in a game only once this season.
EXTRA POINTS
1. This is the first-ever meeting.
2. Louisiana Tech, which has scored fewer than 44 points only once this season, is 2-2 as a ranked team all-time.3. Texas State has been outscored 161-58 in four losses against teams with winning records in 2012.
PREDICTION: Louisiana Tech 58, Texas State 20