It’s officially game week. The Oklahoma Sooners and Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will square off in Norman, OK this Saturday. And we couldn’t be more excited.
Oklahoma football will finally return to the hollowed grounds of Owen Field. But first, we’d like to get some perspective from the enemy.
We would like to give a big thanks to Jason Jones, a writer at BleedTechBlue.com, for taking the time to answer five(-ish) of our burning questions.
BleedTechBlue.com is the Rivals site for all of your Louisiana Tech football information. They do some great work, and I would recommend you gain a little insight to what they do over there.
Without any further delay, here are the big questions I asked Jones:
Joe Buettner: Louisiana Tech’s 2013 offense experienced a huge drop off in production as compared to their explosive 2012 squad. Replacing former Bulldogs QB Colby Cameron has been no easy task, but what do the 2014 Bulldogs have to do in order to be an offensive threat yet again?
Jason Jones: The biggest challenge will be to put together an offensive line that can successfully protect the quarterback and give him a chance to succeed. With no threat of a passing game, the offense is too one-dimensional.
Buettner: Quick question on the topic of 2012/2013, what was it like to see LT go from their 9-3 2012 season to an 8-4 year in 2013.
Jones: It was rough. They had to replace almost the entire offense. The offensive line was pieced together, one quarterback (Young) couldn’t get the ball down the field, and the other quarterback (Higgins) turned the ball over at a high rate.
Buettner: There’s a bit of a quarterback battle at LT right now. How do you feel about the frontrunners, Cody Sokol and Ryan Higgins? And what does each guy bring to the table?
Jones: Sokol seems like the guy and the hope is that he can open up the passing game enough to take the pressure off the running game—without turning the ball over. Higgins could be a really good quarterback, he is a playmaker. He has to know when to go down and not fumble while trying to gain the extra yard and he also has not know when to throw it away and not force a throw.
Buettner: Who’s the one guy on LT’s roster Sooner fans should be worried about come Saturday?
Jones: Carlos Henderson could be the breakout player this year for the Bulldogs on offense. Tech needs someone to stretch the field. On defense, Xavier Woods could be a big time safety in his second year. He had a great true freshman season and is already one of the best players on the team.
Buettner: Just in general, what would be a reasonable record/finish to Louisiana Tech’s 2014 season? Could the Bulldogs end up being one of C-USA’s top teams?
Jones: 7-5 is certainly possible, but they really need to avoid a 1-4 start. They overcame a 1-4 start in 2011 and won the WAC. It could be done again, but they have to put together a passing attack soon.
Buettner: What do you see happening Saturday? Maybe give us a score prediction.
Jones: I really expect Holtz to go in running the ball early and often. He will want to eat time off the clock, keep his defense off the field, and try to keep from asking too much of his quarterback. Tech’s defense should be good enough to get a few stops and keep Oklahoma from running completely wild. I see something like Oklahoma 38, Louisiana Tech 20. Just like in any game, turnovers could make it a close game or a complete blowout. If both teams play pretty clean football, then +/- 20 points would be a margin I would expect.
We really appreciate Jason for taking the time out of his day to do this for us. Give him a follow on Twitter if you feel so incluned, @BigJasonJones.