Preview: Do LaTech Bulldogs bring more bark or bite?

[PonyPride]

Do the Bulldogs bring more bark or bite to Dallas?
SMU, Louisiana Tech kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday in Mustangs' 2023 opener
Posted on 08/30/2023 by PonyFans.com

Throughout preseason camp, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee has discussed the fact that by the time the Mustangs kick off the season at 11 a.m. Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium against visiting Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs already will have the advantage of having played a game.

Finally, the wait is over for the SMU Mustangs, who finally get to line up across from players they don’t know as friends and teammates when they kick off the 2023 season at 11 a.m. Saturday against Louisiana Tech.

LaTech knocked off Florida International, 22-17, Saturday in Ruston, La. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against SMU, 4-2.

LaTech head coach Sonny Cumbie, who guided his team to a 3-9 record (2-6) in Conference USA games in 2022, his first season as LaTech’s head coach, said Tuesday that he’s not so sure the extra game gives the Bulldogs an advantage.

"It goes both ways,” Cumbie said. “Our guys got some of those first-game nerves out of the way and I think they will be a little calmer when it comes to settling in and playing a football game. We are in the rhythm and routine of playing in terms of our game week.

“This is our first game week in terms of playing on a short week. Our guys love to play and love to compete. From that standpoint, our kids still have not started school, being on a quarter system, so we want to use that to our advantage in terms of preparation and our players having more time to study their opponent. They are a good team that will be ready to play with first-game excitement. Once you settle in, the execution for both teams is going to be the difference in what allows one to win or lose.”
Whether an extra game gave the Bulldogs have any kind of an edge is a topic that can be debated among the coaches, and of course among the fans. What is not a matter of debate is the fact that their victory over FIU was more convincing than the final score would suggest.

Despite spotting their guests a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter, the Bulldogs dominated the stat sheet, piling up a 28-8 edge in first downs. Even more lopsided was the passing game, in which LaTech racked up 333 yards through the air, while limiting FUI to … 4. The margin for passing first downs: 19-0.

“It gives us a lot of confidence,” safety Myles Heard said of the LaTech defense’s performance. “It pushes us to work even hard and take even more pride in not allowing any passing yards. It is a boost in our confidence.”

“I hope this game grows confidence in our defense,” Cumbie said. “Credit to (defensive coordinator) Coach (Scott) Power and the adjustments they made on defense. They rallied, did not get flustered, and stayed the course.”

The LaTech offense is led by quarterback Hank Bachmeier (6-1, 221), who completed 34 of 44 passes (77.3 percent) for 333 yards, and a touchdown and an interception, in his first game as a Bulldog after transferring from Boise State, where he started 29 games for the Broncos. By comparison, LaTech passers averaged 267.25 yards per game last season for a Bulldog team that scored 29 points per game.

Bachmeier’s biggest weapon in the passing game Saturday was the smallest player on the field: redshirt senior wide receiver Smoke Harris might stand at just (a listed) 5-7 and 183 pounds, but he came up huge Saturday, hauling in 11 passes for 155 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown, en route to earning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Sophomore wideout Cyrus Allen caught five passes for 48 yards, while tight end Nate Jones pulled in four grabs for seven for 28 yards.

The ground game is led by junior Charvis Thornton (5-10, 202), who had eight carries for 51 yards — including no negative-yards plays — while freshman Keith Willis had 11 carries for 32 yards. Freshman Jacob Fields (5-11, 184) had his number called just once, but he made the most of it, going 30 yards for a touchdown.

Up front, the Bulldogs boast an experienced line, on which sophomore Carson Bruno (6-4, 312) is the only starter who isn’t a junior or senior. The most effective running lanes often are found on the left side of the line, between junior tackle Dakota White (6-4, 305) and left guard Bert Hale, or between Hale and center Abraham Delfin. Delfin and White are the most experienced blockers — Delfin has started 26 of the 52 games in which he has played, while White counts 19 starts among his 32 appearances. Hale is the sturdiest of the Bulldogs, at 6-5 and 331 pounds.

In addition to the 4 rushing yards allowed, the LaTech defense surrendered just 178 rushing yards — numbers that indicate massive improvement over a 2022 season in which the Bulldogs coughed up 37.92 points and 468.8 total yards per game. Was the season-opening performance better than last year? Yes — that’s obvious. But how much the defense has improved remains to be seen, because an anemic offense like FIU’s is anything but an accurate measuring stick.

The Bulldogs play a 4-2-5 as their base alignment, led by a veteran defensive line on which defensive end Mykol Clark, defensive tackle Deshon Hall and defensive tackle Rason Williams have played in a combined 109 games already.

Linebacker Hugh Davis (6-0, 227) is one of those high-motor guys who is back for his redshirt senior season after a 2022 campaign in which he led the team with 76 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also broke up three passes and recovered a fumble.

Heard and fellow safety Cecil Singleton, Jr., anchor the LaTech secondary. Between the two, they have combined for 76 appearances, including 26 starts. Singleton is an explosive game-breaker who finished tied fourth a year ago with 56 tackles, and tied for the team lead with 6 tackles for loss. He added two sacks and an interception, and tied for the team lead in passes broken up (5), fumbles forced (3) and fumbles recovered (2).

Cumbie said that the matchup against SMU allows little time for his team to bask in the satisfaction of the season-opening victory.

“We’ve relished in that, but we’ve quickly moved past that, and we’ve got a very tough opponent this week, on the road at SMU — 11:00 game in Dallas against a great opponent,” Cumbie said. “Coach Lashlee has done a really good job since he has been there. They have done a phenomenal job recruiting. They have a lot of talent on both defense and offense — in particular, in skill positions, on both sides of the football. I know their defensive line is very deep.

“So I know we have a huge challenge for our football team. I’m really looking forward to seeing how much we improve on defense, offense and special teams in particular, and taking that next step for our football program.”

[PerunaPunch]

I hope we take the fact that Sonny will be on the visitor's sideline as motivation to annihilate them.

Other than that, I wish PonyNate was still around, so I would know how to bet on this one.

[Vitale]

Great preview.
Ponies by 2 touchdowns.