Herd meet Bulldogs for Conference USA crown

Huntington, WV (SportsNetwork.com) – The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs made it out of the Conference USA West Division with a 7-1 mark in league play, and will travel this weekend to face the Marshall Thundering Herd in the conference’s championship clash at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

Louisiana Tech breezed through Conference USA competition during the regular season until an overtime loss against Old Dominion in the second-to-last week raised some concerns. But the Bulldogs squashed those feelings with an absolutely dominant 76-31 victory over defending C-USA champion Rice at home to earn a spot in the title game.

Marshall had already clinched its spot in the title contest after running through East Division play and earning an unblemished record up until the regular-season finale. Even though the Herd’s dreams of a perfect record were shattered by Western Kentucky last weekend in a 67-66 loss, the team is still a favorite to take the conference crown.

These two conference rivals have met just one time on the football field before this championship matchup – a 26-0 shutout by the Bulldogs back in the 1942 season in Ruston, Louisiana. It’s been 72 years since that clash, so this second matchup could be well worth the wait.

Louisiana Tech entered this season with high hopes, but it wasn’t until the team took the field that fans saw what the Bulldogs were capable of. The strong offense, which averages 38.8 ppg entering the title tilt with Marshall, is led by two of the strongest offensive stars in the league. Running back Kenneth Dixon had a stellar regular season, finishing the campaign with 1,080 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 220 carries. He led the team averaging 90.0 ypg, but also served as a primary target out of the backfield in the passing game. He caught five touchdown receptions and averaged another 25.5 ypg through the air during the season. Dixon is coming off a three-touchdown game against Rice.

Cody Sokol took the reins under center and ran with them this season. The signal caller passed for 3,117 yards (ranked 23rd in the FBS) with 29 touchdown tosses. He averaged 259.8 passing ypg in 12 contests, and comes into this game sporting a completion percentage just shy of 60 percent. As an offensive unit, the Bulldogs are gaining 415.2 ypg.

Dixon is certainly one of Sokol’s main weapons through the air, but Trent Taylor has made his mark more than anyone in the passing game. Taylor enters this weekend averaging 67.3 ypg receiving, having caught 61 passes this season for 808 yards and a team-best nine touchdowns. Dixon’s five receiving scores is second on the squad, while Paul Turner has proven his worth with 38 receptions for 466 yards and four scores through the air.

The team’s defense will have its hands full as it prepares for a Marshall offense that ranks second in the nation in scoring and total offense. But that hasn’t stopped the Bulldogs from doing plenty of damage this season, holding opponents to 349.6 offensive ypg and 25.2 ppg. The same Western Kentucky team that just posted 67 points on Marshall’s defense was held to a mere 10 points by Louisiana Tech back on the first day of November, which could be very telling.

Kentrell Brice leads the Bulldogs this season with 73 tackles, adding in three sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles. But Tony Johnson isn’t far behind Brice’s tackle total with 69 on the season, adding in six quarterback hurries. Linemen Houston Bates (nine tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries) and Vernon Butler (12.5 tackles for loss) are going to need to be very active in trying to get to Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato and slowing down a high- powered run game. The Bulldogs do lead the nation in takeaways with 36 (12 fumble recoveries, 24 interceptions).

“This football team is really special to me because I do not know that I have had a football team that has had to overcome so much, with the schedule, new faces, new coaches and everything to make this year work,” coach Skip Holtz said. “This group of guys is really special. They will always have a special place in my heart.”

Marshall could be in for a real shock if running back Devon Johnson can’t go this weekend after suffering a shoulder injury in last weekend’s loss to WKU. The tailback carried the ball just three times before he was knocked out of the game and replaced by Steward Butler, who ran for 233 yards and a pair of scores in the relief effort. This season, Johnson has been a monster out of the backfield, gaining 1,602 yards with 16 rushing scores, averaging 145.6 rushing ypg. It’s unclear if he will be ready to go this weekend

“Devon, he’s not in real good shape right now,” coach Doc Holliday said after the team’s loss to the Hilltoppers.

Fortunately for Marshall, Butler has rushed for 761 yards and seven touchdowns this season in the reserve role. Cato has been a capable runner as well, scoring six touchdowns with his feet. But the passing game is where Cato excels the most, throwing for 3,314 yards and 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions (four of which came in last weekend’s loss). The senior signal caller did toss a school single-game record seven touchdowns in that contest, however. He’s the centerpiece of an offense that is averaging 46.7 ppg and 574.6 offensive ypg.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to put (the loss to WKU) behind us because we’re playing for a championship,” Holliday said. “And the leadership on this football team has to do a tremendous job of putting this game behind us and moving on because the ultimate goal was to win a championship, and we’ve still got that out there for us.”

Defensively, the Herd have been dominant as well. The 67 points allowed to Western Kentucky raised the team’s scoring average significantly, and it’s still at a mere 20.7 ppg. It was the first time all season long that Marshall allowed more than 27 points to a challenger, and just the third time all season the Herd gave up more than 20 points or more in a single game.

Linebacker Neville Hewitt leads the team with 100 tackles this season, adding in 10.5 tackles for loss with 4.5 sacks. He and lineman Arnold Blackmon (13 tackles for loss, eight sacks, four forced fumbles) will be the two players the Herd turn to in order to slow down Dixon and Sokol. Darryl Roberts (15 pass breakups), Corey Tindal (11 pass breakups) and Taj Letman (four interceptions) will be tasked with keeping the strong Louisiana Tech pass game in check.

Categorized in: NCAA Football