The First Look – Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

JackTheRabbit returns for the first opponent preview of the year. If things go badly this week, you know he won’t be here next week, but everyone deserves a second chance, so here you go…

All Things New
by JackTheRabbit

Finally, after so many summer weeks of following practice reports we finally get to start game week. We get to speculate about our season and the upcoming game. We can predict what our offense will look like (if anyone knows then please fill me in) and how much better it will be from the year before. And finally, we can talk about football like it’s just around the corner because it is.

The season opener against Louisiana Tech will show the Auburn faithful a thing or two about their team. I don’t think anyone is really dismissing the Bulldogs at all and they shouldn’t. Sure they’re a WAC team that went 8-5 in 2008 along with a bowl win. This is also a Tech team that was able to score 19 more points on Mississippi State than Auburn could last year. It’s never a good idea to fall asleep on a team that’s coming into a season with any kind of confidence.

One thing Auburn fans can look forward to is seeing Gus Malzhan’s new offense. The Tigers should get plenty of chances to show off what they can do offensively. Last season Tech opponents averaged 23.7 points per game (I did the math all on my own). I think it’s safe to say that if Auburn struggles offensively in the same way they did during last year’s season opener, it’s going to be a long season.

Offensively the Bulldogs return the majority of last year’s starters. The bulldogs lost last years star running back Patrick Jackson, but return senior tailback Daniel Porter. There should be nothing but experience out on the field with Tech’s offense. Senior quarterback Ross Jenkins and playmaker Phillip Livas at wide receiver will take the field again this season. Auburn’s defense will be tested against a veteran offense, which will give plenty of early playing time for the young linebackers.

I would be surprised to see Auburn drop the season opener to Louisiana Tech. Hopefully, Auburn will be able to be somewhat productive on the offensive side of the ball, but after it’s all said and done I believe that the defense will show that even with a lack of depth, this SEC defense will be too much for the bulldogs to handle.

My prediction: AU 24, LaTech 10.