Louisiana Tech Wrapup

Today's 49-10 win over Louisiana Tech certainly continues the momentum from the Colorado and Michigoon victories at the end of last season. By no means was it perfect; it was a season opener. George Darlington gambled that Bill Callahan was going to walk the talk and "pound the rock" and gambled to stop the run. The offensive line had a pretty good push, but the backs had a hard time breaking free. However, the commitment to stopping the run meant that receivers were running open all day... and more often than not, Zac Taylor made them pay.

Of the 4 backs, I was most impressed with Cody Glenn and Brandon Jackson. Glenn was the leading rusher and showed his speed and power several times this afternoon. Jackson only touched the ball three times, but he made them count. His 25 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter was the best run of the day by far. Jackson also seems to be assigned the role of protecting Taylor in passing situations, and he delivered time and time again. Taylor wasn't sacked today, and Jackson had one especially noteworthy blitz pickup that saved Taylor from one vicious hit. Marlon Lucky had a decent performance, picking up some momentum in the 2nd quarter. Kenny Wilson started with a bang, going untouched into the end zone on his first carry, which was called back for a holding call. After that, he wasn't particularly noteworthy and seemed to struggle with ball control.

The defense started hot with 2 sacks on the opening drive, but none the rest of the game. It wasn't a particularly noteworthy performance, especially with a quarterback making his first start. It appeared to be a fairly vanilla defensive plan, which probably was all that was necessary against an opponent like Louisiana Tech. The Blackshirts will need to raise their game significantly in two weeks.

All in all, it was a refreshing season opener. A 49-10 victory against a 1-A opponent who had a winning record in 2005 is nothing to feel too bad about.

As for the stadium "improvements"? No comment for now; more on that later. Let's savor a 49-10 victory instead.